"Jumping on them early in doubles was awesome to see," MSU men's' tennis head coach Harry Jadun said. "We got the doubles point, which gave us a lot of energy and confidence going into singles."

In singles action, the Spartans faced early challenges but responded with resilience. Radjenovic took care of business at No. 2 singles with a dominant 6-2, 6-3 win over Marcus Schoeman. Mitchell Sheldon, a freshman, followed with a 7-5, 6-3 victory at No. 3, while Rakhmatullayev defeated David Lindsay 6-3, 6-2 at No. 5.

"We actually had some slow starts on courts three and four, but the guys did a really good job of righting the ship," Jadun said. "Once we were able to breathe a little bit and settle in, we played some really good tennis."

Despite a loss at No. 1 singles, where Penn State’s Loren Byers edged Baris 7-5, 6-3, the Spartans’ depth proved to be the difference in securing the win. Penn State claimed victories at No. 4 and No. 6 singles to keep the match close, but MSU’s early wins held strong.

The victory sets up a major showdown against No. 3 Ohio State on Sunday, a match the Spartans have been eyeing.

"This is one we’ve been looking forward to for a long time," Jadun said. "Ohio State is the defending Big Ten champ, they’re a well-coached team, and we know we’ll have to play some great tennis if we want to beat them."

The Spartans will look to carry their momentum into Sunday’s highly anticipated matchup as they continue their push for conference success. They take on Ohio State tomorrow at 3 p.m. at the MSU Indoor Tennis Center.