Michigan State University
#49 Drake University
Men's Tennis Splits Doubleheader with Drake and Niagara
3/12/2017 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
EAST LANSING, Mich. - The Michigan State men's tennis concluded its three-match weekend with a split at the MSU Indoor Tennis Facility on Sunday, March 12. MSU suffered a 4-0 loss to #49 Drake in the afternoon then answered with a 7-0 victory over Niagara in the night session.
MSU Boxscore vs. Drake 
MSU Boxscore vs. Niagara
At the end of the weekend, Michigan State now sits at 10-6 heading in to Big Ten Conference play. #49 Drake improved to 9-7, while Niagara dropped to 2-10.
"It was a tough loss this afternoon to Drake," said head coach Gene Orlando. "Coming off the Boise State win Friday night we thought we were ready to play. Drake just made more balls and had a little more purpose. Drake controlled the momentum and they never conceded. However, the team bounced back against Niagara and we are moving on to the Big Ten season!"
MSU started the day in search of its first win against a ranked opponent this season in the No. 49 Bulldogs. Drake picked up the doubles point with a 6-3 victory at No. 1 doubles and a 6-4 win at No. 3 doubles, giving the Bulldogs the 1-0 advantage heading into singles competition.
Michigan State then dropped decisions at No. 2, 4, and 6 singles while the other three remained unfinished. The Spartans dropped their first contest of the day 4-0.
The Spartans however did answer big in the evening match against Niagara defeating the Purple Eagles 7-0.
Sophomore Colin Harvey and junior Michael Dube got the match started with a 6-1 win at No. 2 doubles. Sophomores Billy Shisler and Ivan Rakic sealed the doubles point with a 6-3 victory at the No. 3 doubles, while freshman Doug Francken and junior Jasper Koenen's No. 1 doubles match was left unfinished.
Shisler was the first match to finish at No. 5 singles dominating Brent Boleslav 6-1, 6-1. Sophomore Alexander Kim picked up his first win of the season at No. 3 singles with a commanding 6-3, 6-2 win. Harvey went on to defeat Josh Wilson 6-1, 6-4 at No. 4 singles to seal the victory for the Spartans as they led 4-0 with three matches left.
Dube battled at No. 1 singles for the third time this year defeating Felipe Fuentes 6-1, 6-3. Dube is now 2-0 at No. 1 singles with one unfinished match at Chicago State. Francken, who competed in only his third singles match of the season defeated Lukas Wenninger 6-2, 6-2 at the No. 6 singles position. Rakic rounded it out for MSU with a 6-2, 3-6, 10-3 win at the No. 2 singles.
Michigan State will now turn its attention to the Big Ten conference season. The Spartans will first play host to Michigan on Friday, March 17 at 6 p.m. at the MSU Indoor Tennis Facility. MSU will conclude the weekend and its five-match homestretch with Penn State on Sunday, March 12 at 12 p.m.
Players Mentioned
