Freshman Ronnie Hulewicz keeps his eye on the ball as he winds up to hit it during his match against Notre Dame’s Sam Keeton. Hulewicz won the No. 5 singles match 7-5, 6-3, Saturday afternoon in East Lansing.
The MSU men’s tennis team saw its perfect regular season fade into thin air Saturday, but not all was lost at the MSU Indoor Tennis Facility.
Hosting No. 25 Notre Dame, the only ranked opponent MSU (8-1) has faced all year, the Spartans received major shots in the arm from freshman Ronnie Hulewicz (No. 5 singles) and the No. 2 doubles team of senior John Allare and junior Jason Norville.
Hulewicz topped Notre Dame’s Sam Keeton in straight sets of 7-5 and 6-3, while Allare and Norville defeated the Irish’s Stephen Havens and Casey Watt 8-4. However, those were the only wins MSU experienced against the Irish, who defeated the Spartans 6-1 to spoil their longest season-opening winning streak since 2003.
“We obviously tried to give it our best effort today and Notre Dame — give credit to them — they’re obviously a very good team,” MSU head coach Gene Orlando said.
“I feel like we could have made it a little bit closer than what the score was, but that’s what it is so we’ll just keep on working and get ready for the next one.”
After losing the doubles point 2-1, MSU lost all but two of its singles matches in straight sets. Hulewicz emerged victorious from his match, while No. 2 senior Alex Forger fell to Havens in a tiebreaker, 10-5. The match went to a tiebreaker rather than a third set because Notre Dame had already clinched the win.
When the others singles matches concluded, fans and players packed behind Hulewicz to support the Tequesta, Fla. native. When Hulewicz won the decisive point, he let out a bellow and pumped his fist in both triumph and relief.
Hulewicz, who has had trouble pulling out close matches this season, said he heeded the advice of the team psychologist, which has taught him techniques to help “buckle down when (the match) gets tight.”
He also followed his own advice, which was to stick to the basics and make Keeton beat himself.
“A tall kid like that, I tried to stretch him out,” Hulewicz said. “He can reach really well, but he was kind of clumsy.”
Allare and Norville, meanwhile, improved to 7-0 in doubles play in the season with their win versus Havens and Watt.
“We came out playing some of the best tennis we could have played,” Norville said. “We knew what we wanted to do, we knew who we wanted to hit to, and we executed those tasks.”
The moment they were paired together, Norville said he and Allare had a natural chemistry that has led them to such a successful start.
“We both play fundamental doubles,” said Norville, who hails from Farmington Hills.
“We do things without thinking about it. I know what he’s going to do, I know his game, he knows mine and I think we compete well and steal matches.”
Although most of the matches were lost in convincing fashion, Orlando said he was pleased with the way his players competed throughout the match.
That mentality, as well as better starts, will help the Spartans the rest of the way, he added.
“I mentioned that to the guys at the end of the match,” Orlando said. “We didn’t roll over, and we stayed with it and showed that we could still make something out of the match.”
On Saturday, the Spartans will travel to Muncie, Ind. to take on Orlando’s alma mater, Ball State. The match is set to begin at noon.
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