MSU Men’s Tennis Victorious Over Nebraska In Home And B1G Opener Friday

Friday, March 6

East Lansing, Mich.

5 PM

Michigan State University

Nebraska

Photo by: Matthew Mitchell

MSU Men’s Tennis Victorious Over Nebraska In Home And B1G Opener Friday

3/6/2026 9:15:00 PM | Men's Tennis

Box Score

Michigan State defeats No. 40-ranked Nebraska, 4-1

EAST LANSING, Mich. – Michigan State men's tennis concluded both the Spartans' first home match and their first Big Ten Conference match of the season at home with an impressive, 4-1, win over No. 40-ranked Nebraska.

The Spartans were first on the board after a powerful performance in doubles. The No. 23-ranked duo of junior Taym Alazmeh and sophomore Danial Rakhmatullayev won 6-2 over Nebraska's Henry Lamchinniah and Matt Shearer. Shortly after, sophomore Matthew Forbes and junior Aristotelis Thanos followed suit and came out victorious at 6-2 over Henry Bilicic and Colson Wells (NEB). Senior David Saye and sophomore Mitchell Sheldon were tied 4-4 with Jeri Lassila and Joan Torres Espinosa, but the match went unfinished.

In singles, Sheldon strengthened the Spartan lead with a 6-3, 6-1 victory over Nebraska's Joan Torres Espinosa. Similarly, Rakhmatullayev won in a straight-set, 6-2, 6-3 triumph over Jeri Lassila (NEB). Thanos, facing Leo Linquet, clinched the win for the Spartans with a thrilling back-and-forth, 6-4, 6-3, victory.

Forbes fell 4-6, 3-6 after a hard-fought battle against Nikolay Sysoev. Alazmeh, up 7-6, 3-2, and Saye tied 1-1 in sets, both had their matches go unfinished.

Michigan State is back at home on Sunday, March 8, at 12 p.m. to face No. 29 Wisconsin at the MSU Indoor Tennis Center.

Fans who can't make it in person can follow Sunday's action from the MSU Tennis Center with "Watch Live" and "Live Results" links at MSUSpartans.com.

Doubles:
Taym Alazmeh/Danial Rakhmatullayev (MSU) def. Henry Lamchinniah/Matt Shearer (NEB) 6-2
Matthew Forbes/Aristotelis Thanos (MSU) def. Henry Bilicic/Colson Wells (NEB) 6-2
David Saye/Mitchell Sheldon (MSU) vs Jeri Lassila/Joan Torres Espinosa 4-4, uf
Order of Finish: 1, 2, 3 (uf)

Singles:
Aristotelis Thanos (MSU) def. Leo Linquet (NEB) 6-4, 6-3
Nikolay Sysoev (NEB) def. Matthew Forbes (MSU) 6-4, 6-3
Taym Alazmeh (MSU) vs Colson Wells (NEB) 6-7, 2-3, uf
Danial Rakhmatullayev (MSU) def. Jeri Lassila (NEB) 6-2, 6-3
David Saye (MSU) vs Niels Van Der Sijs (NEB) 6-1, 4-6, uf
Mitchell Sheldon (MSU) def. Joan Torres Espinosa 6-3, 6-1

Order of Finish: 6, 4, 2, 1