EAST LANSING, Mich. – 16th ranked men’s tennis will play host to No. 46 Cornell Sunday at noon inside the MSU Indoor Tennis Center in search of it’s 15th win of the season.
Scouting No. 46 Cornell
The Big Red come to East Lansing with an 8-4 record on the season, 1-1 against ranked opponents. The lone common opponent between the two sides this season is Middle Tennessee State, who the Spartans defeated at home 5-2 on Feb. 4, and Cornell also trumped 4-2 on Feb. 27 on the road.
Cornell’s lone ranked player is Romanian junior Radu Papoe, No. 19 in the nation with a 6-2 record on the season and is 3-0 against ranked opponents. Two other Big Red are also undefeated against ranked opposition.
Series History vs. Cornell
The Spartans own a 3-2 all-time lead over Cornell, 2-1 in the home comforts of East Lansing. The Big Red have taken the last two matchups over MSU, both by way of sweeps.
Last Time Out – Diablo College Tennis Invitational (Tempe, Ariz.)
The Spartans fell one spot in the ITA Rankings from 15th after a 2-1 weekend in Tempe, Ariz. that ended in MSU’s second loss of the season in the Blue Gray Classic final at the hands of No. 9 Arizona.
On the way to the final the Spartans swept No. 51 Liberty 4-0 on Friday, March 1 and topped their first top-25 opponent of the year with a 4-2 win over No. 23 Arizona State. For the second straight weekend MSU fell short in the final of an eight-team tournament, defeated 4-1 by the top-10 Wildcats in a match that was closer than the score indicated.
Nation’s Top Doubles Team among Historic Rankings Update for Spartans
On Feb. 7, MSU Men’s Tennis received several program-best classifications in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association’s first individual rankings update, led by junior Max Sheldon and sophomore Ozan Baris’ jump to No. 1 doubles team in the nation.
Sheldon and Baris’ status as the chief pairing in the country is the first time any Spartan tennis student-athletes have topped the rankings list. MSU was up to as high as No. 15 in the team rankings while Baris was as high as No. 4 in singles, also both program firsts.
They’ve got Chemistry
In 16 matches second-year head coach Harry Jadun has lined up 15 different doubles pairings, all of which have recorded at least one win while 10 of the duos have winning records. The most frequently used is…
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