DePaul University
Michigan State
No. 45 Michigan State Edges No. 47 DePaul
3/12/2011 12:00:00 AM | MEN'S TENNIS
March 12, 2011
CHICAGO - Looking at the two teams rankings - No. 45 Michigan State and No. 47 DePaul, the packed house at the Lakeshore Athletic Club on Saturday knew the match would be close; but no one thought the dual would come down to Blue Demon freshman, Filip Dzanko on the fourth singles court.
On a day that DePaul celebrated senior day and the careers of Ben Hartman and Bartosz Jozwiak it was the freshman -- Dzanko, who joined DePaul's roster in January, whose court became the main focus.
As all the singles matches wrapped up, DePaul (11-5) and Michigan State (13-1) were knotted at four and the spotlight, cheers and eyes all moved to the fourth court where Dzanko and Michigan State senior John Stratton were heading into the third hour of the dual's epic battle.
Dzanko and Stratton went point-for-point in the first set, but in the end, Stratton took the stanza, 7-5. Dzanko quickly rebounded and took the second-set, 6-3. The third set mirrored the first, and went to a breaker but it was the MSU senior's experience that edged the Blue Demon freshman, 7-6 (4).
The Blue Demons started on fire, and made quick work of the doubles point with a sweep on all three courts.
DePaul's top pair of Sven Kasper and Jozwiak improved to 2-0 against ranked opponents with a convincing, 8-3 win over No. 69 Jason Norville and Stratton. The Blue Demon pair broke the Spartan serve, to claim the match. Kasper and Jozwiak, who have won their last four matches, improve to 19-8 on season and 8-5 in duals.
Courts two and three finished at virtually the same time - both with the same outcome, a Blue Demon win.
Up 7-4 on the second court, Matija Palinic served the Blue Demons to victory. The DePaul pair of George Chanturia and Palinic improves to 14-6 with its 8-4 victory over Aaron Pfister and Austin Brooks.
Ben Hartman and Dzanko took an 8-5 victory from Mat Nelson and Clark Richardson, 8-5. The Blue Demon pair has won its last two matches and move to 8-6 on the season.
With a 1-0 lead DePaul went into the singles portion of the dual with confidence and momentum.
Kasper tallied his 14th singles win and first over a ranked opponent with a 6-4, 6-2 win over No. 120 Denis Bogatov.
Michigan State tied the match at two with wins on the fifth and sixth courts.
Palinic gave DePaul a 3-2 advantage with a 6-4, 6-4 victory over Brooks on the third court. The win was the second straight for the junior, while it was his 14th of the season.
Michigan State tied the dual at four with a win on the second court before the focus shifted to Dzanko and Stratton.
DePaul closes out the month of March on the road -- traveling to BIG EAST foe USF (March 23) before nonconference clashes with UCF (March 26) and Middle Tennessee State (March 30).
No. 45 Michigan State 4, No. 47 DePaul 3
Doubles
No. 1 Sven Kasper/Bartosz Jozwiak def. No. 69 Jason Norville/John Stratton 8-3
No. 2 Matija Palinic/George Chanturia def. Aaron Pfister/Austin Brooks 8-4
No. 3 Ben Hartman/Filip Dzanko def. Mat Nelson/Clark Richardson 8-5
Order of Finish: 1, 2, 3
Singles
No. 1 Kasper def. No. 120 Denis Bogatov 6-4, 6-3
No. 2 Hulewicz def. Chanturia 6-4, 7-5
No. 3 Palinic def. Brooks 6-4, 6-4
No. 4 Stratton def. Dzanko 7-5, 3-6, 7-6 (4)
No. 5 Pfister def. Jozwiak 7-6 (5), 6-0
No. 6 Drew Lied def. Hartman 6-3, 6-4
Order of Finish: 1, 5, 6, 3, 2, 4*
Players Mentioned
