Michigan State Men’s Tennis Makes Statement at ITA National Tournament
9/29/2025 5:46:00 PM | Men's Tennis
MSU sends six players to Tulsa, earning NCAA berth, upset wins, and doubles success
EAST LANSING, MICH. – Michigan State men's tennis competed in the ITA Men's All-American Championships this past week, Sept. 20-28, in Tulsa, Oklahoma, featuring a full field of top collegiate players in both singles and doubles draws.
Michigan State sent six competitors, junior Taym Alazmeh, sophomore Danial Rakhmatullayev, senior David Saye, sophomore Matthew Forbes, senior Ozan Baris, and sophomore Vuk Radjenovic.
The Spartans to compete in the first round of prequalifying singles were Alazmeh, Rakhmatullayev, Saye, and Radjenovic. Forbes joined the action in the first round of qualifying singles, and Baris joined for the first round of the main draw singles.
Baris, ranked No. 7 nationally, highlighted the Spartans' trip by knocking off two ranked opponents in singles play. He rallied to beat No. 28 Jack Loutit of Kentucky, 4-6, 7-6 (3), 4-2. He later defeated No. 21 Aleksa Krivokapic of Purdue, 6-1, 6-1, in the round of 16. The quarterfinal run secured his place in the NCAA field. Baris' action came to a close with a hard-fought three-set loss to Jay Friend of Arizona 3-6, 6-2, 2-6.
Michigan State also saw a breakthrough from Matthew Forbes, who advanced through qualifying and earned a three-set win over No. 22 Trevor Svajda of SMU, 7-6 (5), 3-6, 7-6 (6), in the main draw round of 32. The Spartan sophomore's run came to a close in the quarterfinals after a tough 7-6 (10-8), 3-6 loss to Devin Badenhorst of Baylor.
In doubles, Alazmeh and Rakhmatullayev added to the Spartans' strong showing by upsetting Georgia's No. 84-ranked pair of Derrick Chen and Santiago Giamichelle, 6-7 (2), 6-1, 10-7, to reach the quarterfinals. The Alazmeh/Rakhmatullayev duo had a 5-0 run from pre-qualifying to the main draw of the tournament. They were eliminated by Princeton's Landon Ardila and Paul Inchauspe, who went on to qualify for the NCAA Tournament, by a score of 3-6, 6-1, 5-10.
Saye opened pre-qualifying with a straight-set win over Timothy Li of Hawaii, 7-6 (7), 6-4, before falling to William Manning (NC State) 6-3, 6-3.
Radjenovic made a statement of his own in qualifying. He bested Alejandro Melero, 6-3, 3-6, 7-5, before falling to Romain Gales (Clemson), 6-3, 6-2.
The Spartans now turn their attention to the upcoming week, building on momentum from their performance in Tulsa. Up next, MSU will be in Holland, Michigan for the Hope College Invite.
Pre-Qualifying Singles:
Taym Alazmeh (MSU) def. Timofey Stepanov (Cal) 6-7, 7-6, 7-5
Taym Alazmeh (MSU) def. Shaurya Bharadwaj (Penn) 6-4, 6-3
Henry Jefferson (Florida) def. Taym Alazmeh (MSU) 7-6, 6-4, 6-0
David Saye (MSU) def. Timothy Li (Hawai'i) 7-6, 6-4
William Manning (NC State) def. David Saye (MSU) 6-3, 6-3
Danial Rakhmatullayev (MSU) def. Landon Ardila (Princeton) 6-4, 6-4
Perry Gregg (Notre Dame) def. Danial Rakhmatullayev (MSU) 4-6, 6-1, 6-4
Vuk Radjenovic (MSU) def. Alejandro Melero (Oklahoma) 6-3, 3-6, 7-5
Romain Gales (Clemson) def. Vuke Radjenovic (MSU) 6-3, 6-2
Qualifying Singles:
Matthew Forbes (MSU) def. Billy Blaydes (Auburn) 6-2, 6-2
Matthew Fores (MSU) def. Antonio Prat (Miami) 6-0, 6-2
Main Draw Singles:
Ozan Baris (MSU) def. Lucas Andrade da Silva (South Carolina) 6-3, 6-3
Ozan Baris (MSU) def. Jack Loutit (Kentucky) 4-6, 7-6, 4-2
Ozan Baris (MSU) def. Aleksa Krivokapic (Purdue) 6-1, 6-1
Jay Friend (Arizona) def. Ozan Baris (MSU) 6-3, 2-6, 6-2
Matthew Forbes (MSU) def. Martin Borisiouk (NC State) 7-5, 7-6
Matthew Forbes (MSU) def. Trevor Svajda (SMU) 7-6, 3-6, 7-6
Matthew Forbes (MSU) def. Kenta Miyoshi (Illinois) 6-4, 6-7, 7-5
Devin Badenhorst (Baylor) def. Matthew Forbes (MSU) 7-6, 6-3
Pre-Qualifying Doubles:
Alazmeh/Rakhmatullayev (MSU) def. Rice/Kim (Virginia) 6-4, 6-4
Alazmeh/Rakhmatullayev (MSU) def. Kudernatsch/Dubouch (Memphis) 6-4, 3-6, 10-6
Qualifying Doubles:
Alazmeh/Rakhmatullayev (MSU) def. Padgham/Weintraub (Arkansas) 7-6, 6-0
Alazmeh/Rakhmatullayev (MSU) def. Harazaki/Melero (Oklahoma) 6-1, 3-6, 10-6
Main Draw Doubles:
Kacper/Luca (Wake Forest) def. Baris/Forbes (MSU) 5-7, 6-4, 10-8
Alazmeh/Rakhmatullayev (MSU) def. Chen/Giamichelle (Georgia) 7-6, 1-6, 10-7
Alazmeh/Rakhmatullayev (MSU) def. Johnson/Van Loben Sels (UCLA) 6-2, 2-6, 10-5
Inchauspe/Ardila (Princeton) def. Alazmeh/Rakhmatullayev (MSU) 6-3, 1-6, 10-5
Michigan State sent six competitors, junior Taym Alazmeh, sophomore Danial Rakhmatullayev, senior David Saye, sophomore Matthew Forbes, senior Ozan Baris, and sophomore Vuk Radjenovic.
The Spartans to compete in the first round of prequalifying singles were Alazmeh, Rakhmatullayev, Saye, and Radjenovic. Forbes joined the action in the first round of qualifying singles, and Baris joined for the first round of the main draw singles.
Baris, ranked No. 7 nationally, highlighted the Spartans' trip by knocking off two ranked opponents in singles play. He rallied to beat No. 28 Jack Loutit of Kentucky, 4-6, 7-6 (3), 4-2. He later defeated No. 21 Aleksa Krivokapic of Purdue, 6-1, 6-1, in the round of 16. The quarterfinal run secured his place in the NCAA field. Baris' action came to a close with a hard-fought three-set loss to Jay Friend of Arizona 3-6, 6-2, 2-6.
Michigan State also saw a breakthrough from Matthew Forbes, who advanced through qualifying and earned a three-set win over No. 22 Trevor Svajda of SMU, 7-6 (5), 3-6, 7-6 (6), in the main draw round of 32. The Spartan sophomore's run came to a close in the quarterfinals after a tough 7-6 (10-8), 3-6 loss to Devin Badenhorst of Baylor.
In doubles, Alazmeh and Rakhmatullayev added to the Spartans' strong showing by upsetting Georgia's No. 84-ranked pair of Derrick Chen and Santiago Giamichelle, 6-7 (2), 6-1, 10-7, to reach the quarterfinals. The Alazmeh/Rakhmatullayev duo had a 5-0 run from pre-qualifying to the main draw of the tournament. They were eliminated by Princeton's Landon Ardila and Paul Inchauspe, who went on to qualify for the NCAA Tournament, by a score of 3-6, 6-1, 5-10.
Saye opened pre-qualifying with a straight-set win over Timothy Li of Hawaii, 7-6 (7), 6-4, before falling to William Manning (NC State) 6-3, 6-3.
Radjenovic made a statement of his own in qualifying. He bested Alejandro Melero, 6-3, 3-6, 7-5, before falling to Romain Gales (Clemson), 6-3, 6-2.
The Spartans now turn their attention to the upcoming week, building on momentum from their performance in Tulsa. Up next, MSU will be in Holland, Michigan for the Hope College Invite.
Pre-Qualifying Singles:
Taym Alazmeh (MSU) def. Timofey Stepanov (Cal) 6-7, 7-6, 7-5
Taym Alazmeh (MSU) def. Shaurya Bharadwaj (Penn) 6-4, 6-3
Henry Jefferson (Florida) def. Taym Alazmeh (MSU) 7-6, 6-4, 6-0
David Saye (MSU) def. Timothy Li (Hawai'i) 7-6, 6-4
William Manning (NC State) def. David Saye (MSU) 6-3, 6-3
Danial Rakhmatullayev (MSU) def. Landon Ardila (Princeton) 6-4, 6-4
Perry Gregg (Notre Dame) def. Danial Rakhmatullayev (MSU) 4-6, 6-1, 6-4
Vuk Radjenovic (MSU) def. Alejandro Melero (Oklahoma) 6-3, 3-6, 7-5
Romain Gales (Clemson) def. Vuke Radjenovic (MSU) 6-3, 6-2
Qualifying Singles:
Matthew Forbes (MSU) def. Billy Blaydes (Auburn) 6-2, 6-2
Matthew Fores (MSU) def. Antonio Prat (Miami) 6-0, 6-2
Main Draw Singles:
Ozan Baris (MSU) def. Lucas Andrade da Silva (South Carolina) 6-3, 6-3
Ozan Baris (MSU) def. Jack Loutit (Kentucky) 4-6, 7-6, 4-2
Ozan Baris (MSU) def. Aleksa Krivokapic (Purdue) 6-1, 6-1
Jay Friend (Arizona) def. Ozan Baris (MSU) 6-3, 2-6, 6-2
Matthew Forbes (MSU) def. Martin Borisiouk (NC State) 7-5, 7-6
Matthew Forbes (MSU) def. Trevor Svajda (SMU) 7-6, 3-6, 7-6
Matthew Forbes (MSU) def. Kenta Miyoshi (Illinois) 6-4, 6-7, 7-5
Devin Badenhorst (Baylor) def. Matthew Forbes (MSU) 7-6, 6-3
Pre-Qualifying Doubles:
Alazmeh/Rakhmatullayev (MSU) def. Rice/Kim (Virginia) 6-4, 6-4
Alazmeh/Rakhmatullayev (MSU) def. Kudernatsch/Dubouch (Memphis) 6-4, 3-6, 10-6
Qualifying Doubles:
Alazmeh/Rakhmatullayev (MSU) def. Padgham/Weintraub (Arkansas) 7-6, 6-0
Alazmeh/Rakhmatullayev (MSU) def. Harazaki/Melero (Oklahoma) 6-1, 3-6, 10-6
Main Draw Doubles:
Kacper/Luca (Wake Forest) def. Baris/Forbes (MSU) 5-7, 6-4, 10-8
Alazmeh/Rakhmatullayev (MSU) def. Chen/Giamichelle (Georgia) 7-6, 1-6, 10-7
Alazmeh/Rakhmatullayev (MSU) def. Johnson/Van Loben Sels (UCLA) 6-2, 2-6, 10-5
Inchauspe/Ardila (Princeton) def. Alazmeh/Rakhmatullayev (MSU) 6-3, 1-6, 10-5
Players Mentioned
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