UM, MSU men's tennis teams advance to NCAA second round

The Michigan and Michigan State men’s tennis teams each won first-round NCAA Tournament matches on Friday and will play in the second round on Saturday.

For Michigan State, it was a historic day as the Spartans earned their first NCAA Tournament victory with a 4-0 defeat of third-seeded Denver in the Boston Regional. The No. 22 Spartans will face host Harvard, No. 12, on Saturday at 2 p.m. for a spot in the Sweet 16.

"It's pretty remarkable," head coach Harry Jadun said in an MSU release.  “You talk about 110 years of history and you just did something for the first time, maybe a week from now I'll understand the gravity of it. But we're working on our craft here, looking to compete and hopefully make a run."

Michigan moved on to the second round after defeating Binghamton, 4-0, on Friday and will face host and No. 8 seed Columbia at 1 p.m. Harvard and Columbia were the co-Ivy League champs this season.

The Wolverines’ Bjorn Swenson allowed one point in his straight-set singles win at No. 3 defeating Ronin Lotlikar 6-1, 6-0. He broke Lotlikar’s serve six times.

This is the third straight season the Wolverines have won a NCAA first-round match.

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