Men's Tennis Continues Play on the Road with Drake, New Mexico This Weekend

EAST LANSING, Mich. - After a week off, Michigan State men's tennis returns to action this weekend with a pair of duals in Des Moines, Iowa. The Spartans will face Drake on Friday, Feb. 21 at 6 p.m. CT and take on New Mexico in a neutral contest on Sunday, Feb. 23 inside Drake's Roger Knapp Center.

MSU is coming off a set of home duals with Western Michigan (Feb. 7) and Arizona State (Feb. 9). The Spartans went 1-1 on the weekend with a thrilling 4-3 win over in-state foe Western Michigan before falling to Pac 12 opponent Arizona State, 7-0.

QUOTE FROM COACH ORLANDO

"We are excited to play two great teams in Drake and New Mexico this Weekend in Des Moines, Iowa. Both teams, the last time we played them last year, got the best of us. We are treating this weekend like every other match. We will play our game, stay in the moment every point and out-compete our opponents. If we can do this, I like our chances this weekend."

ABOUT THE SPARTANS

The Spartans enter the weekend with a 4-4 overall record and 4-1 mark at home. MSU has wins over Toledo, Ball State, Niagara and Western Michigan with losses to Middle Tennessee, Penn, Cornell and Arizona State. Sophomore Anthony Pero leads the Green and White with four singles wins, primarily in the second flight. Pero is 1-2 against nationally ranked opponents, including a win over No. 124 Kennosuke Nouchi of Western Michigan. Sophomore Carson Gates and junior Josh Mukherjee have three wins in singles in flights two through six. In doubles, the Spartans are led by freshman Kazuki Matsuno and Mukherjee, with four dual wins in flight three.

SPARTANS WIN THRILLER OVER WESTERN MICHIGAN

The Spartans clinched the doubles point and finished with singles wins on courts two, four and five to knock off Western Michigan, 4-3, Friday at the MSU Indoor Facility. MSU improved to 61-33 all-time against the Broncos and collected its first win over WMU since Jan. 14, 2017 (4-3). Michigan State and Western Michigan battled for the doubles point after splitting wins on the first two courts. Matsuno and Mukherjee clinched the point with a 7-6(1) win on court three over Rodrigo Crespo and Arjun Honnappa. Three courts went to tiebreakers in the first set of singles action, with the Spartans gaining the upper hand in all three. Freshman Jarreau Campbell, Pero and Mukjerhee provided the Spartans with singles wins. Mukherjee clinched the match on court fourt with a 7-6 (7), 4-6, 6-1 win over Crespo.

SCOUTING DRAKE

Drake enters the weekend 2-10 overall and is coming off a 4-3 win over DePaul on Sunday, Feb. 16 in Des Moines. Oliver Johansson leads the Bulldogs with a 5-2 singles record in flights one through four. Johansson and Matija Matic are 4-1 in doubles, primarily on court two. Drake leads the head-to-head series, 3-1, with MSU's last win coming on Feb. 2, 2018 (4-3 at Drake).

SCOUTING NEW MEXICO

The Lobos are riding a three-match win streak with wins over BYU, Northern Colorado and most recently, Utah (4-3 in Albuquerque). New Mexico is led in singles by Facundo Bermejo and Sergio Molina with three wins. Bermejo is 11-7 overall on the season (8-5 in tournaments). The Lobos have used mutliple lineups in doubles action, with the tandem of Alex Maggs and Stepan Holis leading the way. Four different duos hold 1-0 records. New Mexico is 3-0 at home and 0-2 in neutral contests. The Spartans and Lobos have met three times in the all-time series, with New Mexico holding a 3-0 advantage. New Mexico defeated Michigan State, 4-0, in Des Moines, Iowa, on Feb. 3, 2018.

Up Next

After the two-match road tilt, the Spartans return home to host Brown on Saturday, Feb. 29. Action is slated to beging at 12 p.m. inside the MSU Indoor Tennis Facility.