Via a late season winning push, the MSU men's tennis team has found its way into the quarterfinals of the Big Ten Tournament.
The Spartans enter tournament play as the fifth seed in the 11-team pool.
They're paired with fourth-seeded Purdue - a team they lost to on April 13.
Head coach Gene Orlando said despite his squad's fifth-place finish in the conference (14-11 overall, 5-5 Big Ten), Friday's quarterfinal match against No. 50 Purdue will be a matter of sustaining team intensity.
"It wasn't one of our better matches," Orlando said of MSU's 5-2 loss to the Boilermakers. "We gave it a Spartan effort, we just couldn't match the same effort as the day before. We thought realistically, we could be seeded fourth."
The No. 63 Spartans started off relatively well on the road against Purdue, with junior Chris Mitchell and sophomore Andrew Formanczyk increasing their Big Ten doubles winning streak to four.
But senior Jimmy McGuire and junior Eric Simonton were the only victorious singles players, which led to the defeat.
Orlando said the heated play that Simonton - 25-13 overall in match play and winner of nine straight matches - and Formanczyk (14-14) have displayed as of late will be crucial to outlasting their date with Purdue.
"Simonton has been on a roll, and the improved play of Formanczyk," Orlando said. "He's up for some Big Ten honors, hopefully."
The prospect of playing Purdue in the first round has Formanczyk hungry for redemption.
"We want it more," he said. "We've got to go out and do it this year.
"The confidence is there. It's high I'd say. I don't know if the confidence was there the last time."
Formanczyk's enthusiasm is apparently contagious. Simonton said his hot streak has him rolling into the tournament feeling the best he's felt all season.
"I think I'm just playing better," he said. "I've gotten into a little rhythm and I'm playing more relaxed."
The Spartans can count on one disadvantage facing them Friday - the elements. MSU is 0-5 in matches played outdoors this season.
"We can't look at that as a disadvantage," Simonton said.
Advantage, Purdue.
Since the outdoor tennis courts near the Duffy Daugherty Football Building are being resurfaced, the men's and women's tennis teams have been scrambling for local, useable outdoor courts in preparation of the postseason.
Another roll of the dice for the men will be the season after the Big Ten Tournament. If the Spartans get past Purdue and make a strong showing in subsequent rounds, they could bolster their chances of making the NCAA Tournament.
Until then, though, the Spartans are at the mercy of Mother Nature and the NCAA selection committee.
Orlando, cool as ever on his team's chances of advancing past Purdue, said he still likes the foundation this season's squad has laid.
"We're looking to put a little exclamation point on the season," he said. "Hopefully, this is just a springboard for next season."
