EAST LANSING, MICH. – Men’s Tennis earned two victories to open the season, dropping just one point between the two matches, taking down Western Michigan 6-1 to start and sweeping Brown 7-0 in the nightcap.
 
“Great day for the guys today, picking up two wins against some great teams,” head coach Harry Jadun said. “It was a coming out party for our new guys and I’m excited to see where this season is headed for everyone.”
 
Seniors Guide MSU to Sweep of Brown
MSU’s seniors boosted the Spartans to 2-0 on the day and a perfect start to the season, aiding in five of the Spartans seven points in the sweep of Brown.
 
To start the night graduate senior Ronnie Hohmann III and freshman Taym Alazmeh teamed up for a 6-2 win while senior Reed Crocker and junior Josh Portnoy clinched a 6-3 win, their firsts of the season, and the doubles point for MSU.
 
In singles play senior Luke Baylis shined in his first match of the year, winning 6-2, 6-1 in straight sets. Two more MSU sweeps would follow Redshirt Freshman Aristotelis Thanos followed with his first collegiate singles dub (6-2, 6-4) while senior Graydon Lair clinched the Spartan’s victory, winning 6-3, 6-3.
 
With the score at 4-0 and the win in the bag for the hosts Portnoy used his momentum from a narrow first set tie break win, to handle the second set 6-1. Alazmeh and graduate senior Sebastien Collard, both in their fourth matches of the day, knocked off their counterpart in three sets to secure the first 7-0 sweep of the young season.
 
Debutants Lead Spartans to 1-0
Four Spartans won in their official debuts in Green and White, including freshmen Taym Alazmeh and Aristotelis Thanos who clinched their first collegiate victories while MSU handled Western Michigan 6-1.
 
Graduate transfers Sebastien Collard earned his first victory at the MSU Indoor Tennis Center alongside senior Graydon Lair 6-3, clinching the doubles point for the Spartans following Thanos and Alazmeh’s own 6-3 match-opening doubles victory.
 
In singles play, Alazmeh made quick work of his first career singles victory, winning in straight sets 6-1, 6-3. The experienced Lair and sophomore David Saye would follow suit, both topping their Bronco counterparts 6-2, 6-2.
 
With the MSU win already clinched at 4-0, Thanos battled hard for a first career singles win of his own but ceded Western Michigan’s lone point of the day to Anton Arzhankin 6-4, 6-4.
 
In a narrow feature match between both sides No. 1s, the nation’s No. 12 singles player Hohmann notched his first win as a Spartan, edging the Bronco’s Benjamin George 6-7 [5-7], 6-4, 1-0 (10-4), solidifying the season-opening 6-1 victory.
 
Results
No. 22 Michigan State (2-0) 7, Brown (0-3) 0
Singles
1. Aristotelis Thanos (MSU) def. Alex Finkelstein (BROWN) 6-2, 6-4
2. Sebastien Collard (MSU) def. Noah Hernandez (BROWN) 5-7, 6-4, 6-4
3. Taym Alazmeh (MSU) def. Alex Koong (BROWN) 6-2, 4-6, 6-3
4. Graydon Lair (MSU) def. Zander Bravo (BROWN) 6-3, 6-3
5. Josh Portnoy (MSU) def. Chun Lam (BROWN) 7-6 [7-1], 6-1
6. Luke Baylis (MSU) def. Brian Chong (BROWN) 6-2, 6-1
 
Doubles
1. Ronald Hohmann III/Taym Alazmeh (MSU) def. Noah Hernandez/Chun Lam (BROWN) 6-2
2. Graydon Lair/Sebastien Collard (MSU) vs. Zander Bravo/Alex Finkelstein (BROWN) 4-4, unfinished
3. Josh Portnoy/Reed Crocker (MSU) def. Sam Feldman/Alex Koong (BROWN) 6-3
 
Order of finish: Doubles (1,3); Singles (6,1,4,5,3,2)
 
No. 22 Michigan State (1-0) 6, Western Michigan (1-1) 1
Singles
1. No. 12 Ronald Hohmann III (MSU) def. Benjamin George (WMU) 6-7 [5-7], 6-4, 1-0 (10-4)
2. Anton Arzhankin (WMU) def. Aristotelis Thanos (MSU) 6-4, 6-4
3. Sebastien Collard (MSU) def. Ashton Adesoro (WMU) 1-6, 6-1, 6-3
4. Taym Alazmeh (MSU) def. Matej Kajzer (WMU) 6-1, 6-3
5. David Saye (MSU) def. Dimitri Moriarty (WMU) 6-2, 6-2
6. No. 116 Graydon Lair (MSU) def. Adrian Quiros (WMU) 6-2, 6-2
 
Doubles
1. Aristotelis Thanos/Taym Alazmeh (MSUM) def. Jackson Boone/Drew Evans (WMU) 6-3
2. Sebastien Collard/Graydon Lair (MSUM) def. Matej Kajzer/Anton Arzhankin (WMU) 6-3
3. David Saye/Ronald Hohmann III (MSU) vs. Benjamin George/Ferdinand Schlueter (WMU) 5-4, unfinished
 
Order of finish: Doubles (1,2); Singles (4,6,5,2,3,1)