Michigan State University
Purdue
Spartans Defeat Purdue in Big Ten Tournament First Round
4/27/2023 6:23:00 PM | Men's Tennis
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - Michigan State men's tennis defeated Purdue, 4-1, in the first round of the Big Ten Tournament Thursday afternoon at Indiana's IU Tennis Center in Bloomington, Indiana.
The Spartans moved to 11-13 (3-6 B1G), while Purdue ended its season at 2-20 (0-9).
MSU earned the doubles point with wins on courts one and three. Playing in their first match together since April 1, No. 9-ranked freshman Ozan Baris and sophomore Max Sheldon dominated at No. 1 doubles, defeating Purdue's Tomasz Dudek and Daniel Labrador, 6-0. At No. 3 doubles, junior Graydon Lair and fifth-year senior Anthony Pero defeated the Boilermakers' Julen Morgan and Mujitaba Ali-Khan, 6-4.
The Spartans took a 3-0 lead over the Boilermakers with two-straight singles wins, as junior Luke Baylis earned a win on court three and freshman David Saye secured a victory on court six. Both Baylis and Saye won in straight sets, with Baylis defeating Purdue's Ali-Khan, 6-2, 6-1, and Saye knocking off the Boilermakers' Hassan Baroudi 6-2, 6-2. Saye's win marked his sixth win in his last nine matches.
After dropping a point to the Boilermakers on court two, the Spartans bounced back with a win at No. 1 singles from Ozan Baris to clinch the match. Baris defeated Purdue's Labrador, 6-4, 6-2 to secure the Spartan first-round victory.
The Spartans' matches on courts four and five went unfinished. At No. 4, Pero won his first set over Purdue's Milledge Cosu, 7-6(8), while sophomore Josh Portnoy won his first set over the Boilermakers' Dudek, 6-3, at No. 5.
The Spartans will play No. 2-seed Michigan in a quarterfinal matchup on Friday, April 28. First serve is set for 1:30 p.m. at the IU Tennis Center.
Team Stats
#1 Doubles Match
#2 Doubles Match
#3 Doubles Match
#1 Singles Match
#2 Singles Match
#3 Singles Match
#4 Singles Match
#5 Singles Match
#6 Singles Match
Players Mentioned
