Men's Tennis Wraps up Nonconference Schedule Friday

EAST LANSING, Mich. - Michigan State men's tennis returns to its home court this weekend for two matches inside the MSU Indoor Tennis Center.

The Spartans take on a pair of nonconference foes in Xavier and Niagara on March 18, starting with a match against the Musketeers at noon.

LAST TIME OUT
Michigan State spent last week at the Arizona State Spring Break Tournament in Tempe, where they had the opportunity to compete in extra nonconference matches before Big Ten play begins next Saturday.

The Spartans went 1-2 on the weekend, with a win against Idaho in their final match of the tournament. MSU suffered tough losses to ranked squads Princeton and Tulane in the first two days of competition.

Sunday was a bright spot, however, as the Green & White defeated Idaho, 4-2. Despite dropping the doubles decision, MSU picked up wins on four of six singles courts to secure the victory. Freshman Max Sheldon earned his first career win at No. 2 singles, defeating Idaho's Francisco Bascon 6-2, 6-4. Sheldon improved to a 15-8 overall record in singles action. At No. 4, Luke Baylis took on Matteo Masala and came away with a 7-5, 6-3 win.

Carson Gates batled to extra points against Mario Duron in the first set, winning 7-5 before quickly wrapping up the match with a 6-1 win in the second set. At No. 6, Anthony Pero picked up a smooth win with a 6-1, 6-1 besting of Vivek Ramesh.

COACH ORLANDO'S THOUGHTS
"Our two final nonconference matches of the season before heading into Big Ten play are here.

Xavier and Niagara are two formidable opponents, and both matches will be a great challenge for our team. We are excited about the opportunities and to get to play back home again."

IN THE RANKINGS
The Spartans made their first appearance in the ITA Tennis rankings this month, taking the No. 75 spot in the team rankings on March 1. In week two, MSU held on to their No. 75 ranking after a sweep of Marquette and Butler on March 5.

The last time Michigan State cracked the ITA rankings was when the doubles team of Kazuki Matsuno and Nick Williams were No. 47 in the ITA doubles rankings in April of 2021. The pair were ranked as high as 38th in the country that spring.

SERIES HISTORY
MSU is 6-1 all-time against Xavier with an undefeated 5-0 mark in matches played at home. On Jan. 13, 2019, the Spartans defeated the Musketeers 4-2 in East Lansing.

Michigan State has faced Niagara three times in the past, with Spartan victories in every match. Last time out, MSU swept the Purple Eagles with a 7-0 victory at home on Jan. 25, 2020.

UP NEXT
Michigan State begins conference play next weekend with a pair of matches at home. They will take on Big Ten foe Wisconsin on March 25 at 3 p.m., followed by a hosting of Nebraska on March 27 at noon.

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Players Mentioned

Luke Baylis

Carson Gates

Kazuki Matsuno

Anthony Pero

Max Sheldon

Nick Williams