MSU Men’s Tennis Upsets No. 1 Ohio State Sunday

Sunday, March 15

Columbus, Ohio

12 PM

Michigan State University

Ohio State

Photo by: Ohio State Athletics

3/15/2026 5:57:00 PM | Men's Tennis

Michigan State earns first win over Ohio State since 1999, deals OSU first B1G home loss since 2003.

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Michigan State men's tennis upset No. 1 Ohio State, 4-3, in Columbus on Sunday, for MSU's first win over OSU since 1999. The Spartans also dealt the Buckeyes their first Big Ten home loss since 2003.

This is the first time Michigan State has defeated Ohio State since 1999, and the first win in Columbus since 1998.

The Spartans are now 4-0 in B1G action and 7-7 overall. MSU is currently on a four-match win streak, with all four matches coming from conference play.

Michigan State fought hard in doubles but was unable to claim the point after a set of tightly-contested matches. The No. 23-ranked Spartan duo of junior Taym Alazmeh and sophomore Danial Rakhmatullayev faced No. 1-ranked Brandon Carpico and Nikita Filin, but ultimately fell, 3-6. Spartan sophomore Mitchell Sheldon and redshirt-junior Aristotelis Thanos defeated No. 15-ranked Alexander Bernard and Alex Okonkwo, 6-4. At No. 3 doubles, senior Ozan Baris and sophomore Matthew Forbes went through an intense battle with Aidan Kim and Bryce Nakashima, tying 6-6, but ultimately fell 11-9 in the tiebreaker.

The Spartans put on an incredible performance in singles, earning multiple wins over ranked opponents. The first Spartan win of the day came from Alazmeh, who defeated Ohio State's Loren Byers in an impressive straight-set, 6-0, 6-3 victory. Thanos squared off against No. 6-ranked Aidan Kim and came out with a massive 6-0, 6-2 victory. With yet another upset, Rakhmatullayev defeated No. 124-ranked Bryce Nakashima.

To clinch the win for the Spartans, No. 11-ranked Forbes took the court against No. 22-ranked Jack Anthrop, battling through a three-set match before coming out victorious, 6-2, 1-6, 6-3, to seal the Spartans' upset win.

After putting up a hard-fought, three-set battle, No. 25-ranked Ozan Baris fell to No. 19-ranked Preston Stearns. Sheldon fell to No. 93-ranked Nikita Filin, 1-6, 2-6.

The Spartans are back on the road next week to face Northwestern on Friday, March 20, and Illinois on Sunday, March 22.

Doubles:
1. No. 1 Brandon Carpico/Filin (OSU) def. No. 23 Taym Alazmeh/Danial Rakhmatullayev (MSU) 3-6
2. Aristotelis Thanos/Mitchell Sheldon (MSU) def. No. 15 Alex Okonkwo/Alexander Bernard (OSU) 6-4
3. No. 18 Aidan Kim/Bryce Nakashima (OSU) def. Ozan Baris/Matthew Forbes (MSU) 6-6 (11-9)
Order of Finish: 1, 2, 3

Singles:
1. No. 11 Matthew Forbes (MSU) def. No. 22 Jack Anthrop (OSU) 6-2, 1-6, 6-3
2. Aristotelis Thanos (MSU) def. No. 6 Aidan Kim (OSU) 6-0, 6-2
3. No. 19 Preston Stearns (OSU) def. No. 25 Ozan Baris (MSU) 7-6 (7-4), 6-7 (3-7), 10-5
4. Taym Alazmeh (MSU) def. Loren Byers (OSU) 6-0, 6-3
5. Danial Rakhmatullayev (MSU) def. No. 124 Bryce Nakashima (OSU) 6-4, 6-4
6. No. 93 Nikita Filin (OSU) def. Mitchell Sheldon (MSU) 6-1, 6-2
Order of Finish: 6, 4, 2, 5, 1, 3

Match Notes:
Michigan State 7-7, 3-1 Big Ten; National ranking #46
Ohio State 14-3, 2-1 Big Ten; National ranking #1