Tigers host Michigan State, LSU in pivotal weekend

Friday, February 8

Memphis, Tenn.

6:30 p.m.

University of Memphis

Michigan State

Photo by: Matthew Smith

Feb 07, 2019 | Men's Tennis

MEMPHIS, Tenn. – Having matched its best start since 2012, a young Memphis men's tennis program will face two more early-season tests with visits from Michigan State and LSU this weekend at the Racquet Club of Memphis.

The Tigers (7-1) will host the Michigan State Spartans on Friday evening at 6:30 p.m. Memphis will then host the LSU Tigers Sunday at noon for Alumni Day. Admission is free to all UofM home tennis matches.

In their last outing, the Tigers swept a double header against Arkansas Pine Bluff last Friday. With UAPB playing shorthanded, nine separate Tigers collected singles victories while Memphis also continued its successful start in doubles play.

Senior Chris Patzanovsky, who has anchored the No. 1 singles position throughout the season, has enjoyed a 5-1 start to the spring with his lone loss coming against Wake Forest's No. 1-ranked Petros Chrysochos.

Freshman Oscar Cutting has continued to impress with a 6-0 start in singles play, while juniors Matt Story (4-0), Jan Pallares (3-0), Turner Voges (2-0) and Marshall Sullivan (1-0) have combined to start 10-0.

Michigan State visits Memphis with a 5-4 record. Jack Winkler has collected six wins against one loss at the top spot, while Anthony Pero bookends the lineup with a 7-1 mark at the No. 6 position.

LSU has also begun its dual-match season strong behind a 6-1 record. Last weekend the Tigers upended No. 17 Tulane by a score of 4-3 on Friday and then cruised to a 6-1 win against Rice on Sunday. LSU checked in at No. 24 in this week's USTA poll and also received votes in the Oracle/ITA Top 25. Tiger duo Rafael Wagner and Joey Thomas rank No. 30 nationally in doubles.

Memphis is 8-0 all-time against Michigan State and 4-4 all-time against LSU. The home Tigers also seek to repeat its success against these squads from last season, having defeated Michigan State, 7-0, on Feb. 16 and LSU, 5-2, on Mar. 25.

Live scoring of both matches will be available at: http://sidearmstats.com/memphis/mten/xlive.htm