Michigan State’s men’s tennis team topped Western Michigan 4-2 in a tightly contested match Friday. Despite the Broncos winning the doubles point, MSU’s singles roared back and clinched the victory, capped off by a tiebreaker triumph from junior Luke Baylis.
Coming off an agonizingly close loss to the nationally ranked Notre Dame Fighting Irish, the Spartans redeemed themselves by pulling out the victory against WMU. Michigan State head men’s tennis coach Harry Jadun said he felt relieved after the match.
(Jadun 0:49) “It’s good to pick up a win against [Western Michigan],” Jadun said. “They’re one of the top teams in that conference.”
After starting down 1-0, the Spartans supplied immediate reinforcement.
MSU junior Graydon Lair set the tone for singles, knocking off Western Michigan graduate student Fynn Lohse in two sets 6-3, 6-2. Likewise, MSU fifth-year senior Anthony Pero made quick work of WMU senior Arjun Honnappa by scores of 6-4 and 6-3.
MSU sophomore Max Sheldon picked up his fourth win in the last five matches, defeating Western Michigan sophomore Anton Arzhankin 6-4, 6-3. Sheldon currently leads the team with six singles wins and extended his match win streak to three games Friday.
In the face of an early deficit, these three singles wins helped the Spartans back into the driver’s seat.
(Jadun 0:19) “It was really nice to get three in the bag pretty quick,” Jadun said.
With MSU needing just one more singles win to clinch the victory, Baylis delivered in the clutch. The Clarkston native dropped the first set 7-5 but responded in a significant way, tying the match with a 6-2 win in set two.
As the deciding set reached a tiebreaker, Baylis came through for the Spartans, defeating Western Michigan graduate student Peter Kuszynski 7-3 and earning the win for MSU.
(Baylis 0:06, 0:25) “You live for these moments in college tennis,” Baylis said. “There was never a doubt in my mind that I would be able to pull it off. I had a lot of belief in myself.”
Arguably the most competitive match of the night was between MSU freshman David Saye and WMU junior Brogan Pierce, with Saye flipping a 6-3 set one defeat into a 6-3 victory in set two. The two traded blows all throughout the third set, which culminated in a high-stakes tiebreaker.
Despite starting down 4-0, Pierce rebounded and stole the tiebreaker 7-5 to keep the Broncos’ hopes alive for the time being.
The matchup of MSU freshman Ozan Baris and Western Michigan junior Benjamin George went unfinished due to Baylis’ clinching win. However, George was on the cusp of defeating the Spartans’ freshman sensation, holding a 5-3 lead in a deciding third set.
This win moved MSU to 5-5 on the season. The green and white remain undefeated at home and winless on the road.
Looking ahead, the Spartans will partake in the Arizona State Invite over spring break. Jadun said his squad will play on three consecutive days: March 10th, 11th, and 12th.
(Jadun 1:38, 1:50) “The only thing that I’m looking for is opportunities,” Jadun said. “We’re going to have three ranked opportunities next weekend. We’re really going to see what’s under the hood and what we’re made of.”
