Michigan State University Athletics
Michigan State University
Louisville
Men's Tennis On the Road at No. 23 Louisville Sunday
2/11/2023 12:47:00 PM | Men's Tennis
EAST LANSING, Mich. — Michigan State men's tennis heads back on the road this weekend, traveling to Louisville, Kentucky, to take on No. 23 Louisville on Sunday, Feb. 12.
The Spartans will take on the Cardinals at noon. Live scoring and streaming will be available on MSUSpartans.com.
MSU heads into the weekend at 3-3 after picking up a win over Ball State in East Lansing last week. After MSU secured the doubles point, the Spartans and Cardinals battled back-and-forth, trading multiple singles points before MSU was able to clinch the match at No. 3 singles.
Sophomore Max Sheldon junior Luke Baylis picked up their third singles wins of the season at No. 2 and No. 3 singles, respectively, while the doubles pairing of fifth-year senior Anthony Pero and junior Reed Crocker remained undefeated this season, clinching the doubles point at the No. 1 position with a win over Ball State's Danilo Kovacevic and Parrish Simmons.
The Spartans currently have two players ranked in the latest ITA Division I Men's Collegiate Tennis rankings released on Feb. 8. In singles, freshman Ozan Baris, who entered the spring season at No. 26, slid down to No. 31 with a 1-2 record with his lone victory coming against Auburn's then-No. 66 Tyler Stice. In doubles, the pairing of Baris and Sheldon comes in at No. 40 with a 2-1 record this season, boasting a win over Middle Tennessee's then-No. 26 ranked doubles tandem of Oskar Brostrom Poulsen and Francisco Rocha.
Louisville heads into the weekend at 5-2, falling to second-ranked Kentucky, 4-3, on Friday, Feb. 10.
Louisville has a strong presence in the latest ITA rankings, placing four players on the singles chart along with a pair of doubles teams. Graduate student Fabien Salle leads the Cardinals at No. 26, his highest ranking ever, while sophomore Natan Rodrigues comes in at No. 47 to round out the top 50. Seniors Etienne Donnet and Matthew Fung come in at No. 53 and No. 121, respectively. In doubles, Salle and Rodrigues slot in at No. 14 having started the season ranked No. 9 after the fall season, while the pairing of David Mizrahi and Will Mayew climbed 19 spots in the latest rankings, finding themselves ranked at No. 39 heading into the weekend.
The Spartans take on the Cardinals in just the 12th meeting between the two schools, with Louisville leading the all-time series 8-3. The Cardinals took the win in last season's meeting, 6-1, in East Lansing, and have won the last five duals. MSU has not defeated the Cardinals since a 4-3 home win on Jan. 31, 2004. The Spartans are winless on the road against Louisville since the first meeting between the two schools back on March 24, 1999.
Up next, the Spartans return home to take on Drake in a midweek matchup on Wednesday, Feb. 15, with first serve scheduled for 5 p.m. at the MSU Indoor Tennis Facility.
Players Mentioned
