Friday, April 26
Evanston, Ill.
5 PM
Michigan State University
vs
Indiana
Men's Tennis Sets Sights on Big Ten Tournament Opener Friday
4/25/2024 4:09:00 PM | Men's Tennis
CHICAGO, Ill. – 19th-ranked Men's Tennis kicks off the postseason Friday in the quarterfinals of the Big Ten Tournament as the three seed against sixth seeded and national No. 68 Indiana with first serve at 5 p.m. ET.
Live Results | Full Bracket | TV: B1G+
In a season of program firsts, the Michigan State will seek its first Big Ten Tournament title and second ever conference championship, first since 1967. The Spartans have won each of their last three first round matches but have not made it out of the second round since the tournament switched to the single-elimination format in 1999.
The match will be streamed on B1G+ and the winner will advance to the semifinals on Saturday to play the winner of No. 2 seed Michigan vs. No. 7 Northwestern at 2:30 p.m. ET.
Scouting No. 68 Indiana
Indiana finished the regular season 16-10 overall and 4-5 in the Big Ten. In the ITA collegiate tennis rankings, the Hoosiers are represented by sophomore Sam Landau in singles, slotted at No. 100 nationally. In doubles, seniors Michael Andre and Ilya Tiraspolsky combine to make the 67th-ranked pairing.
Series History vs. Indiana
The Hoosiers hold a 63-25 all-time series lead over the Spartans. Michigan State has however come out on top in the previous three meetings between the two sides, including a 7-0 senior day sweep in East Lansing just 18 days ago on April 7.
The Hoosiers were without Landau, their top-rated player, for that match however, while the Spartans sat their own top singles player, Baris. The two are likely to meet on main court Friday.
Four Spartans Earn Postseason Honors, Baris Named B1G Player of the Year
Four Michigan State Men's Tennis student-athletes received Big Ten postseason awards Thursday, headlined by conference first-teamers sophomore Ozan Baris, the Big Ten Player of the Year and Aristotelis Thanos, the B1G Freshman of the Year.
Graduate student Ronald Hohmann III earned second-team honors while senior Reed Crocker merited the Big Ten Sportsmanship Award.
Baris, who was named Big Ten Freshman of the Year last season, becomes the first Spartan to be named Player of the Year since the award's inception in 1987. The Okemos, Mich., native is ranked ninth in singles by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association and as high as fourth, the highest rating of any Big Ten player. He owns a 27-6 singles record, 14-3 in dual matches, 6-0 in B1G play. With junior Max Sheldon he helps form a doubles team that is ranked 16th, as high as first in the nation, after winning the ITA Fall Doubles National Championship in November.
For Thanos, the 23-year-old from Athens, Greece earns his first collegiate honors. Thanos is 12-2 as a Spartan, 5-1 in conference action. He is 7-0 at the No. 3 singles slot and went on a team-high 11-match winning streak from Jan. 19 to April 7. The 2023 Davis Cup Greek National Team selection is the third Spartan to earn B1G Freshman of the Year and makes it consecutive seasons that an MSU player has collected the award.
Spartans in ITA DI Men's Tennis Rankings Update (April 23, 2024)
Singles
They've got Chemistry
In 23 matches second-year head coach Harry Jadun has lined up 19 different doubles pairings, all of which have recorded at least one win while 12 of the duos have winning records.
10-Win Club Singles Lineup
Live Results | Full Bracket | TV: B1G+
In a season of program firsts, the Michigan State will seek its first Big Ten Tournament title and second ever conference championship, first since 1967. The Spartans have won each of their last three first round matches but have not made it out of the second round since the tournament switched to the single-elimination format in 1999.
The match will be streamed on B1G+ and the winner will advance to the semifinals on Saturday to play the winner of No. 2 seed Michigan vs. No. 7 Northwestern at 2:30 p.m. ET.
Scouting No. 68 Indiana
Indiana finished the regular season 16-10 overall and 4-5 in the Big Ten. In the ITA collegiate tennis rankings, the Hoosiers are represented by sophomore Sam Landau in singles, slotted at No. 100 nationally. In doubles, seniors Michael Andre and Ilya Tiraspolsky combine to make the 67th-ranked pairing.
Series History vs. Indiana
The Hoosiers hold a 63-25 all-time series lead over the Spartans. Michigan State has however come out on top in the previous three meetings between the two sides, including a 7-0 senior day sweep in East Lansing just 18 days ago on April 7.
The Hoosiers were without Landau, their top-rated player, for that match however, while the Spartans sat their own top singles player, Baris. The two are likely to meet on main court Friday.
Four Spartans Earn Postseason Honors, Baris Named B1G Player of the Year
Four Michigan State Men's Tennis student-athletes received Big Ten postseason awards Thursday, headlined by conference first-teamers sophomore Ozan Baris, the Big Ten Player of the Year and Aristotelis Thanos, the B1G Freshman of the Year.
Graduate student Ronald Hohmann III earned second-team honors while senior Reed Crocker merited the Big Ten Sportsmanship Award.
Baris, who was named Big Ten Freshman of the Year last season, becomes the first Spartan to be named Player of the Year since the award's inception in 1987. The Okemos, Mich., native is ranked ninth in singles by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association and as high as fourth, the highest rating of any Big Ten player. He owns a 27-6 singles record, 14-3 in dual matches, 6-0 in B1G play. With junior Max Sheldon he helps form a doubles team that is ranked 16th, as high as first in the nation, after winning the ITA Fall Doubles National Championship in November.
For Thanos, the 23-year-old from Athens, Greece earns his first collegiate honors. Thanos is 12-2 as a Spartan, 5-1 in conference action. He is 7-0 at the No. 3 singles slot and went on a team-high 11-match winning streak from Jan. 19 to April 7. The 2023 Davis Cup Greek National Team selection is the third Spartan to earn B1G Freshman of the Year and makes it consecutive seasons that an MSU player has collected the award.
Spartans in ITA DI Men's Tennis Rankings Update (April 23, 2024)
Singles
- No. 9 – Ozan Baris
- No. 50 – Ronald Hohmann III
- No. 124 – Graydon Lair
- No. 16 – Max Sheldon/Ozan Baris
- No. 72 – Ronald Hohmann III/Ozan Baris
- No. 74 – Sebastien Collard/Ronald Hohmann III
They've got Chemistry
In 23 matches second-year head coach Harry Jadun has lined up 19 different doubles pairings, all of which have recorded at least one win while 12 of the duos have winning records.
10-Win Club Singles Lineup
- Ozan Baris | So. | 14-3, 6-0 B1G, 7-2 at No. 1
- Ronald Hohmann III | Gr. | 12-10, 3-6 B1G, 4-3 at No. 2
- Aristotelis Thanos | R-Fr. | 12-2, 5-1 B1G, 7-0 at No. 3
- Sebastien Collard | Gr. | 13-8, 3-5 B1G, 3-3 at No. 4
- Max Sheldon | Jr. | 14-5, 5-3 B1G, 6-1 at No. 5
- David Saye | So. | 10-6, 5-2 B1G, 2-1 at No. 6
Players Mentioned
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
A Mental Journey | Spartans All-Access
Thursday, January 23
Harry Jadun | Men's Tennis Press Conference | Jan. 14 2025
Tuesday, January 14
Ozan's Historic Run | Spartans All-Access
Wednesday, November 27
Harry Jadun | Men's Tennis Press Conference | Nov. 18 2024
Monday, November 18