Men's Tennis Announces Challenging 2004-05 Schedule

Aug. 5, 2004

EAST LANSING, Mich. - While the 2003-04 Michigan State men's tennis season ended only 67 days ago, it released its 2004-05 schedule Thursday (Aug. 5) with its first competition set for Oct. 1. The Spartans are coming off a 17-13 record last year and will be staring at a schedule that includes 16 of 23 teams that finished at .500 or better. It also boasts nine 2004 NCAA Tournament representatives and 14 squads ranked in the top 75 one year ago. Those numbers may rise when head coach Gene Orlando finalizes his spring break trip that will be determined at a later date. MSU's first order of business begins with fall tournament action and the ITA All-American Championships in Chattanooga, Tenn. State has sent two players in each of the last two years to compete in the nationally renowned tournament that includes the top players from all over the country. The Spartans also will travel to Ann Arbor, Mich., to take part in the Michigan Invitational and the ITA Midwest Regional as well to Evanston, Ill., for the Big Ten Singles Indoor Championships. The dual-match season opens up at home with a doubleheader against Northern Illinois and Wright State Jan. 15. After hosting Marquette and Cleveland State a week later, the Green and White hit the road for five straight matches beginning Jan. 29. State's first trip occurs in Spokane, Wash., against New Mexico (ranked No. 65 last year) and then Washington (No. 26) the following day. MSU returns to Michigan Feb. 6 in a doubleheader in Kalamazoo against defending MAC champion Western Michigan (No. 59) and Valparaiso. Finally, State visits Columbus, Ohio, Feb. 13 for a showdown with Arkansas (No. 24). The Razorbacks advanced to the Sweet Sixteen last year, their first appearance past the second round since 1986. "Wow. That should be fun," remarked Orlando, who enters his 14th season at the helm of the tennis program and guided the 2003-04 Spartans to a No. 53 national ranking. "This is a quality national schedule. I just like playing a lot of different teams and ones that will get you to the NCAA tournament. Arkansas helps make it a pretty good mix. I just try to put teams together where the tougher the schedule is, the better changes of you getting to the tournament." East Lansing will be the site of Michigan State's next four matches including the Big Ten opener. Notre Dame (No. 33), Cornell, Wisconsin and Northwestern (No. 41) all travel to mid-Michigan before spring break March 4-11. To wrap up the non-conference schedule, the Spartans visit Ball State March 18 and Louisville (No. 40) March 20. The annual Wednesday night match-up with Michigan (No. 55) falls on March 23. State also hosts an Illinois team that is coming off a 32-1 season and a No. 2 ranking, as well as Purdue (No. 60), Penn State (No. 64) and Indiana (No. 61) this year. The 2005 Big Ten Championships will be played at the University of Illinois April 28-May 1.

2004-05 Michigan State Men's Tennis Schedule
Date            Event					Site
Oct. 1-10       ITA All-American Championships          Chattanooga, Tenn.
Oct. 15-17      Michigan Invitational                   Ann Arbor, Mich.
Oct. 21-26      ITA Midwest Regional                    Ann Arbor, Mich.
Nov. 13-15      Big Ten Singles Indoor Championships    Evanston, Ill.
Jan. 15         NORTHERN ILLINOIS                       EAST LANSING, MICH.
                WRIGHT STATE                            EAST LANSING, MICH.
Jan. 22         MARQUETTE                               EAST LANSING, MICH.
                CLEVELAND STATE                         EAST LANSING, MICH.
Jan. 29         New Mexico                              Spokane, Wash.
Jan. 30         Washington                              Spokane, Wash.
Feb. 6          Western Michigan                        Kalamazoo, Mich.
                Valparaiso                              Kalamazoo, Mich.
Feb. 13         Arkansas                                Columbus, Ohio
Feb. 16         NOTRE DAME                              EAST LANSING, MICH.
Feb. 19         CORNELL                                 EAST LANSING, MICH.
Feb. 26         WISCONSIN                               EAST LANSING, MICH.
Feb. 27         NORTHWESTERN                            EAST LANSING, MICH.
March 4-11      Spring Break                            TBA
March 18        Ball State                              Muncie, Ind.
March 20        Louisville                              Louisville, Ky.
March 23        MICHIGAN                                EAST LANSING, MICH.
April 1         Iowa                                    Iowa City, Iowa
April 3         Minnesota                               Minneapolis, Minn.
April 9         ILLINOIS                                EAST LANSING, MICH.
April 10        PURDUE                                  EAST LANSING, MICH.
April 17        Ohio State                              Columbus, Ohio
April 23        PENN STATE                              EAST LANSING, MICH.
April 24        INDIANA                                 EAST LANSING, MICH.
April 28-May 1  Big Ten Championships                   Champaign, Ill.
May 13-15       NCAA Regionals                          TBA
May 22-30       NCAA Championships                      Athens, Ga.

Home Matches in CAPS
Dates and Sites Subject to Change
(All Times TBA)

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