TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Michigan State men’s tennis fell to Alabama, 7-0, in Tuscaloosa Saturday afternoon.
Alabama moves to 5-0 (0-0 SEC) with the win, while MSU drops to 2-3 (0-0 B1G).
The Spartan doubles team of fifth-year senior Anthony Pero and junior Reed Crocker moved to 3-0 this year, securing the win at No. 3 doubles with a convincing 6-2 win over Alabama’s Zach Foster and Joao Foster. Despite losses at No. 1 and No. 2 doubles, the Spartans put together a pair of hard-fought matches. At No. 1 doubles, freshman Ozan Baris and sophomore Max Sheldon fell in a close 7-6 match against Alabama’s Enzo Aguiard and Filip Planinsek. At No. 2 doubles, juniors Graydon Lair and Luke Baylis fell to the Crimson Tide’s German Samofalov and Yair Sarouk, 6-4.
After Alabama clinched the match, three MSU’s matches went to super tiebreaker sets. Baris, after dropping his first set 6-4 against Planinsek at No. 1 singles, secured a 7-5 win in the second set to force a third. He fell in a back-and-forth super tiebreaker, 11-9.
Sheldon, playing at No. 2 singles, forced three sets against Alabama’s Aguiard, who ranks 35th in the current ITA Singles Rankings. Sheldon took the first set, 6-3, before dropping the next, 7-5. He fell in the super tiebreaker, 10-5.
Freshman David Saye was the third Spartan to play a super tiebreaker on Saturday, falling 2-6, 6-4, 4-10 to Alabama’s Yair Sarouk at No. 6 singles.
Pero, playing his third match at No. 3 singles this season, fell to Alabama’s Roan Jones, who ranks at No. 96 in the ITA Singles Rankings. After dropping a close 7-6(6)…
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at Michigan State University Athletics…