Because of dropping temperatures and the cold front that followed, the MSU men’s tennis team found itself unexpectedly returning to East Lansing from the Indiana State Invitational on Sunday - a day earlier than previously anticipated.
The tournament, held at Indiana State University in Terre Haute, Ind., was canceled on Sunday because of the lack of indoor tennis court and the unusually cold weather conditions, which were prevalent throughout the Midwest this weekend.
The Spartans did compete in the tournament on Saturday. The team played both singles and doubles matches to fill in for the lost day of tournament play.
Sophomore Todd Townsend, an East Lansing native, brought his record to 2-1 in singles action and 1-2 in doubles by defeating Ohio State’s Vincent Ng by a score of 7-5, 4-6 and 6-3.
MSU then chalked up another win by an underclassman. Goran Topalo, a sophomore from the Czech Republic, won both of his doubles matches. Joining forces with another sophomore, Rodrigo Abucham, Topalo defeated Ohio State’s Phillip Metz and his teammate, Jonathon Scale (8-6). They also overcame Indiana State’s Jonas Piibor who was matched with Verdan Vidovic (9-7). Despite winning both of his doubles matches, Topalo was defeated in his singles match by Ohio State’s Chris Porter, with a final score of 6-3.
On Oct. 21 and 22, the men’s tennis team will attempt to improve its record. The Spartans will be hosting the Advantage Spartan Invitational, an all-day event that will include teams from Western Michigan, Bowling Green and Toledo.
