After picking up back-to-back victories last weekend, the ETSU men’s tennis team looks to extend its two-match winning streak this Saturday as the 60th-ranked Bucs take their longest road trip in school history for the Great Northwest Shootout in Seattle Washington.ETSU (2-2) will open the round robin event with a 5 p.m. (EST) contest against 61st-ranked Mississippi State Saturday, before closing with a 5 p.m. (EST) dual match Sunday against host and 24th-ranked Washington.

Head coach Yaser Zaatini’s club enters the event after leveling its overall record against William and Mary and Elon last weekend. ETSU first took care of business against the Tribe 4-3 last Friday, then cruised past the 72nd-ranked Phoenix 7-0 last Saturday.

Individually, sophomore Robin Akser (Ornskoldsvik, Sweden) leads the way after earning his first career Atlantic Sun Conference Player of the Week award Wednesday. The second-year Buc currently leads ETSU with a 4-2 singles record this spring.

Mississippi State (2-2) enters the match after a picking up a 4-0 victory over DePaul and a 4-2 win over 62nd-ranked Harvard last week. Despite its 2-2 record Mississippi State has played great tennis against top-level competition this spring. In its first match of the season against 10th-ranked Mississippi, MSU fell just short of a huge upset against its instate-rival 4-3. In the match with the Rebels the Bulldogs held a 3-0 lead early with wins in doubles and ranked singles victories by sophomore Louis Cant and 125th-ranked Artem Ilyushin.

Host Washington (5-1) welcomes the Bucs inside the Nordstrom Tennis Center after losing its first match of the season at 15th-ranked Illinois last weekend. Despite the loss in Champaign, Ill., Washington has looked strong this spring with ranked road wins at 53rd-ranked Arkansas and 24th-ranked Boise State.

Live stats will be available during both contests, while live video will be displayed as ETSU takes on Washington Sunday. Fans can access both media outlets by clicking the links attached above at the start of each match.

For more information on the ETSU men’s tennis team please visit www.ETSUBucs.com.

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