Michigan State University
Iowa
Iowa Spoils Michigan State Men's Tennis Senior Day
4/22/2018 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
EAST LANSING, Mich. - Michigan State men's tennis hosted the final regular season match of the 2017-18 season against Iowa on Sunday, April 22 at 12 p.m. on a beautiful day at the MSU Outdoor Tennis Courts. The Hawkeyes defeated the Spartans, 5-2, despite wins from freshman Davis Wong and senior Michael Dube.
"I give a lot of credit to the team and the seniors," Michigan State head coach Gene Orlando said. "We've competed hard every single match and did all the right things. We haven't won the big points. We were so close. If one point turns our way, it could've been a different season. It just fuels the fire to continue to work and get better. We've still got the Big Ten Conference Championships to make one more run, and if not, it's all about working in the summer. We don't want to be in this spot again, and it comes down to what we do in the offseason to come back stronger."
Iowa took an early lead by winning the doubles point. Kareem Allaf and Jonas Larsen took down senior Brett Forman and junior Billy Shisler, 6-3, and Will Davies and Piotr Smietana defeated senior Jasper Koenen and Mukherjee to take the 1-0 lead.
The Hawkeyes extended the lead to two with a win on court six from Davies over freshman John Carlin, 6-1, 6-1.
Freshman Davis Wong put the Spartans on the board with a win on court five, rounding out the weekend undefeated by taking down Jonas Larsen, 6-3, 6-1.
Mukherjee fell to Allaf, 6-3, 6-3 on court four, and the Hawkeyes encroached on match point with all three Spartan seniors still in action.
Dube finished out his Senior Weekend with a win on court two, defeating Piotr Smietana, 6-4, 6-2, capping off an undefeated weekend.
The Hawkeyes spoiled MSU's Senior Day when Joe Tyler defeated Koenen in three sets, 6-4, 2-6, 6-3. Playing out the last match, Forman fell to Josh Silverstein, 7-6 (8-4), 6-3.
"It's been awhile since we've had seniors," noted Orlando. "For the underclassmen to have someone to look up to and show them the ropes, how to handle adversity, success, disappointment - they've learned from three quality guys, and to me that's what's going to set us up for the future."
Michigan State will prepare for the Big Ten Tournament hosted by Iowa in Iowa City on April 26-29.
Players Mentioned
