April 1, 2005
Iowa City, IA – The Iowa men’s tennis team lost a 6-1 decision to 72nd-ranked Michigan State on Friday. The Hawkeyes were competitive against a tough opponent, but were unable to sustain any momentum during the match.
Iowa got off to a rough start after being swept in doubles play. In the No. 2 match, junior Chaitu Malempati and freshman Bart van Monsjou were defeated 8-2 by Cameron Marshall and Michael Flowers. At No. 3 doubles, freshman J.P. Ritchie and junior Aaron Schaechterle lost a close 8-6 decision to Mike Brown and Adam Monich. Juniors Brett Taylor and Kyle Markham were also involved in a close match before falling 8-6 to the 54th ranked duo of Andrew Formanczyk and Nick Rinks at No. 1 doubles.
The Hawkeyes were competitive in singles action, but were only able to win one match on a windy Friday afternoon. At No. 6 singles, Schaechterle took the first set, but ended up falling to Flowers 3-6, 6-1, 6-2. Markham dropped a 6-2, 6-4 decision to Marshall at the No. 2 spot and Michigan State clinched the dual when Malempati lost to Fornanczyk at No. 1 singles, 6-4, 6-3. At No. 4 singles, van Monsjou was defeated by Monich 6-4, 7-6 (6) and Ritchie lost a highly contested three-set match to Rinks at No. 5 singles, 5-7, 7-5, 1-0 (8). Taylor secured Iowa’s only point when he defeated Joseph McWilliams 6-4, 3-6, 6-4.
“We lost a tough match to another good team,” said Head Coach Steve Houghton. “The final score was deceiving because we certainly had our opportunities.”
The Hawkeyes (9-6, 1-3) will return to action Sunday when they host 56th-ranked Michigan. Competition is scheduled to begin at 10:00 a.m. at the City Park courts. In the case of inclement weather the match will be moved to the Recreation Building.
RESULTS
IOWA 1
#72 Michigan State 6
Doubles
No.1 #54 Formanczyk/Rinks (MSU) def. Markham/Taylor (IOWA) 8-6
No. 2 Marshall/Flowers (MSU) def. Malempati/van Monsjou (IOWA) 8-2
No. 3 Brown/Monich (MSU) def. Ritchie/Schaechterle (IOWA) 8-6
Singles
No. 1 Andrew Formanczyk (MSU) def. Chaitu Malempati (IOWA) 6-4, 6-3
No. 2 Cameron Marshall (MSU) def. Kyle Markham (IOWA) 6-2, 6-4
No. 3 Nick Rinks (MSU) def. J.P. Ritchie (IOWA) 5-7, 7-5, 1-0 (8)
No. 4 Adam Monich (MSU) def. Bart van Monsjou (IOWA) 6-4, 7-6 (6)
No. 5 Brett Taylor (IOWA) def. Joseph McWilliams 6-4, 3-6, 6-4
No. 6 Michael Flowers (MSU) def. Aaron Schaechterle (IOWA) 3-6, 6-1, 6-2