MTen Heads to Tenn. for ITA Kick-Off Weekend
1/28/2012 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
Jan. 28, 2012
EAST LANSING, Mich. - After starting out the dual season 3-0 MSU dropped their first matches of the season last weekend against two top-ranked opponents. The Spartans look to bounce back this weekend while traveling to Knoxville, Tenn. to take on the No. 24 Volunteers. The Spartans will face off against the Volunteers on Sunday Jan. 29 at 2:00 p.m. before a match against either Oklahoma or Mississippi the following day.
Tennessee Scouting
Tennessee enters the tournament on a two-match win streak over Memphis and Eastern Kentucky after opening the season with a loss. The Volunteers currently sit at No. 24 in the ITA rankings following a strong fall season. MSU is 0-2 all-time against Tennessee with the last loss coming in 2006.
Last Time Out
Last weekend the Spartans dropped their first dual meet of the season, at home, against No. 16 Mississippi State. They then traveled to Indianapolis where they split matches, falling to Kentucky before picking up a win against IUPUI. The Spartans dropped their first matches versus ranked opponents this season, losing 5-2 to No. 16 Mississippi State and 6-1 against No. 7 Kentucky. However, MSU was able to bounce back with a win versus IUPUI sweeping the Jaguars, 7-0 in their last match of the day.
Conference Kudos
The Spartans have picked up two weekly Big Ten awards this season with the most recent recipient being Denis Bogatov two weeks ago. The Gurnee, Ill. native notched a 2-0 singles and 2-0 doubles record on Jan 14 and helped the Spartans improve to 3-0 in dual action in their tripleheader against Bradley, Morehead State and Wright State.
Earlier this season, Aaron Pfister also picked up an individual Big Ten accolade after being crowned the conference's indoor champion in Iowa City in November 2011. The sophomore went undefeated, posting a perfect 6-0 on his way to winning the title and also advanced to the final round of the Flight A doubles draw during the invite.
Next Up
Following the ITA Kick-Off Weekend Tournament, the Spartans return home to take on Detroit and Toledo in dual matches scheduled for Feb. 4 at the MSU Indoor Tennis Facility.
Players Mentioned
