National Title Concludes a Historic Fall Season for MSU Men's Tennis
SAN DIEGO, CALIF. - MSU Men's Tennis duo of junior Max Sheldon and sophomore Ozan Baris completed a historic run at the ITA Fall National Championships double title, claiming the first national title in program history."This really plants the Spartan flag on the national stage and I think that a lot of people are starting to realize that Michigan State is for real," Head Coach Harry Jadun said. "We're just getting started, but, I'm excited for the future and to see where this takes us."
Sheldon and Baris topped Old Dominion brothers Connor and Codie Van Schalkwyk in the title match on Sunday, Nov. 5, 7-5, 6-3. The Monarchs siblings were up 5-4, a game away from clinching the first set of the match, but the relentless Spartans bounced back and claimed it for their own. The MSU duo would use that momentum to control the second set, never allowing the Old Dominion team to claim consecutive games, winning the match in straight sets.
Resilience was a theme throughout the course of the five-day tournament for Sheldon and Baris. The Spartan pair came out on top in tiebreakers in each of the prior four rounds.
"I'm just so proud of them for staying tough in big moments today and throughout the whole tournament," Jadun said. "From the first match on Wednesday all the way to Sunday, they played at a really high level, and that's what this tournament demands."
In the opening round of 32 Wednesday, the two split the first sets with South Florida's Alvin Tudorica and Erik Grevelius, 6-1, 2-6. The Spartans claimed the first-to-10 tiebreaker set 10-5 to advance.
The following night, the duo outlasted Jeremie Casabon and Nathan Cox of Vanderbilt in a lengthy battle, 6-3, 6-7 (7/9), [16-14]. In the quarterfinals, they were victorious over Boston College's JJ Bianchi and Jake Vassel, 7-6 (7/3), 6-3.
In the semifinals on Saturday, Sheldon and Baris again battled to a hard-fought tiebreaker victory in the first set and kept the upper hand in the second set, defeating Washington's Cesar Bouchelaghem and Dzianis Zharyn, 7-6 (7/4), 6-3.
The young duo made history before play had even begun at the Barnes Tennis Center on Wednesday. The two became the second MSU doubles team to earn entry into the ITA Fall National Championships since the Spartan pairing of Francisco Trinidad and Ken Kigongo in 1998. At the beginning of April, Sheldon and Baris were tabbed by the ITA's Preseason Poll as the No. 2 ranked doubles team in the nation after claiming ITA All-Americans honors last spring season.
Baris was also the first player in program history selected to the singles draw of the ITA Fall National Championships and claimed Michigan State's first ever singles win in the tournament.
The Okemos, Michigan, native, ranked No. 25 in ITA's singles poll, has claimed several top-25 victories over the fall, a singles title at the highly-touted Battle in the Bay (Sep. 24) and a second-place finish at the ITA All-American Championships (Oct. 8). Baris, however, was overcome in the second round of nationals play Thursday, falling to the highly-rated Radu Papoe of Cornell, 6-4, 6-3.
With the men's tennis fall season over, Baris, Sheldon and the other Spartans that played a hand in a historic preseason for the program, will await the ITA's verdict in the post-fall update to the preseason rankings on Nov. 15.
Select Spartans from Jadun's squad will compete in the ITF M15 professional tournament, the Capital City Tennis Classic, on the home courts of the MSU Indoor Tennis Center from Nov. 12-19, while continuing to prepare for the start of the collegiate spring season on Jan. 19.
Release courtesy of MSU Athletics.
