Spartans Return Home Saturday for a Doubleheader with Ball State, Niagara

EAST LANSING, Mich. - Michigan State men's tennis returns home for a doubleheader on Saturday, Jan. 25 against Ball State (10 a.m.) and Niagara (6 p.m.) inside the MSU Indoor Tennis Facility. Free coffee, doughnuts and pizza will be provided throughout the day.

"We are excited for the opportunity to compete at home this weekend against two formidable opponents in Ball State and Niagara," said MSU men's tennis head coach Gene Orlando. "The Ball State match will be extra special since my son Vince is a freshman on the team and will be competing for the Cardinals. It will be a unique a bittersweet father and son clash. I hope my son plays his best tennis ever, but the Spartans play just a little better."

About the Spartans
Michigan State is off to a 1-1 start to begin the 2020 dual slate with a win over Toledo at home on Jan. 11. The win was the 19th-straight home opening win for the Spartans. MSU's loss came to Middle Tennessee, 6-1, on Jan. 17 in Murfreesboro, Tennessee.

Sophomore Anthony Pero leads the Spartans in dual action with a 2-0 singles record and 8-5 overall mark. Fellow sophomore Carson Gates joins junior Josh Mukherjee with a 1-1 mark in singles. Freshman Kazuki Matsuno and Mukherjee lead the Spartans in doubles play with a 2-0 mark in the third flight. Freshman duo Drew Keene and Jarreau Campbell are 1-1 doubles in the second flight.

Scouting Ball State
Ball State is coming off a 6-1 win over Xavier on Jan. 18 in Cincinnati. The Cardinals used wins at the two through six spots in singles and clinched the doubles point on their way to the win. Chris Adams, Parrish Simmons and Vince Orlando lead the Cardinals with two combined wins. Orlando, in his first season at Ball State, is the son of MSU men's tennis head coach Gene Orlando.

Michigan State and Ball State will meet for the 15th time on Saturday, with the Spartans leading the all-time series, 11-3. The Spartans picked up a 4-3 win at Ball State in their last meeting on Jan. 26, 2019.

Scouting Niagara
The Purple Eagles hold a 2-0 record on the season with wins over Rider (5-2) and Daemen College [N.Y.] (7-0). Pere Padro leads Niagara with a 9-2 overall record and a 2-0 clip in dual singles. Manuel Alonso and Bruno Goncalves are 2-0 in singles and hold a 2-0 mark in doubles action as a tandem.

Michigan State leads the all-time series with the Purple Eagles, 2-0. MSU claimed 7-0 wins over Niagara in 2017 and 2018 in East Lansing.

Orlando and Ball State
Orlando was a member of the Ball State men's tennis team from 1984-87, where he won conference titles his junior and season seasons. Along with being honored as the MAC Scholar of the Year in 1987, Orlando was inducted into the Ball State University Athletics Hall of Fame in 1997. Orlando's son, Vince, is a freshman on the men's tennis team at Ball State.

Spartans Return Home Saturday for a Doubleheader with Ball State, Niagara

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Players Mentioned

Jarreau Campbell

Carson Gates

Drew Keene

Kazuki Matsuno

Josh Mukherjee

Anthony Pero