Huskers Begin Big Ten Play at Michigan State, Michigan

Lincoln - The No. 40 Nebraska men’s tennis team (8-3) will start Big Ten Conference play by heading to East Lansing to take on Michigan State (3-7) on Friday, March 6 at 5 p.m. (CT). 

Following that match, the Huskers will travel an hour south to Ann Arbor to battle with No. 52 Michigan (4-4) on Sunday, March 8 at 1 p.m. (CT) at the Varsity Tennis Center. 

Nebraska is coming off a 1-1 weekend losing to Wichita State, 5-2, in Wichita. The Huskers came into that match fresh off an upset vs. No. 24 Oklahoma State, 4-2 in Lincoln. 

Freshman Jeri Lassila and junior Henry Lamchinniah lead the team in doubles with individual records of 7-3. Lamchinniah, paired up with senior Matt Shearer, improved his doubles record going 2-0 on the last weekend. In singles, senior Joan Torres Espinosa carries a singles record of 5-1 and both senior Leo Linquet and Lassila hold records of 7-3 which both equal the most singles wins on the team thus far. 

The Rankings
The Nebraska men’s tennis team looks at a No. 40 ranking, falling two spots short of its highest ranking last season (38). The Huskers are in their third straight week as part of the ITA National Rankings starting the season off ranked No. 49 as of Feb. 19 before falling to No. 52 previous to this week. Nebraska’s upset over No. 24 Oklahoma State along with an 8-3 record has helped them soar up 12 spots to No. 40 as of March 3. 

Michigan State (3-7, 0-0 Big Ten)
History: Nebraska leads the series over Michigan State, 9-8. In the meeting last season, Nebraska dropped its match vs. the No. 36 Spartans, 0-4 in Lincoln. All of Michigan State’s losses come to ranked teams in No. 11 Vanderbilt, No. 14 South Carolina, No. 15/29 Arizona, No. 37 Kentucky, No. 50 Harvard and No. 61 Tennessee.  

Ranked Opponents
Michigan State has two top-25 singles players in Matthew Forbes, who sits at No. 11 in singles with a 11-4 record, and Ozan Baris who holds a No. 25 spot with a 10-7 record. In doubles, the Spartans have another top-25 ranking with the pair of Taym Alazmeh/Danial Rakhmatullayev sitting at No. 23 with a 12-5 record. 

#52 Michigan (4-4, 0-0 Big Ten)
History: Michigan leads the series vs. Nebraska, 12-2. In the meeting last season, Nebraska fought to upset the No. 17 Wolverines, 5-2 in Lincoln. All of Michigan’s losses as well have come to ranked teams in No. 2 Virginia, No. 9 NC State, No. 12 Columbia and No. 50 Harvard. 

Ranked Opponents
With a 16-3 overall singles record, Michigan’s Max Dahlin sits at the No. 10 ranked singles player in the ITA rankings. The next ranked Michigan player is Bjorn Swenson who comes at No. 60 with a 12-6 record. Dahlin and Swenson pair up in doubles to hold a No. 6 doubles ranking. Swenson paired up with Nicholas Steiglehner are currently undefeated and sit at No. 42 ranked doubles pair.     

Watch the Action
Nebraska men’s tennis matches vs. Michigan State/Michigan will both be live streamed along with live stats also available at Michigan State’s and Michigan’s athletic websites. 

Michigan State: msuspartans.com
Michigan: mgoblue.com 

Live stats and video links can also be found linked on huskers.com, as well as live updates on X @HuskerMTennis.