MSU Gears Up for Big Ten Tournament
4/22/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
EAST LANSING, Mich. - Michigan State (13-15, 4-7) will head to Champaign, Illinois, this week for the 2015 Big Ten Men's Tennis Tournament as the No. 7 seed.
MSU comes into the tournament having won its last two matches, against Purdue and No. 44 Indiana. The two conference wins allowed the Spartans to jump from No. 11 to No. 7 in the Big Ten.
One round will be played each day, starting with the first round on Thursday and culminating in the finals on Sunday. When asked how he prepares for the conference tournament, head coach Gene Orlando gave a simple answer.
"By winning our last two matches," Orlando said with a chuckle. "Just using the momentum from this past weekend to carry over into the Big Ten Tournament. It's a new season, and we are going to see what we can do." Michigan State has Nebraska (10-13, 3-8), the No. 10 seed, in its first-round match on Thursday at 3 p.m. ET. The Huskers defeated the Spartans in Lincoln, Nebraska, earlier this season, 4-3. It was Nebraska's first-ever win in the series, and the Spartans are eager for payback. Live stats will be available at fightingillini.com. "It's definitely better this way as opposed to the other way," Orlando said. "The pressure is on them because they beat us earlier this season, and I'm really excited for our guys because they have really grown since that match. No. 12 Ohio State, the No. 2 seed, is waiting in the next round after earning a bye.
"We have been steady all year," Orlando said. "I definitely like having the confidence and the ability to go through the daily grind with wins, because the energy is a little bit higher. I like where we are, and we are excited for another opportunity to go out and play."
Spartans in the Rankings
Harry Jadun and John Patrick Mullane are ranked No. 19 in the nation in doubles.
Last Time Out
Michigan State beat Purdue and No. 44 Indiana by a combined score of 11-3.
The Spartans really stepped up their game; four players won all the matches they finished (Gijs Linders, Doug Zade, Brett Forman and Jasper Koenen). What to Expect from the Nebraska Cornhuskers
Nebraska owns victories over No. 51 Denver, Creighton, Eastern Illinois, Michigan, Michigan State, Omaha, Purdue, Santa Clara, South Dakota State and UMKC. The Huskers have losses to No. 3 Illinois, No. 12 Ohio State, No. 23 Minnesota, No. 29 Oklahoma State, No. 30 Northwestern, No. 31 Drake, No. 44 Indiana, No. 47 SMU, No. 48 Penn State, No. 51 Oregon, No. 64 Wichita State, No. 70 Iowa and Wisconsin. Nebraska has the No. 111 singles player in the nation in Dusty Boyer.
Players Mentioned
