MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — Middle Tennessee men’s tennis will welcome No. 22 Mississippi State to the Adams Tennis Complex on Friday, Feb. 2 at 5 p.m. CT. Two days later, MTSU will head to East Lansing to take on No. 19 Michigan State on Sunday, Feb. 4 at 11 a.m. CT.
The ribbon cutting ceremony for the new Outdoor Tennis Facility on campus will be held on Thursday, Feb. at 1 p.m. CT.
The Blue Raiders faced the Bulldogs in the second round of the NCAA Tournament last season with the Bulldogs pulling out a 4-2 win over the Blue Raiders.
MTSU is coming off ITA Kickoff Weekend where the Blue Raiders defeated California 4-1 but fell to No. 8 Duke 4-0 in the Championship match.
As a team, MTSU is 21-9 in singles play so far this season. Leo Raquin and Jakub Kroslak are both 4-1 respectively.
The team is 10-4 in doubles to start the season. Ondrej Horak and Raquin are both 5-0 in doubles. As a doubles pairing, Horak and Raquin are 4-0 on court No. 3.
Promotions for Mississippi State
– #ContinueTheConversation
– Free Junior Clinic at 4 p.m.
– Raffle for free racket
– Cedar Glade Brews
– The Hot Dog Guy Food Truck
Match Seven: Middle Tennessee (4-2, 0-0 CUSA) vs. No. 22 Mississippi State (4-2, 0-0 SEC)
– Friday, Feb. 2 at 5 p.m. CT
– Adams Tennis Complex
– Murfreesboro, Tenn.
All-time vs. Mississippi State
– Friday’s matchup will be the will be the 25th meeting between the two programs. The Bulldogs lead the series 22-2.
– The Blue Raiders are 1-0 against MSU at home.
– Borendame is 0-5 against the Bulldogs.
Scouting the Bulldogs
– Mississippi State is 4-2 on the season. The Bulldogs fell to No. 25 Florida State 4-1 in the last match.
– MSU returns five players from last season. The Bulldogs added three freshmen and a transfer to this year’s squad. The returners combined for 98 singles and 66 doubles wins last season.
– The Bulldogs have one player ranked in singles by Intercollegiate Tennis Association with Petar Jovanovic at No. 13. MSU has a doubles pairing of Jovanovic and Benito Sanchez Martinez ranked at No. 24.
Match Eight: Middle Tennessee (4-2, 0-0 CUSA) at No. 19 Michigan State (3-0, 0-0 B1G)
– Sunday, Jan. 4 at 11 a.m. CT
– East Lansing, Mich.
All-time vs. Michigan State
– The matchup between MTSU and Michigan State would be just the fifth meeting between the two programs. The Blue Raiders lead the series 3-1.
– Borendame is 3-0 against the Spartans.
Scouting the Spartans
– Michigan State has a record of 4-0 to begin the season. In the last match, the Spartans defeated Pepperdine 5-2.
– The Spartans return eight players from last season. MSU brought in two transfers and a freshman to this year’s team. The returners combined for 49 singles wins and 48 doubles win last year.
– Michigan State has a doubles team ranked No. 45 by the ITA: Sebastian Collard/Ronald Hohmann. The Spartans have three players ranked in singles with Ozan Baris at No. 6, Hohmann at No. 12 and Max Sheldon at No. 59.
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