Men's Tennis Releases Tough 2005-06 Schedule
8/26/2005 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
Aug. 26, 2005
East Lansing, Mich. - Michigan State men's tennis announces its 2005-06 schedule, with its first competition set for Sept. 23 at the ATP/Kings Island College Classic in Cincinnati, Ohio. The Spartans will compete in three tournaments this fall, before hosting Big Ten Indoors Nov. 11-14.
"It will be nice for Spartan fans to be able to see the team play at home twice this fall, said head coach Gene Orlando, who is entering into his 15th year at State. "Obviously, the highlight will be the Big Ten Indoors, with the best players in the Big Ten coming to East Lansing to square off in the singles championships."
State, which posted a 12-12 record (4-6 Big Ten) last season, will be facing another tough schedule this year, as they are set to compete against 12 teams ranked in the ITA top 75 last year. With the loss of three seniors, State will have a young roster with only one senior, two juniors, four sophomores and four freshman.
"We're excited about the schedule," said Orlando. "With the loss of our number one and two guys, I'm looking to sophomore Nick Rinks, juniors Joe McWilliams and Mike Flowers, and senior Mike Brown to step up this year."
Orlando will also look to incoming freshman Alex Forger (Okemos, Mich.), Scott Rasmussen (Moraga, Calif.), John Allare (Cincinnati, Ohio) and Howard Migdal (West Bloomfield, Mich.) to help MSU to a successful year.
State will kick off dual-match competition with seven home matches, beginning with Northern Illinois on Jan. 14, followed by a double-header Jan. 21 against Wright State and William and Mary (No. 62). The Green and White will then face Tennessee (No. 11), Rice (No. 38), and Ball State before heading to South Bend, Ind. to compete against Notre Dame (No. 37) on Feb. 15. The Spartans will return home for competition against Western Michigan on Feb. 18.
MSU opens up Big Ten competition against Wisconsin on the road, on Feb. 24, followed by another conference match up against Northwestern (No. 47) in Illinois on Feb. 25. The Green and White will continue on the road against Brown (No. 40) March 4 and Harvard (No. 42) March 5. State is then set to face in-state rival Michigan (No. 54) in Ann Arbor on March 17.
The Green and White returns home March 25 to face another double-header vs. Butler and Cleveland State. The Spartans will close out the season with seven conference match ups, beginning at home against Iowa on April 1 and Minnesota (No. 53), April 2. State will visit Illinois (No. 6) on April 8 and then Purdue on April 9. In its last home match-up of the year, the Spartans will face Ohio State (No. 24) on April 15. State will finish out the year on the road against Indiana (No. 58) on April 21 and Penn State April 23. The Big Ten Championships will be held in Minneapolis, Minn., from April 27-30.
Players Mentioned
