East Lansing, Mich. – Virginia Tech dropped its first match of the season on Friday afternoon, falling 4-3 to Michigan State.
Tech stood its ground in doubles as Italians Alberto Orso and Carlo Donato earned a 6-3 win on Court 3, while Scott Sculley and Alvaro Saez-Royuela Ariza clinched the point on Court 2 with a 6-4 result.
In singles, No. 78 Ryan Fishback made his Court 1 debut for the Hokies and proved that he belonged. The Geneva, N.Y. native cruised to a 6-3, 6-0 win to give Tech its second point.
Orso and fellow newcomer Scott Sculley fell in two sets in their first dual matches with Tech, along with redshirt-freshman Alex Ix and senior Carlo Donato. Tech was within striking distance with Orso and Alvaro Saez-Royuela Ariza still in play, but Orso was on the unfortunate end of two tiebreaks.
Ariza ended the day with a bright spot for the Hokies, as he battled back after dropping a first tiebreak to win a second set and ten-point tiebreaker.
Virginia Tech will return to action against Michigan on Sunday at 5 p.m. in Ann Arbor.
