MSU opened the season with a rocky West Coast trip, dropping matches to Gonzaga and Washington State by scores of 5-2 and 6-1, respectively.

"Look, I know what we're capable of,” said MSU women's tennis head coach Kim Bruno. “We gotta go out there and prove it and just battle and want it more than another team," Bruno said.

Following the two-match skid, MSU bounced back in a big way, rattling off an eight-match winning streak. During that stretch, the Spartans allowed just seven total points and recorded shutouts against Eastern Michigan, Liberty and Youngstown State.

Just as the Spartans found their rhythm, they came back down to earth, going 2-2 over their next four matches. MSU dropped matches to Columbia and Iowa as conference play began but bounced back with wins over Nebraska and No. 33 Penn State.

The win over Penn State brought MSU to 11 total wins — matching its win total from all of last season.

"What an unbelievable team performance," Bruno said. "Like girls from every area stepping up, down the doubles point, able to, able to get it done. That's, I mean, that's what they've been doing all year, though."

At 2-1 in Big Ten play, the Spartans had reason to feel confident — but a brutal three-match stretch followed against No. 10 Ohio State, No. 16 USC and No. 24 UCLA.

After that tough stretch, MSU finished its next six matches with a 3-3 record, bringing its season total to 13-10 overall and 5-7 in Big Ten play.

For the first time since the 2019-20 season, MSU finished above .500 — accomplishing its goal of returning to competitiveness in the newly expanded Big Ten. Coach Bruno and the Spartans will have a chance to close out the season with a rivalry win against Michigan on April 19.