Feb. 28, 2008

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A Look at MSU's Talented Doubles Duo: Nick Rinks and Adam Monich

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COMING UP
Michigan State begins Big Ten play as it travels to Champaign, Ill., Friday, Feb. 29 to take on No. 13 Illinois. The Spartans will then travel to Purdue on Sunday, March 2 to face the Boilermakers. The Fighting Illini hold a 39-28 edge over MSU in the all-time series, while the Spartans are 40-26 against Purdue.

LAST TIME OUT
MSU picked up the two victories over Cornell and Green Bay last Saturday at the MSU Indoor Tennis Facility. Michigan State is now 11-3, and off to the best start of head coach Gene Orlando's 17-year tenure at Michigan State.

In the first match of the doubleheader, MSU took an early advantage against Cornell, sweeping the doubles flights, 8-4, 8-5, 8-2.

The Spartans stayed sharp entering singles action, and took flights 1-4 from Cornell. At No. 1, Rinks took out Kyle Doppelt, 6-4, 6-2, while John Allare cruised to a 6-1, 6-1, rout of Rory Heggie at No. 3. MSU's Alex Forger made short work of Marc Asch at No. 2, 6-1, 6-2, and Monich picked up his team-leading 12th victory of the season in dual-match play, downing Joshua Goldstein, 6-3, 6-2, at No. 4.

In the second match of the doubleheader, Michigan State took the court against Green Bay and picked up right where it left off, sweeping the doubles flights for the second time, 8-4, 8-2, 8-4. No. 21 Rinks and Monich extended their winning streak to eight matches at No. 1, defeating Green Bay's Tim Prudlow and Mark Goldin, 8-2, and are now 8-0 on the season.

Allare set the pace for the Spartans in singles play, blowing past Goldin in less than an hour, 6-1, 6-2, at No. 2, while John Stratton picked up his first singles win of the day at No. 3, and ended the three match winning streak of Green Bay's Matt Clegg, 6-4, 6-0. Forger completed the sweep for the Spartans, defeating Prudlow, 6-3, 6-1, and picking up his first win of the season at No. 1.

SCOUTING ILLINOIS
Illinois is 5-4 on the season, and coming off a tough 6-1 loss to No. 14 Florida last Sunday. No. 13 Ryan Rowe has a record of 4-5, while No. 30 Billy Heiser is 6-3 in singles dual match play. Heiser and Rowe are ranked No. 20 in the nation in doubles, and hold a record of 6-2, while No. 27 Brandon Davis and Ruben Gonzales have a record of 6-1.

A LOOK AT THE BOILERMAKERS
Purdue is 5-4 in dual-match play this season, and are coming off a 7-0 loss to Notre Dame. Sophomore Slavko Bijelica is 5-3 at No. 2 in singles play, and holds a 3-5 record at No. 1 doubles with teammate Branko Kuzmanovic.

SENIORITY RULES
The Spartans are now 11-3 on the season, and are ranked 65th in the latest national polls. Seniors Nick Rinks (11-1) and Adam Monich (12-1) have only one loss each in singles dual-match play. The doubles duo of Rinks and Monich is 8-0 in dual-match play, and currently ranked 21st in the nation.

SINGLES SENSATIONS
The Spartans have a combined record of 38-4 at the No. 1, 3 and 4 positions in dual-match play, going 13-1 at No. 1, 12-2 at No. 3, and 13-1 at No. 4. Nick Rinks has played all of his matches at No. 1, going 11-1 so far. Junior John Allare holds a 7-2 record at No. 3, while Adam Monich is 2-0 at flight 3. Monich has posted an 8-1 record for the Spartans at No. 4, and recorded his first-career victory at No. 1 singles over Gabriel Garcia of IUPUI on Feb. 2.

WIN WATCH
Gene Orlando is off to the best start of his career at Michigan State. If MSU wins both matches this weekend, Orlando will record his 200th-career victory as coach of the Spartans.

HOME SWEET HOME
The Spartans are currently undefeated at the MSU Indoor Tennis Facility this season, recording 10-straight victories. Overall, MSU has posted 12-consecutive home wins, dating back to last season.

NEXT UP
Michigan State visits No. 19 Michigan on March 12 in Ann Arbor.