Orlando's coaching has helped a young 2015-16 team — featuring only one healthy upperclassman — compete with seasoned veterans on other teams. Orlando added to his career win total on Saturday, as MSU men's tennis defeated Ball State 4-3 at the MSU Indoor Tennis Facility.

The meet was a notable one for Orlando, who played at Ball State under current coach Bill Richards in the 1980s.

"(Playing against my former coach is) no fun, it’s never really a win-win," Orlando said. "If you win, you feel great, but at the same time, it’s a guy that has done a lot for you. That’s the name of the game. A loss is a double loss. Coach Richards has been around (44) years at Ball State, and he’s done an incredible job there, and the team will always compete. We knew we’d have a tough match, and obviously, it showed."

The Spartans gained the team victory in a meet that featured a number of tiebreakers. One such tiebreaker was played in the second set of No. 2 singles player Michael Dube's match. Dube won the tiebreaker to claim the 6-3, 7-6 victory.

"I think in a tiebreak, you’ve got to play it like every other point in the match," Dube said. "Just try to stick to your gameplan, and what I was focusing on coming in."

Though No. 3 singles player Jasper Koenen did not play a tiebreaker, he was on the winning side of a controversial call in the final game of his 6-2, 6-4 victory. There was a five-minute stoppage of play, as his opponent argued the call to no avail. Koenen said that despite his winning the call, the break in action was a psychological negative.

"It definitely hurt me in a way," Koenen said. "The next two points, I was kind of thinking about that, it kind of got my mind going different directions, but I was able to come back down and win the match on deuce point."

Koenen and Dube's wins combined with a 7-5, 6-1 victory by No. 5 singles player Alexander Kim and a sweep of three single-set doubles matches, which count for a combined one point in the final match score, to help the Spartans clinch the meet victory at 4-0.

Ball State won the last three singles matches of the day to cut the final score to 4-3.

The meet was the first of a double-header for the Spartans. Later Saturday night, MSU defeated Detroit (Mercy) 5-2, increasing the Spartans' meet record to 5-2 on the season.

MSU's success means even more this season because the team has faced significant injury issues. They lost upperclassmen Brett Foreman and J.P. Mullane early in the season, and both may not return. Younger players like freshman Colin Harvey have taken the unexpected playing time as an opportunity to show off their skills.

"Everyone’s got to have the mentality of being ready, I’m up right now, this is my time, take advantage of it," Harvey said. "Everyone, even the injured guys on the sidelines cheering. I mean, everyone’s gotta play their part and everyone is playing their part."

This weekend's meets were the start of a four-week stretch that includes four double-headers and a one-off match against rival Michigan. The team's next matches will be at home next Saturday against Cleveland State at noon and Morehead State at 6PM.