Men's Tennis

Feb. 3, 2011

EAST LANSING, Mich. - The Michigan State men's tennis team hosts two weekend matches for the fourth time in as many weeks as it faces Toledo on Friday, Feb. 4 at 7 p.m. and Wake Forest on Sunday, Feb. 6 at 11 a.m.

Scouting the Spartans
The Spartans moved to a perfect 6-0 last weekend after defeating both Bradley and Dayton by impressive 7-0 scores. Sophomore Denis Bogatov led the way for the team with a convincing 6-1, 6-2 decison over Bradley's Cuadrado, and posted an 8-0 victory in doubles play with freshman teammate Drew Lied as they took down Salcedo and Hanley of Dayton.

Freshman Aaron Pfister was also in top form for the Spartans, earning a 6-2, 6-1 victory over Nguyen of Bradley, and a 6-0, 6-0 win over Benalcazar of Dayton, as well as an 8-2 decision in doubles play against West and Benalcazar with senior teammate Austin Brooks. Other notable victories came from junior Ron Hulewicz (6-3, 6-1 vs. Salcedo of Dayton), senior Clark Richardson (6-2, 6-1 vs. Crum of Dayton) and Lied (6-1, 6-1 vs. Kalhorn of Bradley).

Toledo Scouting
Toledo had a full slate of matches last weekend as it hosted Bradley last Sunday and then traveled to Columbus, Ohio to face the Buckeyes of Ohio State. The Rockets earned a 4-3 victory over Bradley before falling to No. 4 Ohio State in a 6-0 decision. Toledo relied heavily on its three key seniors against Bradley as Alexsandar Elezovic defeated Juan Cuadrado, 6-2, 6-0, and Sven Burus took down Hamish Weerasinghe in the No. 2 slot, 6-2, 6-4. Rounding out the top three was Nutthavit Likitkumchorn who picked up a 6-3, 6-2 victory against Eric Nguyen. The Rockets improved to 4-2 overall in 2011, and face another full weekend as they travel to IPFW and Notre Dame on Sunday Feb. 6 following their match against the Spartans.

Wake Forest Scouting
Last week, the 22nd ranked Demon Deacons of Wake Forest fell 4-0 to the No. 12 Kentucky Wildcats and moved to 1-1 on the season. The Deacons first victory of the season came against No. 30 Wisconsin who they beat 4-0. Senior Johnathan Wolff earned a victory for the Deacons in the No. 1 singles slot as he took down Michalicka 7-5, 6-7 (1-7). Sophomore Danny Kreyman took down Wisconsin's Billy Bertha 6-2, 6-4 in the No. 2 singles and Iain Atkinson took the No. 3 singles match against Ricardso Martin 7-5, 7-6 (7-2).

Last Year vs. Opponents
Michigan State earned a 6-1 victory over the Rockets of Toledo during the 2009-10 campaign, and did not face Wake Forest. Current seniors Jason Norville and John Stratton both earned victories for the Spartans, as Norville took down Sarria, 6-3, 6-3, and Stratton defeated Harikie, 6-1, 6-4. Clark Richardson and Denig Bogatov teamed up in doubles play and defeated Dudzik and Weigand, 8-2.

Next Up
The Spartans host two matches next weekend when they face Marquette on Friday, Feb. 11 at 6 p.m. and Notre Dame on Saturday, Feb. 12 at 6 p.m. at the MSU Indoor Tennis Facility.

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