Men's tennis shut down by Ohio State

By Caleb Nordgren | Originally Published: 02/12/12 7:31pm |Modified: 02/12/12 7:31pm |

When MSU’s men’s tennis team took the court against Ohio State, who was ranked as the third best team in the nation and undefeated at 7-0, optimism reigned. Ohio State hadn’t yet played away from home, and the Spartans just swept a doubleheader against Detroit and Toledo the previous weekend.

They liked their chances to start their conference schedule on the right note.

Four hours later, finding themselves on the wrong end of a 7-0 defeat, optimism still reigned.

“We’re a good team,” head coach Gene Orlando said. “We made them uncomfortable.”

Sophomore Aaron Pfister agreed.

“Ohio State feels our presence,” he said. “So does the rest of the Big Ten.”

MSU started the match on the wrong foot when it was swept in doubles matches, leaving the team looking up at the Buckeyes from the very beginning.

The team of junior Denis Bogatov and freshman Gijs Linders was blown out, losing 8-1, followed not too long thereafter by Pfister and sophomore Drew Lied, who fell 8-3. Freshman Harry Jadun and senior Austin Brooks made a game of it when they clawed back from an early deficit to make it 7-6, but lost the next point and fell 8-6.

The Spartans didn’t fare much better in the singles matches, as Pfister and Bogatov were quickly and soundly defeated in straight sets by their Ohio State counterparts.

The other four matches gave MSU fans hope, but they too fell short. Linders, Lied, Brooks and senior Ronnie Hulewicz all forced their matches to a third set, but none could convert them into wins.

However, Orlando and the rest of the team have already put the loss behind them.

“We’ve worked on staying in the moment,” he said. “Anybody can beat anybody.”

Pfister noted that the 7-0 final was misleading.

“The team fought hard,” he said. “We were right there. We just have to keep asserting ourselves every week.”

The Spartans will look to assert themselves this Saturday, when they take on Western Michigan and Dayton in a home doubleheader. Orlando thinks they’ll be ready.

“We can’t play loose,” he said. “We’ve got to be sharp, and we’ve got to bring the intensity.”