University Southern California Trojans
Friday, March 27
East Lansing, MI
2:00 PM
USC
3
at
4
Michigan State
Photo by: Kevin Kim
No. 24 USC Men's Tennis Drops 4-3 Decision Against Michigan State
March 27, 2026 | Men's Tennis
Trojans take early singles edge, but Spartans rally through final three matches for 4-3 decision
EAST LANSING, Mich. - No. 24 USC men's tennis came up just short on the road Friday, falling 4-3 to Michigan State at the MSU Indoor Tennis Center after a tightly contested match that swung on a trio of late three-set finishes.
The Trojans opened strong by securing the doubles point with wins on courts two and three. Max Exsted and Nathan Trouve notched a 6-4 win at No. 2, followed by Connor Church and Branko Djuric clinching the point with a 6-4 victory on court three.
USC carried that momentum into singles and extended its lead with the first match off the court. Jack McCarthy delivered a dominant 6-0, 6-3 win at No. 5, putting the Trojans ahead 2-0.
Michigan State answered at the No. 3 position, but USC quickly restored its cushion. Connor Church battled back for a 2-6, 6-3, 6-4 win on court six, giving the Trojans a 3-1 lead and putting them one point away from clinching the match.
From there, however, the Spartans mounted their comeback.
Michigan State began its push with a three-set win at No. 2, where Matthew Forbes rallied past Nathan Trouve 3-6, 6-2, 7-5 to make it 3-2. The Spartans then evened the match at 3-3 with another comeback victory on court four, as D. Rakhmatullayev defeated Andrin Casanova 4-6, 6-2, 6-4.
The deciding point came down to court one, where Branko Djuric fought through a tight three-set battle before falling to Aristotelis Thanos 5-7, 6-2, 7-6 (7-5), sealing the 4-3 decision for Michigan State.
The Trojans opened strong by securing the doubles point with wins on courts two and three. Max Exsted and Nathan Trouve notched a 6-4 win at No. 2, followed by Connor Church and Branko Djuric clinching the point with a 6-4 victory on court three.
USC carried that momentum into singles and extended its lead with the first match off the court. Jack McCarthy delivered a dominant 6-0, 6-3 win at No. 5, putting the Trojans ahead 2-0.
Michigan State answered at the No. 3 position, but USC quickly restored its cushion. Connor Church battled back for a 2-6, 6-3, 6-4 win on court six, giving the Trojans a 3-1 lead and putting them one point away from clinching the match.
From there, however, the Spartans mounted their comeback.
Michigan State began its push with a three-set win at No. 2, where Matthew Forbes rallied past Nathan Trouve 3-6, 6-2, 7-5 to make it 3-2. The Spartans then evened the match at 3-3 with another comeback victory on court four, as D. Rakhmatullayev defeated Andrin Casanova 4-6, 6-2, 6-4.
The deciding point came down to court one, where Branko Djuric fought through a tight three-set battle before falling to Aristotelis Thanos 5-7, 6-2, 7-6 (7-5), sealing the 4-3 decision for Michigan State.
Players Mentioned
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/ Men's Tennis
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/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
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