HOMEWOOD, Ill. – Chicago State men's tennis posted a split today in a pair of matches at the H-F Racquet and Fitness Center that began with a 6-0 victory over Saint Joseph's (Ind.) College followed with a 4-0 defeat to Michigan State.
CSU opened the SJC match with a 1-0 lead after capturing the doubles point. The No. 1 double team of juniors
Christian Gonzalez (Mungia, Spain/Larramendi Ikastola) and
Gonzalo Martinez (Madrid, Spain/Nuestra Señora del Buen Consejo) posted a 6-0 win over Derek Wappel and Juan Montenegro. Sophomore
Felix Savard (Laval, QC Canada/Saint-Gabriel) and junior
Rohan Wattley (Slough, United Kingdom/Burnham) then defeated Joe Comerford and Lucas Jessen by a score of 6-2.
Savard began singles play by posting a 6-2, 6-3 win over Nico Palacio at No. 1 while Gonzalez won at No. 4 over Jessen by a 6-2, 6-1 margin.
Martinez defeated Ilya Kalabukhau in the No. 2 flight via scores of 6-2 and 6-3, and Wattley earned a 6-1, 6-0 at No. 3 over Vicente Hererra. Freshman
Cody Wurzelbacher (Toledo, Ohio/Springfield) captured his first collegiate win at No. 5 with a 6-3, 7-5 victory over Comerford.
After winning the No. 3 doubles flight via default, Michigan State captured the doubles point after the duo of Jasper Koenen and Michael Dube defeated Gonzalez and Martinez by a score of 6-3.
The Spartans opened singles play with default wins at No. 5 and No. 6 flights before closing the match with Koenen defeating Martinez at No. 2 by scores of 7-5 and 6-0.
"It was good to get our first win of the season. We have been fighting injuries and have yet to play a full lineup. Although we lost to Michigan State, the guys played a very, very high level of tennis," said CSU head coach
Jack Barton. "They came ready to play and the scores showed. Being down two points (against MSU) didn't matter to the guys. They fought their hearts out on every point and that's all I can ask. I'm extremely proud of them!"
CSU concludes its seven-match homestand at H-F on Feb. 23 with another doubleheader against Moraine Valley Community College and Prairie State College beginning at 11 a.m.
