Spartans rally past Drake, 4-3

EAST LANSING, Mich. The Michigan State men’s tennis team defeated Drake 4-3 on Saturday at the MSU Indoor Tennis Center.

The game between the Spartans and Bulldogs was the first home sporting event for Michigan State Athletics since a mass shooting on the East Lansing campus on Monday, Feb. 13, that left three students dead and five hospitalized.

Michigan State players wore “Spartan Strong” shirts during warmups, and Drake’s team wore green warmup shirts with the Bulldog logo to honor MSU.

“Like everyone, our guys had a variety of emotions and reactions throughout the week and are still processing everything that happened,” said the MSU head coach. Harry Jadun. “I think for them, just coming out and competing, we wore the special ‘Spartan Strong’ jerseys during warmups, and they played a little more inspired. To have the community out here, kind of surround them and just surround them, was really special. The Spartans saw it all for a week. Just the community coming together to lift ourselves up through this was a really special moment.”

The match was originally supposed to be played on Wednesday (February 15) but was moved to Saturday morning.

Drake (7-5) took a 1-0 lead with a double on the 2nd and 3rd pitches, but the Spartans quickly took a 2-1 lead. Graydon Lair beat Reid Jarvis at No. 5 singles, 6-1, 6-1 and Luke Baylisss beat Olle Sonesson Lidholt on the fourth court 6-4, 6-4.

The back-and-forth affair continued as Drake retook the lead 3-2 after winning the 6th and 2nd. David Saye fell to Will Blevins on the sixth court 7-5, 6-4 and Anthony Pero dropped a 7-5, 6-4 decision to Evan Fragistats.

No. 3 in singles, Max Sheldon won the last two sets with Oliver Johansson to tie the singles match 3-3. After falling in the first set 6-4, Sheldon came back to take the second set 6-1 and beat Johansson in the third 6-4.

The duo fell to the highest field in the match of nationally ranked players at number 31 Ozan Baris, making his home debut, defeated No. 68 Jeremy Schifris in three innings to earn the win for the Spartans. In a long first set, Baris won 7-6 (7-5) in the semifinals, giving him the edge. Although Baris dropped the second set 6-3 with the match on the line, he controlled the third set 6-1 to earn a penalty win.

FINAL: MSU 4, Drake 3#SpartanStrong pic.twitter.com/TJhGA01XZG

Michigan State Men's Tennis (@MSU_MTennis) February 18, 2023

After the match, Drake men’s tennis coach Davidson Kozlowski presented Jadun with a green Drake tennis shirt.

“Hats off to Drake, they were super cool all week and accommodated us and rescheduled the game,” Jadun said. “I was emotional when they came out and their coaches were wearing green shirts with the Drake logo on them. I thought that was a really special touch from them. I just appreciate them coming out here and supporting us and the community. Also for them. , that’s it’s about more than just tennis. They were able to see past just this one sporting event and see that it’s about humanity and a community that is troubled and recovering from tragic events.”

Michigan State (4-4) returns to action on Friday, March 3 vs. Western Michigan.