Men's Tennis Releases Eventful 2003-04 Schedule
8/27/2003 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
Aug. 27, 2003
EAST LANSING, Mich. - The Michigan State men's tennis team announced it would be hosting one fall tournament, 17 spring dual matches and the 2004 Big Ten Championships this season where it will be looking to build on its 2003 record of 15-12.
After traveling to the Tom Fallon Invitational at Notre Dame Oct. 3-5 and the Michigan Invitational Oct. 10-12, MSU will host the ITA Midwest Regional Tournament with play opening on Oct. 23. It will be the second time in three years the Region IV Championships will be held at the MSU Indoor Tennis Facility. The Spartans will finish the fall by heading back to Ann Arbor for the Big Ten Indoor Singles Championships Nov. 15-17.
The spring dual match season will get underway Jan. 17 with a home doubleheader against Toledo and Wright State beginning at 10 a.m. State, who finished No. 57 in the nation last spring, will see its first visit by a ranked team Jan. 31 when the No. 53 Louisville Cardinals (all rankings are from the end of the 2003 spring season) invade East Lansing. The following day, No. 30 Wake Forest highlights another doubleheader with Valparaiso completing the afternoon.
Michigan State will hit the road for the first time since the fall on Feb. 14 by meeting No. 4 Vanderbilt in Columbus, Ohio, and then traveling to Xavier that night. Its spring break trip will consist of meetings with No. 75 California-Irvine and No. 26 Pepperdine.
March 26 marks the opening of MSU's Big Ten campaign with a trip back to Columbus, but this time to battle Ohio State. The annual Wednesday, 6 p.m. match-up with Michigan occurs March 31 in Ann Arbor while the defending NCAA champion Illinois comes to Michigan State April 17.
For the first time since 1997, MSU will host the 2004 Big Ten Championships from April 29 to May 2. The Spartans reached the semifinals last season only to fall to eventual winner Illinois.
State will be returning four of its six singles players in Andrew Formanczyk, Chris Mitchell, Cameron Marshall and Eric Simonton and bringing in two freshmen: Michael Flowers from Memphis, Tenn., and Aurora, Ill., native Joseph McWilliams.
2003-04 Men's Tennis ScheduleOctober3-5 Notre Dame Invitational South Bend, Ind.10-12 Michigan Invitational Ann Arbor, Mich.23-29 ITA Midwest Regionals East Lansing, Mich.November15-17 Big Ten Indoors Ann Arbor, Mich.January17 Toledo East Lansing, Mich. 10 a.m. Wright State East Lansing, Mich. 4 p.m.24 Butler East Lansing, Mich. 10 a.m. Cleveland State East Lansing, Mich. 4 p.m.31 Louisville East Lansing, Mich. 12 p.m.February1 Wake Forest East Lansing, Mich. 12 p.m. Valparaiso East Lansing, Mich. 5 p.m.14 Vanderbilt Columbus, Ohio 12 p.m. Xavier Cincinnati, Ohio 5 p.m.21 Brown East Lansing, Mich. 12 p.m. Dayton East Lansing, Mich. 5 p.m.28 Ball State East Lansing, Mich. 12 p.m. Wisconsin-Green Bay East Lansing, Mich. 4 p.m.March2 Notre Dame South Bend, Ind. 3:30 p.m.9 UC-Irvine Irvine, Calif. 2 p.m.10 Pepperdine Malibu, Calif. 2 p.m.20 Western Michigan East Lansing, Mich. 12 p.m. IPFW East Lansing, Mich. 4 p.m.26 Ohio State Columbus, Ohio 6 p.m.28 Penn State State College, Penn. 12 p.m.31 Michigan Ann Arbor, Mich. 6 p.m.April3 Iowa East Lansing, Mich. 12 p.m.4 Minnesota East Lansing, Mich. 12 p.m.9 Indiana Bloomington, Ind. 2 p.m.17 Illinois East Lansing, Mich. 12 p.m.18 Purdue East Lansing, Mich. 12 p.m.24 Wisconsin Madison, Wis. 12 p.m.25 Northwestern Evanston, Ill. 12 p.m.April 29-May 2 Big Ten Championships East Lansing, Mich.May-15-16 NCAA Regionals TBAMay 22-30 NCAA Championships Tulsa, Okla.
Players Mentioned
