Michigan State University Athletics
Men's Tennis Prepares For Tough Swing Out West
3/8/2004 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
March 8, 2004
EAST LANSING, Mich. - With the first half of dual-match competition completed, the No. 47 Michigan State men's tennis team has some very interesting dates ahead of it, including two contests in the Los Angeles, Calif., area this week. The Spartans, who hold an 11-3 record thus far, will take on UC-Irvine Tuesday (March 9) at 1:30 p.m. and No. 18 Pepperdine Wednesday (March 10) at 1 p.m. Both times are Pacific Standard Time.
Each match is scheduled to be played outdoors, which will mark the first time in 2004 that MSU heads away from the comfort of an indoor facility. Meanwhile, State currently holds a 1-2 record against non-regional opponents and is 3-3 vs. ranked foes.
"We've had four days of practices and we're still trying to make the adjustments from indoors to outdoors," said head coach Gene Orlando. "We're looking to put our game together and compete well Tuesday and Wednesday. We will have to bring our 'A' game to be ready for these two quality teams."
Those four days of practice included two trips to UC-Irvine's courts, one to Pepperdine's courts and another to the Anaheim Tennis Club, all to prepare for the steamy conditions in the Los Angeles area.
Following the trip out west, Michigan State will battle Western Michigan and IPFW March 20 at home to conclude non-conference action. Those matches will be the final two outside of the Big Ten before the conference opener takes place with Ohio State March 26 in Columbus.
