EAST LANSING, Mich. – The Michigan State men’s tennis team rallied past Drake, 4-3, Saturday at the MSU Indoor Tennis Center.
The match between the Spartans and Bulldogs marked the first home sporting event for Michigan State since a mass shooting on the East Lansing campus on Monday, Feb. 13, when three students were killed and five were hospitalized.
Michigan State players wore “Spartan Strong” shirts during warm-ups, and Drake’s team wore green warm-up shirts with the Bulldog logo in honor of MSU.
“Just like everybody, our guys had a wide range of emotions and reactions throughout the week, and they’re still processing everything that happened,” said MSU head coach Harry Jadun. “For them, I think, just getting out here and competing – we wore the special ‘Spartan Strong’ shirts during warm-ups – they played a little bit more inspired. Having the community out here, to kind of envelop them and just surround them, was really special. That’s what Spartans do – you saw it all week long. Just the community coming together to lift ourselves through this was a really special moment.”
The match was originally scheduled for Wednesday (Feb. 15) but was postponed until Saturday morning.
Drake (7-5) took a 1-0 lead by winning the doubles point on the No. 2 and No. 3 courts, but the Spartans quickly went up 2-1 as Graydon Lair swept past Reid Jarvis at No. 5 singles, 6-1, 6-1, and Luke Bayliss defeated Olle Sonesson Lidholt on the fourth court, 6-4, 6-4.
The back-and-forth affair continued as Drake reclaimed the lead, 3-2, following victories at No. 6 and No. 2 singles. David Saye fell to Will Blevins on…
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