Friday, May 3
Boston, Mass.
11 AM
Michigan State University
vs
Denver
Spartans Aiming for First NCAA Tournament Win, Face Undefeated Denver Friday
5/2/2024 3:17:00 PM | Men's Tennis
BOSTON, Mass. –Men's Tennis kicks off its second NCAA Tournament in program history Friday at 11 a.m. in the round of 64 as the Boston regional two seed takes on third-seeded and undefeated Denver.
Watch Live | Live Results | Tournament Hub
The winner of Friday's match will face either fourth-seeded and Patriot League champs Boston University or national No. 12 and regional hosts Harvard. The Spartans enter the big dance 22-6, 5-3 on neutral courts, coming off a dramatic loss, 3-4 at the hands of Michigan in the Big Ten Tournament semifinal on Saturday, April 27.
MSU in the NCAA Tournament
In a season of program firsts MSU will seek it's first ever NCAA Tournament win. The only other time MSU has earned entry into the tournament was in 2013 as the Spartans would fall to Tulsa in the first round and finish the season 14-14.
Head Coach Harry Jadun was a sophomore playing at No. 6 singles on that team. Fast forward eleven years and in his second season at the helm of the program Jadun has turned around a program that hadn't won more than 15 games in the last decade and went 11-14 in his first year in charge to a season of several program first in 2024, namely a program-best 22 wins.
MSU Submitted Lineup
Singles
Doubles
Scouting Denver
The Pioneers are the nation's only undefeated team at 23-0, having also won the Summit League regular season and tournament titles.
Ranked No. 43 in the May 2 ITA rankings update, DU only faced one other ranked opponent during the regular season, besting No. 62 Oregon 4-1. The Pioneers played four common opponents as the Spartans during the regular season: Western Michigan (DU: 5-2, MSU: 6-1), Purdue (DU: 4-3, MSU: 5-2), Boise State (DU: 5-2, MSU: 5-2, 4-1) and Wisconsin (DU: 6-1, MSU: 7-0).
No Pioneers are ranked in the ITA singles top-125 or doubles top-90, however, as a team that has the winningest record in DI college tennis, their doubles and singles records are exceptional.
Denver Submitted Lineups
Singles
Doubles
This will be the first ever meeting between the two sides.
Baris, Hohmann and Sheldon Selected to NCAA Singles & Doubles Championships
The NCAA announced Tuesday that three Spartans would represent Michigan State Men's Tennis in the NCAA Singles and Doubles Championships in Stillwater, Okla. beginning May 20.
The ITA Fall National Champion pairing of sophomore Ozan Baris and junior Max Sheldon return to the NCAA Championships for the second time in as many years. Graduate student Ronald Hohmann III was selected to the NCAA Singles Championships for the third time in his career and Baris earns singles entry in back-to-back seasons.
This marks the first time in program history that the Spartans have sent three student-athletes to the NCAA Championships. Baris and Sheldon were at-large selections to the doubles field of 32 while Hohmann was an at-large and Baris an auto-qualifier for the singles field of 64.
Baris and Sheldon defeated the No. 1 seeded doubles team in the first round of last year's NCAA Championships but fell in the round of 16. The duo bounced back the next fall however, winning the ITA Fall National Championship in November and reaching as high as No. 1 in this season's ITA rankings, currently No. 16 with a 12-5 record.
In Hohmann's first season at MSU he is headed to the singles tournament for the third time in his career after earning entry twice while at LSU. The Oyster Bay, N.Y. native made it to the sweet 16 behind a pair of wins in 2022 after falling in the first round in 2021. Hohmann sits at 20-14, ranked 50th, as high as a career-best 11th.
Last season, Baris became the first Spartan to ever win a match in both the NCAA Singles and Doubles Championships and will look to repeat the feat this season. The Okemos, Mich. native earned automatic qualification as he was the top-ranked player in the Big Ten at No. 9, reaching as high as No. 4. Baris is 27-6, having won each of his last seven, going undefeated in B1G play.
The singles and doubles championships will take place May 20-25 at Oklahoma State University, after the conclusion of the team championship, which runs from May 16-19.
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 on April 25 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.
For Thanos, the 23-year-old from Athens, Greece earns his first collegiate honors. Thanos is 13-3 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 (May 2, 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.
Watch Live | Live Results | Tournament Hub
The winner of Friday's match will face either fourth-seeded and Patriot League champs Boston University or national No. 12 and regional hosts Harvard. The Spartans enter the big dance 22-6, 5-3 on neutral courts, coming off a dramatic loss, 3-4 at the hands of Michigan in the Big Ten Tournament semifinal on Saturday, April 27.
MSU in the NCAA Tournament
In a season of program firsts MSU will seek it's first ever NCAA Tournament win. The only other time MSU has earned entry into the tournament was in 2013 as the Spartans would fall to Tulsa in the first round and finish the season 14-14.
Head Coach Harry Jadun was a sophomore playing at No. 6 singles on that team. Fast forward eleven years and in his second season at the helm of the program Jadun has turned around a program that hadn't won more than 15 games in the last decade and went 11-14 in his first year in charge to a season of several program first in 2024, namely a program-best 22 wins.
MSU Submitted Lineup
Singles
- Ozan Baris | So. – Okemos, Mich. | 16-3 dual, 28-6 overall, ITA #9
- Ronald Hohmann III | Gr. – Oyster Bay, N.Y. | 13-10 dual, 21-14 overall, ITA #53
- Aristotelis Thanos | R-Fr. – Athens, Greece | 13-3 dual, 13-3 overall
- Sebastien Collard | Gr. – Gatineau, Quebec | 13-10 dual, 17-15 overall
- Max Sheldon | Jr. – Arlington Heights, Ill. | 15-6 dual, 22-9 overall
- David Saye | So. – Charlotte, N.C. | 11-7 dual, 12-7 overall
Doubles
- Ozan Baris/Aristotelis Thanos | 4-0 dual, 4-0 overall, ITA #65
- Ronald Hohmann III/Taym Alazmeh | 2-3 dual, 2-3 overall
- Graydon Lair/Max Sheldon | 7-2 dual, 7-2 overall
Scouting Denver
The Pioneers are the nation's only undefeated team at 23-0, having also won the Summit League regular season and tournament titles.
Ranked No. 43 in the May 2 ITA rankings update, DU only faced one other ranked opponent during the regular season, besting No. 62 Oregon 4-1. The Pioneers played four common opponents as the Spartans during the regular season: Western Michigan (DU: 5-2, MSU: 6-1), Purdue (DU: 4-3, MSU: 5-2), Boise State (DU: 5-2, MSU: 5-2, 4-1) and Wisconsin (DU: 6-1, MSU: 7-0).
No Pioneers are ranked in the ITA singles top-125 or doubles top-90, however, as a team that has the winningest record in DI college tennis, their doubles and singles records are exceptional.
Denver Submitted Lineups
Singles
- Nicolas Herrero Cuesta | Sr. - Segovia, Spain | 18-1 dual, 22-6 overall
- Daniel Sancho Arbizu | Jr. - Zaragoza, Spain | 19-2 dual, 28-6 overall
- Marvin Schaber | Gr. – Bad Krozingen, Germany | 19-2 dual, 26-5 overall
- Anish Sarinketh | Gr. – Katy, Texas | 12-1 dual, 21-5 overall
- Rafaello Papajcik | So. – London, England | 11-2 dual, 20-4 overall
- Charlie Miller | Sr. – Glasgow, Scotland | 13-4 dual, 21-7 overall
Doubles
- Nicolas Herrero Cuesta/Rikuto Yamaguchi | 10-3 dual, 10-3 overall
- Marvin Schaber/Daniel Sancho Arbizu | 13-2 dual, 13-2 overall
- Anish Sarinketh/Rafaello Papajcik | 8-0 dual, 9-3 overall
This will be the first ever meeting between the two sides.
Baris, Hohmann and Sheldon Selected to NCAA Singles & Doubles Championships
The NCAA announced Tuesday that three Spartans would represent Michigan State Men's Tennis in the NCAA Singles and Doubles Championships in Stillwater, Okla. beginning May 20.
The ITA Fall National Champion pairing of sophomore Ozan Baris and junior Max Sheldon return to the NCAA Championships for the second time in as many years. Graduate student Ronald Hohmann III was selected to the NCAA Singles Championships for the third time in his career and Baris earns singles entry in back-to-back seasons.
This marks the first time in program history that the Spartans have sent three student-athletes to the NCAA Championships. Baris and Sheldon were at-large selections to the doubles field of 32 while Hohmann was an at-large and Baris an auto-qualifier for the singles field of 64.
Baris and Sheldon defeated the No. 1 seeded doubles team in the first round of last year's NCAA Championships but fell in the round of 16. The duo bounced back the next fall however, winning the ITA Fall National Championship in November and reaching as high as No. 1 in this season's ITA rankings, currently No. 16 with a 12-5 record.
In Hohmann's first season at MSU he is headed to the singles tournament for the third time in his career after earning entry twice while at LSU. The Oyster Bay, N.Y. native made it to the sweet 16 behind a pair of wins in 2022 after falling in the first round in 2021. Hohmann sits at 20-14, ranked 50th, as high as a career-best 11th.
Last season, Baris became the first Spartan to ever win a match in both the NCAA Singles and Doubles Championships and will look to repeat the feat this season. The Okemos, Mich. native earned automatic qualification as he was the top-ranked player in the Big Ten at No. 9, reaching as high as No. 4. Baris is 27-6, having won each of his last seven, going undefeated in B1G play.
The singles and doubles championships will take place May 20-25 at Oklahoma State University, after the conclusion of the team championship, which runs from May 16-19.
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 on April 25 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.
For Thanos, the 23-year-old from Athens, Greece earns his first collegiate honors. Thanos is 13-3 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 (May 2, 2024)
Singles
- No. 9 – Ozan Baris
- No. 53 – Ronald Hohmann III
- No. 119 – Graydon Lair
- No. 16 – Max Sheldon/Ozan Baris
- No. 65 – Ozan Baris/Aristotelis Thanos
- No. 72 – Sebastien Collard/Ronald Hohmann III
- No. 76 – Ronald Hohmann III/Ozan Baris
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.
Players Mentioned
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