Michigan State men’s tennis hosted the Big Ten Indoors Tournament last weekend at the MSU Indoor Tennis Facility in preparation for the upcoming season. This event was their last tournament until their regular season reopens in January, giving them the opportunity to get those preseason jitters out of the way.
“I had a nice comfortable first match,” redshirt senior Jack Winkler said. “It’s always nice to get the nerves, everything out of the way and being able to settle in for the deeper matches where the competition gets really stiff."
Winkler also recognized the team’s opportunities for growth and learning through the tournament and how it will prepare them for their upcoming season.
“This is our last college event going into the season so I think it’s a good time for us to look at our games from an outside perspective and find things we need to work on over in the off-season over winter break and be able to come into the season fresh with a good head on our shoulders and be able to compete really hard,” Winkler said.
For Winkler, throughout his collegiate career, it’s his forehand – something he’s been working and wants to improve on.
“It's gotten a lot better since I first came here,” Winkler said. “Continuing to work on having it as an effective weapon will help me in the spring.”
Big Ten Indoors also provided freshman Max Sheldon an opportunity to get some experience at the collegiate level with the team before he begins his career in East Lansing. Sheldon prior to MSU was a five-star recruit and one of the most highly sought-after players in the nation.
“I’m just learning that I can hang with these bigger guys,” Sheldon said. “It’s giving me a lot of confidence for the spring season. I think we can do a lot of good things here.”
Sheldon learned the importance of not giving up and battling for every point, a lesson he hopes to take into the season.
“So far I just kept fighting," Sheldon said. "I was down five match points today and I just didn’t give up. You got the team behind you so you can give up at any time you can’t let them down. You gotta keep battling.”
It seems the players have each other’s backs and have adopted the culture of never giving up on a match. Going into the season, Michigan State tennis Head Coach Gene Orlando believes this team culture they've built will help the team prosper.
“Everyone pulls for one another works for one another is really special,” Orlando said. “I think what to work on is just to continue to elevate our game each and every day and take advantage of all the opportunities we have and put the work in and trust the process.”
After a 6-14 record last year, the Spartans look to improve when they open the season at home against Virginia Tech on Jan. 14.
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