Spartans Defeated in Big Ten Tournament Quarterfinals

MADISON, Wis. - Michigan State men's tennis ended its run in the 2022 Big Ten Tournament this afternoon with a 4-0 loss to top-seeded Ohio State. The Spartans faced the Buckeyes at 10 a.m. this morning inside the Nielsen Tennis Stadium in Madison, Wisconsin.

It was a near-identical outcome to the 2021 tournament, when the Spartans defeated Iowa in the first round to move on and face the Buckeyes in the quarterfinals, where they fell 4-0 at the hands of OSU.

Michigan State ends its season with a 15-14 overall record and a 1-8 mark in conference play. It was a vast improvement from last year's 6-14 season as the Spartans more than doubled their win-count, including an undefeated run in the month of January.

The Big Ten regular season champion Buckeyes opened the match by winning the doubles point. After a 6-1 win at No. 3 doubles by OSU, the Spartans did not surrender the point without a fight. At No. 1, Jack Winkler and Graydon Lair battled it out to a 7-6 decision against Robert Cash and Matej Vocel, the top-ranked doubles team in the nation. The match was tied up for the majority of the stretch before the Buckeyes were able to go ahead with the 7-6 (7-4 tiebreak) victory. The match at No. 2 doubles went unfinished at a 6-6 tie between Nick Williams and Kazuki Matsuno against OSU's Justin Boulais and Andrew Lutschaunig.

Ohio State then won matches at No. 2, 3 and 5 singles to secure the win. Winkler had been holding his own against Cannon Kingsley at the top court, having won his first set 6-4. Max Sheldon, Luke Baylis and Carson Gates all fell in straight sets to their Buckeye opponents.

The Spartans will graduate three seniors in Winkler, Gates, and Josh Mukherjee while retaining nine starters in singles and doubles.

Players Mentioned

Luke Baylis

Carson Gates

Graydon Lair

Kazuki Matsuno

Josh Mukherjee

Max Sheldon

Nick Williams

Jack Winkler