Spartans Set for B1G Rivalry Matchup Against No. 2 Michigan

EAST LANSING, Mich. – Michigan State women’s tennis looks to carry its momentum into its match against B1G rival No. 2-ranked Michigan on Saturday, April 6.  Action is set to begin at 4 p.m. as the Spartans look to compete outside for the first time in East Lansing at the MSU Outdoor Tennis Center.

LAST TIME OUT

In its last outing against Purdue and Indiana. Michigan State pushed the visiting No. 65-ranked Boilmakers to the limits, but came up short losing, 4-1, Saturday afternoon inside the MSU Indoor Tennis Center. Following a night’s rest, the Spartans shifted focus to the visiting Hoosiers, fueled by an electric doubles point, the Green and White blanked Indiana, 4-0.

FOR THE FIRST TIME IN FIVE YEARS

With its B1G victory over the Hoosiers, Michigan State eclipsed the 10-win threshold for the first time since the 2018-19 season. Already surpassing last season’s win total, the Spartans still has five dual matches remaining with three on their homecourts.

MOVING ON UP

In the latest ITA rankings, the Spartan duo of graduate student Nicole Conard and senior Ayshe Can continues to climb the charts. The pairing has amassed an impressive 8-2 record and are 4-1 in their last five completed matches.

KNOW THE FOE: MICHIGAN

Michigan enters as the No. 2-ranked team in the country in the latest ITA rankings with a 18-3 record and a perfect 6-0 conference record. All three losses came from nationally ranked opponents, two times against No. 3 Oklahoma State and its most recent loss on Feb. 18 against No. 17-ranked USC.

The Wolverines has seven individuals entering the weekend: No. 3 Kari Miller, No. 19 Julia Fliegner, No. 61 Gala Mesochoritou, No. 73 Lily Jones, No. 109 Piper Charney, No. 112 Jaedan Brown and Bayley Sheinin rounds out the list at No. 118. On the doubles side, Brown and Miller cracks the top 10 as the No. 7-ranked duo with a 16-8 overall record.  

HISTORY AGAINST MICHIGAN

Michigan has won 23-stragiht matches against MSU that included a 4-0 shutout in Ann Arbor last season. The Wolverines own a commanding 58-17 lead in the all-time series against the Spartans.