No. 18 Spartans Come Back From Three Down In Historic 4-3 Win Over No. 19 Illinois

URBANA-CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – 18^th-ranked men's tennis persevered to overcome a three-point deficit and take down No. 19 Illinois 4-3 in a historic road affair Saturday.

The win is the Spartans' first over Illinois since March 24, 1997 as the Illini had claimed the previous 30 matchups prior to Saturday. The last time MSU came back from three down to clinch the first-to-four victory was over Drake on Feb. 21, 2020.

Okemos native and national No. 11 singles player Ozan Baris clinched the victory for MSU with a comeback of his own in a 2-6, 6-4, 6-4 thriller on main court.

MSU, now 17-3 on the season and a perfect 3-0 in Big Ten play, moves closer to not only its second NCAA Tournament team appearance in program history and first since 2013, but the top-20 road victory also brings a first ever first round regional in East Lansing in May ever closer.

MSU travels upstate to face No. 60 Northwestern in Evanston, Ill. on Sunday at 1 p.m. ET, in hopes of maintaining its spot atop the Big Ten while clinching the program's first 18-win season since 2018.

Head Coach Harry Jadun
"It's a huge moment for our program. It's a testament to the guys, they were down big and it took a lot, I'm super proud of these Spartans. We've got some guys that are battle tested in Max Sheldon, David Saye and Aris Thanos that took straight set wins. For Ozan to come back and close out the match was really inspiring. Any day you beat a top-20 team on the road is a great day but with this one being a conference match it's extra special and I'm excited for Northwestern tomorrow."

Jadun very briefly served as an assistant coach under Illinois head coach Brad Dancer before being appointed head coach at Michigan State on June 13, 2022. Dancer was an all-Big Ten player at Michigan State from 1985-1993 and began his coaching career as a Spartan assistant from 1993-1998 prior to leading Illinois to historic heights.

Match Recap
After being swept in the doubles point and dropping the first singles matches on courts two and three, the Spartans found themselves up against a wall and with no matches to spare. MSU would have to win out in the four remaining singles matches to pull off a victory.

It was junior Max Sheldon who got MSU on the board first, winning 6-4, 7-6 [7-4] in the five spot, improving his season record to a team-best 11-2 with 10 of those wins coming in straight sets.

Sophomore David Saye struck next on court six, also winning in straight sets, 6-4, 6-4. Redshirt-freshman Aristotelis Thanos followed suit to tie the match up with a 7-6 [7-4], 6-2 victory on court three.

Everything would come down to the main court matchup between the MSU sophomore Baris and Illinois' 31^st-ranked Karlis Ozolins. Baris dropped the first set 2-6 but congruently with his team, bounced back, winning the second set 6-4. In the deciding third set, down 1-3, Baris broke Ozolins twice and held serve to clinch the set 6-4, the match and the 4-3 victory for MSU.

Results
#18 Michigan State 4, #19 Illinois 3
Doubles
1. Lucas Horve/Karlis Ozolins (ILL) vs. #3 Ozan Baris/Max Sheldon (MSU) 5-4, unfinished
2. Hunter Heck/William Mroz (ILL) def. #68 Ronald Hohmann/Sebastien Collard (MSU) 6-4
3. Kenta Miyoshi/Mathis Debru (ILL) def. Aristotelis Thanos/Graydon Lair (MSU) 6-4

Singles
1. #11 Ozan Baris (MSU) def. #31 Karlis Ozolins (ILL) 2-6, 6-4, 6-4
2. #47 Hunter Heck (ILL) def. #34 Ronald Hohmann (MSU) 6-4, 7-5
3. Aristotelis Thanos (MSU) def. Alex Petrov (ILL) 7-6 (7-4), 6-2
4. #83 Kenta Miyoshi (ILL) def. Sebastien Collard (MSU) 6-3, 0-6, 6-0
5. Max Sheldon (MSU) def. William Mroz (ILL) 6-4, 7-6 (7-4)
6. David Saye (MSU) def. Jeremy Zhang (ILL) 6-4, 6-4
Order of finish: Doubles (2,3); Singles (2,4,5,6,3,1)

No. 18 Spartans Come Back From Three Down In Historic 4-3 Win Over No. 19 Illinois

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Team Stats

Players Mentioned

Ozan Baris

Sebastien Collard

Ronald Hohmann

Graydon Lair

David Saye

Max Sheldon

Aristotelis Thanos