Sunday, February 20
East Lansing, MI
11 AM
Michigan State University
2
vs
5
Middle Tennessee
Men's Tennis Falls to Middle Tennessee State, 5-2
2/20/2022 12:28:00 PM | Men's Tennis
EAST LANSING, MICH. -- Michigan State men's tennis fell 5-2 in a battle agianst Middle Tennesee State on Sunday, February 20 in East Lansing. The match was highlighted by a big win at No. 1 singles and a freshman victory on the No. 5 court.
With the loss, the Spartans move to 7-2 on the season, while Middle Tennessee State improves its record to 11-3.
The Blue Raiders stole the doubles point from Michigan State with wins at No. 1 and 2 doubles, leaving the match on court three unfinished. On the top court, Kazuki Matsuno and Nick Williams fell to Oskar Poulsen and Francisco Rocha by a 6-0 margin, as did Max Sheldon and Carson Gates against their opponents at No. 2
Singles action opened with two more wins for the visitors. First off the court was Graydon Lair, having suffered a 6-1, 6-1 defeat to MTSU's Chris Edge. Not long after, Carson Gates was off court two with a 6-2, 6-2 loss to Rocha.
The highlight of the day was senior Jack Winkler's win over Stjin Slump at No. 1 singles. Winkler won in an upset victory over nationally-ranked Slump, who currently sits at No. 61 in the ITA singles rankings. After winning his first set 6-3, Winkler battled through a back-and-forth second set to earn a 6-3 advantage and seal the win. With the victory, Winkler improved his overall singles record to 7-9 on the season.
The Spartans picked up their second win of the day on the No. 5 court. Freshman Max Sheldon pushed his first set against MTSU's Poulsen into extra-point territory before coming away with a 7-5 win. He closed out the second set with a 6-4 win and improved to 13-7 in singles action this season.
The final match of the day was a fight for the tiebreaker victory at No. 6 between Nick Williams and Pavel Motl of Middle Tennessee State. Motl took the first set 6-4, but Williams refused to go down without a fight. Pushing the second set to a tiebreaker at 6-6, Williams battled back and forth with his opponent. Motl earned the tiebreaker point, however, with a 7-4 win.
Men's tennis hits the road next Saturday, February 26 for a match against Ball State. Competition is set to begin at 1 p.m. at the Northwest YMCA in Muncie, Indiana.
With the loss, the Spartans move to 7-2 on the season, while Middle Tennessee State improves its record to 11-3.
The Blue Raiders stole the doubles point from Michigan State with wins at No. 1 and 2 doubles, leaving the match on court three unfinished. On the top court, Kazuki Matsuno and Nick Williams fell to Oskar Poulsen and Francisco Rocha by a 6-0 margin, as did Max Sheldon and Carson Gates against their opponents at No. 2
Singles action opened with two more wins for the visitors. First off the court was Graydon Lair, having suffered a 6-1, 6-1 defeat to MTSU's Chris Edge. Not long after, Carson Gates was off court two with a 6-2, 6-2 loss to Rocha.
The highlight of the day was senior Jack Winkler's win over Stjin Slump at No. 1 singles. Winkler won in an upset victory over nationally-ranked Slump, who currently sits at No. 61 in the ITA singles rankings. After winning his first set 6-3, Winkler battled through a back-and-forth second set to earn a 6-3 advantage and seal the win. With the victory, Winkler improved his overall singles record to 7-9 on the season.
The Spartans picked up their second win of the day on the No. 5 court. Freshman Max Sheldon pushed his first set against MTSU's Poulsen into extra-point territory before coming away with a 7-5 win. He closed out the second set with a 6-4 win and improved to 13-7 in singles action this season.
The final match of the day was a fight for the tiebreaker victory at No. 6 between Nick Williams and Pavel Motl of Middle Tennessee State. Motl took the first set 6-4, but Williams refused to go down without a fight. Pushing the second set to a tiebreaker at 6-6, Williams battled back and forth with his opponent. Motl earned the tiebreaker point, however, with a 7-4 win.
Men's tennis hits the road next Saturday, February 26 for a match against Ball State. Competition is set to begin at 1 p.m. at the Northwest YMCA in Muncie, Indiana.
Team Stats
#1 Doubles Match
#2 Doubles Match
#3 Doubles Match
Order of Finish:
2,1
#1 Singles Match
12
SLUMP, Stijn / 0 (61/-) [MTSU]
33
66
#2 Singles Match
12
ROCHA, Francisco / 0 [MTSU]
66
20
#3 Singles Match
12
EDGE, Chris / 0 [MTSU]
66
11
#4 Singles Match
12
HOLIS, Stepan / 0 [MTSU]
66
24
#5 Singles Match
12
POULSEN, Oskar / 0 [MTSU]
54
76
#6 Singles Match
12
MOTL, Pavel / 0 [MTSU]
67
46
Order of Finish:
3,2,1,4,5,6
Players Mentioned
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
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