April 19, 2008

Results

EAST LANSING, Mich. -- Northwestern captured the doubles point over Michigan State, but the Spartans took four singles matches to defeat the Wildcats in their regular season finale, 4-3. Northwestern will now get ready for the Big Ten Tournament beginning Thursday.

The Wildcats opened up a 1-0 lead on doubles wins at No. 1 and No. 3. MSU scored the first doubles win when John Allare and Adam Monich defeated Peter Rispoli and David Seyferth at No. 2, 8-3. NU took its win at No. 3 where Alex Thams and Andrew McCarthy topped Nick Rings and Tyler Sauerbrey, 8-5.

The critical doubles point came down to No. 1 where Marc Dwyer and Alex Sanborn won a tight match, 9-7, over Alex Forger and Billy Gardner.

Michigan State quickly evened the score when ranked Nick Rinks downed Dwyer in straight sets, 6-1, 6-1. The Wildcats took the lead back with a win at No. 5 where McCarthy defeated Sauerbrey, 6-2, 6-3. The seesaw battle continued when the Spartans tied the match at 2-2 with a win at No. 4. Monich downed Rispoli in straight sets, 6-4, 6-4.

The Wildcats again pushed ahead with a victory at No. 6. Seyferth used a 6-3, 6-4 win over Clark Richardson to give the Wildcats a 3-2 lead in the dual. MSU evened it up again when Allare defeated Thams at No. 3, 7-5, 6-4.

The last match on the courts was a hotly-contested No. 2 battle between Forger and Sanborn. The Spartan took the first set, 6-4, but the Wildcat captain evened the match with a 6-2 win in the second frame. Forger edged Sanborn in a close third set, 6-4, to give Michigan State the dual victory.

The Wildcats return to action at the Big Ten Tournament hosted by the University of Iowa.

Michigan State 4, Northwestern 3
Singles
No. 1: Rinks (MSU) def. Dwyer (NU), 6-1, 6-1
No. 2: Forger (MSU) def. Sanborn (NU), 6-4, 2-6, 6-4
No. 3: Allare (MSU) def. Thams (NU), 7-5, 6-4
No. 4: Monich (MSU) def. Rispoli (NU), 6-4, 6-4
No. 5: McCarthy (NU) def. Sauerbrey (MSU), 6-2, 6-2
No. 6: Seyferth (NU) def. Richardson (MSU), 6-3, 6-4

Doubles
No. 1: Dwyer/Sanborn (NU) def. Forger/Gardner (MSU), 9-7
No. 2: Allare/Monich (MSU) def. Rispoli/Seyferth (NU), 8-3
No. 3: Thams/McCarthy (NU) def. Rinks/Sauerbrey (MSU), 8-5

Order of Finish: Singles (1, 5, 4, 6, 3, 2) Doubles (2, 3, 1)

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