EAST LANSING, Mich. – The Michigan State men's tennis team rallied past Drake, 4-3, Saturday at the MSU Indoor Tennis Center.
The match between the Spartans and Bulldogs marked the first home sporting event for Michigan State Athletics since a mass shooting on the East Lansing campus on Monday, Feb. 13, when three students were killed and five were hospitalized.
Michigan State players wore "Spartan Strong" shirts during warm-ups, and Drake's team wore green warm-up shirts with the Bulldog logo in honor of MSU.
"Just like everybody, our guys had a wide range of emotions and reactions throughout the week, and they're still processing everything that happened," said MSU head coach Harry Jadun. "For them, I think, just getting out here and competing – we wore the special 'Spartan Strong' shirts during warm-ups – they played a little bit more inspired. Having the community out here, to kind of envelop them and just surround them, was really special. That's what Spartans do – you saw it all week long. Just the community coming together to lift ourselves through this was a really special moment."
The match was originally scheduled for Wednesday (Feb. 15) but was postponed until Saturday morning.
Drake (7-5) took a 1-0 lead by winning the doubles point on the No. 2 and No. 3 courts, but the Spartans quickly went up 2-1 as Graydon Lair swept past Reid Jarvis at No. 5 singles, 6-1, 6-1, and Luke Bayliss defeated Olle Sonesson Lidholt on the fourth court, 6-4, 6-4.
The back-and-forth affair continued as Drake reclaimed the lead, 3-2, following victories at No. 6 and No. 2 singles. David Saye fell to Will Blevins on the sixth court, 7-5, 6-4, and Anthony Pero dropped a 7-5, 6-4 decision to Evan Fragistats.
At No. 3 singles, Max Sheldon rallied to win the final two sets over Oliver Johansson to tie the dual at 3-3. After falling in the first set, 6-4, Sheldon came back to take the second set, 6-1, and outlasted Johansson in the third, 6-4.
The dual came down to the top court in a matchup of nationally ranked players, as No. 31 Ozan Baris, making his home debut, beat No. 68 Jeremy Schifris in three sets to clinch the victory for the Spartans. In a long first set, Baris won in a tiebreaker, 7-6 (7-5), to give him the early advantage. Although Baris dropped the second set, 6-3, with the match on the line, he controlled the third set, 6-1, to earn the ranked victory.
Following the match, Drake's men's tennis coach Davidson Kozlowski presented Jadun with a green Drake tennis shirt.
"Hats off to Drake, they were super classy throughout the whole week and accommodating us and moving the match to a later date," said Jadun. "I got emotional when they showed up and their coaches were wearing green shirts with the Drake logo on it. I thought that was a really special touch by them. I just appreciate them coming here and supporting us and the community. For them as well, it's about more than tennis. They were able to see past just this one sporting event and see that it's about humanity and a community that's reeling and is recovering from tragic events."
Michigan State (4-4) is scheduled to return to action on Friday, March 3 vs. Western Michigan.
Michigan State players wore "Spartan Strong" shirts during warm-ups, and Drake's team wore green warm-up shirts with the Bulldog logo in honor of MSU.
