Michigan State University
Boise State
MSU Men's Tennis Defeats Boise State, 5-2
3/10/2017 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
EAST LANSING, Mich. - The Michigan State men's tennis team defeated Boise State 5-2 on Friday, March 10 at the MSU Indoor Tennis Facility. After the victory Michigan State improved to 9-5 on the year, while Boise State dropped to 2-14.
"It was a very competitive type match and we knew it would be," said head coach Gene Orlando. "We were coming off of two losses on the road and we knew we were going to have to get after it to get this win. The guys dug deep in tough situations and they came up big."
The Spartans started the night off with a doubles point victory to take the early 1-0 lead. Despite an MSU loss at the No. 1 doubles, sophomore Billy Shisler and Doug Francken battled at No. 2 doubles to a 6-3 win to knot up the doubles point. Sophomore Alexander Kim and junior Brett Forman sealed the point at the No. 3 doubles with a 6-4 win against Morgan Stone and Greg Wischer.
In singles play, junior Jasper Koenen fell first at No. 2 singles to Jack Heslin 6-2, 6-2. Shisler also fell at No. 6 singles 6-1, 6-4 to put them down 2-1, but back-to-back Spartan wins helped them regain the lead 3-2. Forman started it off with a 6-3, 7-5 win at No. 1 singles and sophomore Ivan Rakic helped take the lead after a 6-1, 7-6 victory at No. 5 singles against Boise State's Morgan Stone.
In a three-set battle, junior Michael Dube sealed the victory for the Spartans and defeated Brian Tran at No. 3 singles 6-4, 2-6, 7-5. Kim rounded out the evenings competition with a 7-6, 6-7, 1-0 victory at No. 4 singles to give the Spartans the 5-2 victory.
"It was a gritty win," said Orlando. "I know that we can play better. It's all about where you are in the season and you have to try to find ways to win. They were hungry for a win and we were hungry for a win and some team has to win and I'm glad it was us and we came out on top."
Michigan State will return to action on Sunday, March 12 where they will host a pair of schools in an afternoon double-header. MSU will play #49 Drake at 1 p.m. and then will faceoff against Niagara at 5 p.m.
Players Mentioned
