Thursday, March 28, 2024

MSU men’s tennis falls 6-1 to the No. 5 Michigan Wolverines

March 30, 2023
<p>Junior Graydon Lair walks away from his singles match against Michigan at the MSU Tennis Center on March 30, 2023. The Spartans lost to the Wolverines 6-1.</p>

Junior Graydon Lair walks away from his singles match against Michigan at the MSU Tennis Center on March 30, 2023. The Spartans lost to the Wolverines 6-1.

Photo by Dina Kaur | The State News

The Michigan State men’s tennis team lost 6-1 to No. 5 Michigan Thursday despite valiant efforts across the board. MSU has now lost 21 straight matches to its in-state foe, dating back to 2004. 

In a jam-packed MSU Indoor Tennis Center, the Wolverines narrowly seized the doubles point early and proceeded to take five out of six singles matches, numerous by slim margins. Michigan State head men’s tennis coach Harry Jadun emphasized his squad’s effort down the stretch and said he felt the Spartans were a few bounces short of bringing it down to the wire.

“They’re obviously top five in the nation, so they have a great team and they’ve been in some big moments,” Jadun said. “Credit to our guys, we definitely had a pathway to victory throughout the whole thing.”

The loss moved the Spartans to 6-10 on the season and 0-3 in conference play.

In doubles, MSU was unable to capitalize on a 6-2 win from junior Graydon Lair and sophomore Max Sheldon over Michigan junior Jacob Bickersteth and sophomore Will Cooksey. Despite taking the first game, MSU’s tandem of freshman Ozan Baris and junior Reed Crocker came up short 6-4 against Michigan junior Nino Ehrenschneider and fifth-year senior Patrick Maloney. Michigan senior Ondrej Styler and junior Gavin Young clinched the doubles point for the Wolverines with a 6-2 victory over MSU senior Kaz Matsuno and sophomore Josh Portnoy

The Spartans’ lone point Thursday came in singles from freshman David Saye, who rallied back from a 6-2 first-set defeat to top Michigan sophomore Patorn Hanchaikul with consecutive 6-4 wins. In his first career matchup and victory against the Wolverines, Saye said he will take many valuable lessons from Thursday. 

“I just learned how to play under the pressure, a lot of fans watching, it’s loud,” Saye said. “Just learning how to stay focused during all the distractions and really play my game.”

Baris, ranked no. 51 in the country, ignited the crowd in his first singles set, gaining the advantage over the No. 14-ranked Styler in a 7-3 tiebreaker. However, Styler buckled up and claimed the next two sets, 6-1, 6-3. 

“I did not play my best tennis today, unfortunately,” Baris said post-match. “I thought I played good in moments, just felt like things didn’t really fall my way at times and (Michigan) just played better.”

The No. 23-ranked Maloney topped Sheldon in a tight three-set contest, closing out the match on a 6-2 triumph. Baylis also fell in three sets to the No. 40-ranked Young despite taking the first set. 

Bickersteth and Ehrenschneider were bright spots for the Wolverines in singles as both emerged victorious in straight sets against Lair and Portnoy, respectively. 

Although MSU finished short of beating Michigan for the first time in nearly 20 years, the Spartans remain encouraged by their efforted performance Thursday. 

“We all battled out there today,” Saye said. “Tough three-setters on a couple courts but it goes to show that we’re right there.”

MSU will look to bounce back this weekend, as it travels to Blacksburg, Virginia to take on the No. 69 Virginia Tech Hokies on Saturday, April 1. 

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