Men's Tennis ITA Bound

Oct. 21, 2015

EAST LANSING, Mich. -

The Michigan State men's tennis team will head to Notre Dame, Indiana, to compete in the ITA Midwest Regionals beginning on Thursday, Oct. 22.

The Spartans weren't taking practice lightly in the week coming into competition. Michigan State head coach Gene Orlando watched quietly from the sidelines as his squad scrimmaged one another, stepping in to give guidance when needed.

Sophomore Jasper Koenen's effort is evident during scrimmages as he powers through his serves. Koenen will be one of seven Spartans competing in singles along with three doubles teams at Notre Dame.

Meanwhile, freshmen Ivan Rakic and Billy Shisler, former doubles partners, test one another on the opposite end of the court. Rakic finished the highest out of any of his teammates in the Spartans' first outing of the season at the Vredevelt Invitational, finishing second in Flight E. Shisler followed up by winning third in Flight D.

Shisler said his finish was gratifying in the sense of it felt like his hard work in preparation for the previous tournament had paid off.

"[My finish] was the culmination of all our hard work," Shisler said. "To have that pay off was a great feeling."

Shisler, originally from Miami, Florida, said that for him, personally, he still is adjusting to the differences in speed of play between the South and the North.

"The game is so much quicker here," he said. "It's just working on my short-game or takebacks. I really need to move my feet so I can be in the best position to hit the ball."

The doubles pair of junior Mac Roy and sophomore Michael Dube will hope to redeem themselves after finishing third back in September. Dube said that he hopes to perfect his personal game in order to help the duo.

"I think [I need to work on] just perfecting my game really," Dube said. "Making the other person play. Making balls. Just trying to grind [my opponents] down. Also, just being more aggressive while trying to use my forehand to take advantage of short balls."

Orlando said that he has focused on mentoring individuals on their personal game in preparation for the tournament.

"We're trying to work on improving each individual's game," he said. "Trying to develop their strengths and improve on the shots that let them down in the last tournament."

Orlando praised his freshmen for responding well to the transition to the collegiate level of play.

Regionals will be redshirt freshman Alex Kim's first competition of the season.

The Oct. 22 qualifying round for singles has been announced.

Colin Harvey vs. Nick Dykema (Marquette) 8:00 A.M.

Billy Shisler vs. Carl Hedstrom (UIC) 9:00 A.M.

Alexander Kim vs. Matthew Kritzinger (YSU) 10:00 A.M.

Ivan Rakic vs. Ben Slade (Cleveland State) 9:30 A.M.