Michigan State University
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Western Michigan
Michigan State Sweeps Competition in Doubleheader
2/12/2017 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
EAST LANSING, Mich. - Michigan State men's tennis team pushed its win streak to four after defeating Western Michigan and Chicago State, Feb. 11. MSU defeated instate rival Western Michigan 4-3, before defeating Chicago State 4-0 later in the evening.
"It was a solid weekend for the Spartans," said head coach Gene Orlando. "We started the day off with a grind it out match win against WMU 4-3 and closed out the night with a 4-0 win over Chicago State."
Michigan State improved to 6-3 on the season, while Western Michigan dropped to 4-4 and Chicago State fell to 0-8.
AGAINST WESTERN MICHIGAN
Results vs. WMU 
Michigan State won the doubles point in victories from the No. 1 and No. 3 doubles. At No. 1 doubles juniors Jasper Koenen and Michael Dube defeated Daniel Loebel and Kennosuke Nouchi 7-6 (0-5), while junior Brett Forman and sophomore Alexander Kim defeated Matej Svjetlicic and Marik Steiner 6-2 in No. 3 doubles. Sophomore Billy Shisler and freshman Doug Francken's three-match win streak ended, falling to Matt Hamilton and Jannik Optiz 6-3 in No. 2 doubles.
Koenen finished first at No. 2 singles defeating Maik Steiner 6-4, 6-1. Shisler kept the points coming for the Spartans finishing second and defeating Jannik Optiz in the No. 5 singles 6-2, 6-4. Kim lost his decision 6-4, 6-1 to Matej Svjetlicic in the No. 4 singles to bring the score to 3-1. Francken was the next to finish and he was defeated by Eric Olivarez 6-2, 6-3 at No. 6 singles. Dube dropped his contest at No. 3 singles 6-3, 6-2 to tie the match up 3-3. Forman rounded out the match and secured the victory after defeating Kennosuke Nouchi 6-3, 7-5 at the No. 1 singles to push his win at No. 1 singles to four.
"In the WMU match the team played tough and stuck to the game plan when things we're going well and even when they were not," said Orlando. "Koenen and Dube clinched the crucial doubles point in a tiebreaker at No. 1. Both teams traded points with the match tied at 3-3 and then Brett Forman stepped up and closed out the match at No. 1 singles."
AGAINST CHICAGO STATE
Results vs. Chicago State
Due to injuries, Chicago State only had four athletes in competition and the final ended in a 4-0 MSU victory. The Spartans took the doubles point after a default in the No. 3 doubles and a 6-3 victory from Koenen and Dube in the No. 1 spot.
Again, the Spartans were awarded default points in the No. 5 and No. 6 singles. Koenen sealed the match with Chicago State as he defeated Gonzalo Martinez 7-5, 6-0 in the No. 2 singles.
"Chicago State was hit by the injury bug and only had four healthy players but still put up a good fight," said Orlando. "Our theme for the match was take care of business and we won the doubles point and played singles to clinch!"
Michigan State has concluded its seven-game road stretch and will return to the MSU Indoor Tennis Facility Feb. 17-18. MSU will host Army and Air Force for its President's Weekend matches. The Spartans will play Air Force Feb. 17 at 6 p.m. and will match up with Army at 2 p.m. on Feb. 18.
Players Mentioned
