Two MSU veteran tennis players traveled to the International Tennis Association’s All-American Championships with very different results.Senior Philippe Frayssinoux and junior Martina Banikova competed for the singles’ titles at the All-American, an annual tournament that showcases the NCAA’s top tennis players.
Banikova made her first appearance in the ITA All-American.
She competed on Oct. 2 in the Hard Court Championships in Pacific Palisades, Calif.
Frayssinoux competed in the championships on Thursday and Friday in Tulsa, Okla.
In a two-set match, 29th-ranked Banikova dropped a tight decision to Indiana State’s 57th-ranked Jennifer Migan. Migan defeated Banikova with a close 7-5 score in the first set.
Banikova was defeated again in the second set by a 6-4 score.
Banikova will join her teammates in the next match of the women’s season at the ITA South Region Indoor Championships in Athens, Ga., on Oct. 20.
On Thursday, 40th-ranked Frayssinoux defeated two top 40 competitors.
In Round 16, Frayssinoux pulled a 6-2, 6-4 win over 39th-ranked Alex Skrypko of Southern Methodist University.
“He was matched up with two tough opponents, but he responded well and played some really good tennis,” men’s tennis head coach Per Nilsson said. “Now, he just has to keep his level of play and intensity up.”
Frayssinoux continued his winning streak with a defeat over No. 6 Bryan Koniecko of Ohio State in a two-set match by scores of 7-5 and 6-4.
With his victory, Frayssinoux moved into Friday’s Round of 16 at the Michael D. Case Tennis Complex on the University of Tulsa campus.
Following his victory over Koniecko, Frayssinoux moved to 10-1 in singles competition on the season with seven victories over highly-ranked competitors.
During that stretch, Frayssinoux had not dropped a set.
Unfortunately, Frayssinoux’s winning streak came to an end when he dropped a 6-1, 7-5 decision to Stanford’s 11th-ranked freshman Alex Clayton.
Frayssinoux’s 2007 fall season record dropped to 10-2 with the loss.
“I was pleased with the way Philippe battled today,” Nilsson said.
Frayssinoux’s Friday competition was the first time a Bulldog has reached Round 16 of the ITA All-American Championships since Romain Ambert in 2003.
Frayssinoux and the men’s tennis team will continue their season at the ITA Southeast Region Indoor Championships in Lexington, Ky., later this month.