March 30, 2008

Results

EAST LANSING, Mich. - The Michigan State men's tennis team lost, 6-1, to No. 2 Ohio State on Sunday afternoon at the MSU Indoor Tennis Facility. The match looked tight from the beginning as MSU lost the doubles in a tiebreaker at No. 3. But the Buckeyes took care of business in singles play as they came out and brought down the Spartans in flights 1-5. Michigan State now has a record of 11-8 (0-5 Big Ten), while Ohio State improves to 19-1 (3-0 Big Ten).

MSU came out looking flat in doubles competition, but picked it up mid-match and made comebacks at both No. 2 and No. 3. At No. 1, No. 59 Alex Forger and Billy Gardner were defeated by No. 29 Bryan Koniecko and Steven Moneke, 8-2. At No. 2, Adam Monich and John Allare were down, 5-2, and came back to tie it up, 8-8. The doubles duo then finished off Ohio State's Justin Kronauge and Shuhei Uzawa in a tiebreaker, 9-8 (7-2). At No. 3, MSU's Nick Rinks and Tyler Sauerbrey nearly completed their comeback attempt after falling behind, 6-1, but came up short in the tiebreaker, as they fell to Balazs Novak and Mike O'Connell, 9-8 (7-5).

The Buckeyes dominated singles play, taking five out of six matches in straight sets. MSU freshman Clark Richardson picked up the only singles win for the Spartans, downing O'Connell, 7-6 (7-5), 6-2 at No. 6.

"It was another tough loss for us this afternoon," MSU head coach Gene Orlando said. "I really thought we were competitive with them in doubles, losing the doubles point in a tiebreaker. The singles were a little different as they jumped on us at the the 1-5 positions. At the No. 6 position, Clark Richardson played a great match for us, keeping the Buckeyes from the sweep."

Michigan State returns to action on Friday, April 4 as it travels to Minneapolis, Minn., for a matchup against the Golden Gophers at 3 p.m. The Spartans then travel to Iowa City, Iowa, on Sunday, April 6, to take on the No. 46 Hawkeyes at 11 a.m.