Men's Tennis Travels To Michigan Wednesday
4/2/2002 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
April 2, 2002
EAST LANSING, Mich. -
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No. 54 Michigan State Spartans(13-6 overall, 1-3 Big Ten)Head coach Gene Orlando, 14th SeasonCareer: 154-192, MSU: 123-152.This week for the Spartans:Wed. @ Michigan, Sat. @ OSU, Sun. @ PSU.No. 46 University of Michigan(10-5 overall, 1-3 Big Ten)Head coach Mark Mees, 3rd SeasonThis week for the Wolverines:Wed. vs. MSU, Sat. @ PSU, Sun. @ OSU.No. 14 Ohio State University(14-2 overall, 4-0 Big Ten)Head coach Ty Tucker, 3rd SeasonThis week for the Buckeyes:Wed. @ Louisville, Sat. vs. MSU,Sun. vs. Michigan.Penn State University(7-9 overall, 0-4 Big Ten)Head coach Jan Bortner, 20th SeasonThis week for the Nittany Lions:Sat. vs. Michigan, Sun. vs. MSU.
NOTE: New rankings will be made available Wednesday afternoon on ITA's website, www.itatennis.com.
NEXT IN LINE: No. 54 Michigan State enters a pivotal week that could determine where it stands compared to the rest of the Big Ten. The Spartans will look to end its ten-match losing streak to the No. 46 Wolverines Wednesday in Ann Arbor. Both teams have 1-3 records in the Big Ten, but UM is coming off a 4-3 upset of No. 4 Notre Dame. MSU then travels to No. 14 Ohio State Saturday and Penn State Sunday. The Buckeyes are currently tied with Illinois and Northwestern for the top spot in the conference and boast three nationally-ranked players in No. 20 Phil Metz, No. 29 Jeremy Wurtzman and No. 100 Adrian Bohane. They have shutout MSU the past two seasons after falling to the Spartans in 1999, 4-3. The Nittany Lions, meanwhile, sit tied with Indiana for last in the Big Ten but are led by No. 68 Jamie Gresh who has helped his team pick up wins against Toledo and Florida A&M. Last season's victory over PSU was Michigan State's only win against a Big Ten foe.
SUMMARY OF WESTERN MICHIGAN, NO. 17 MINNESOTA: Suffering a 7-0 loss in 2001, State returned the favor to Western Michigan by picking up its 13th win of the year in a 6-1 win March 27. MSU won two of the three doubles matches and five close singles points for the victory. Unfortunately for MSU, its four-match win streak was snapped by Minnesota March 29 in a 7-0 loss to the Golden Gophers. Sophomores Chris Mitchell and Eric Simonton won the Spartans' only match of the evening at No. 2 doubles.
INTERESTING FACTS ON THE CURRENT SEASON:
Home: 10-3 Winning Doubles Point: 11-8Away: 3-3 Versus Ranked Teams: 3-6Day (Before 4): 7-5 Versus Regional Teams: 10-4Night (After 4): 6-1 January: 4-0Non-Conference: 12-3 February: 3-4Big Ten: 1-3 March: 6-2