Michigan State starts its spring season with three home matches this weekend.
EAST LANSING, Mich. -- Michigan State men's tennis is looking forward to its spring home opener against No. 7 Kentucky this Friday at 5 p.m. at the MSU Indoor Tennis Center to open a big weekend to kick off the spring portion of the schedule.
Admission is free for fans and Sparty will be in attendance for Friday's action. Following Friday's match, the team will be autographing team posters for fans.
The 23rd-ranked Spartans kick off their spring season with a bang, hosting the No. 7 Wildcats in the first-ever home match-up between two top-25 teams. MSU's opening weekend continues on Sunday, when MSU hosts a doubleheader with Vanderbilt at 11 a.m. and Western Michigan at approximately 4 p.m.
"We're really excited to welcome two really good SEC schools and the in-state NCAA rival Western Michigan, who if you've looked at the past 10 years, they've gone 50-50 with us in matches," MSU head coach Harry Jadun said. "It's a big weekend for us, the guys are really excited to get a top-10 team to come to our place and open the season. Our guys feel like they belong in that top-10 discussion. We had a conversation this morning about going out and proving it. The first poll of the season was the coaches poll, which shows where the coaches view us and the guys have to go out there and prove them wrong."
Junior Ozan Baris spearheads the Spartans, coming off his NCAA Individual Championships run, as he was topped in a hard-fought three-set match by Columbia's Michael Zheng, 6-2, 4-6, 6-2, in the singles final of the NCAA Individual Championships. Baris continued to make Spartan men's tennis program history, as he was the first MSU player to play in a national singles final. He was also the first Spartan to reach two national semifinals, as he reached the last four of the singles championships in back-to-back years, after losing to eventual national champion Filip Planinsek of Alabama last spring.
"I think that his wins build the program and Ozan as well but the other guys see it as well," Jadun said. "You walk in the room and know what's expected and I think that the guys are raising their standards because what was good three months ago, isn't that good anymore because Baris got to the finals at NCAA and Aris won his first match, but lost a tough one against No. 3 Colton Smith of Arizona. It's really cool to see those standards being raised and that their goals have changed."
MSU's action continues on Sunday, where the Spartans take on Vanderbilt and Western Michigan in a doubleheader starting at 11 a.m.
Decorated Spartans
Junior Ozan Baris continued to set new records for the Spartans. Baris became the first Spartan to be the national runner-up in the NCAA Individual Championships in the fall, along with becoming the first-ever Spartan to be a three-time ITA All-American. He earned his spot in the NCAA Individual Championships by becoming the first MSU player to win the ITA Midwest Regional Singles Championship.
Sophomore Aristotelis Thanos joined Baris at the NCAA Individual Championships, winning his opening-round match, before he fell to No. 3 Colton Smith, from Arizona in the second round.
Baris also had the team lead as the first Spartan to earn three Big Ten Player of the Week awards. Senior Max Sheldon and freshman Danial Rakhmatullayev join Baris with their own B1G Player of the Week awards for the fall season.
Team Rankings
Michigan State men's tennis is ranked in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Men's Tennis Preseason Team Rankings for the second-straight season, and will open the spring portion of the schedule at No. 23.
After not being ranked in the Top 25 preseason poll since the ITA rankings began in 1981, this is the second year in a row that MSU has been ranked in the preseason poll, as the Spartans were No. 24 in last season's preseason Top 25.
Individual Rankings
MSU has four singles players and four doubles pairs ranked in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Division I Men's and Women's National Singles and Doubles Computerized Rankings.
Junior Ozan Baris, who finished as the National Runner-Up at the NCAA Individual Championships, is ranked No. 8. Sophomore Aristotelis Thanos, who advanced to the Round of 32 at the NCAA Individual Championships is ranked No. 27.
Freshman Matthew Forbes is ranked No. 40, the highest-ranked freshman in the country. Senior Max Sheldon is No. 83.
In doubles, freshman Danial Rakhmatullayev and sophomore Taym Alazmeh are ranked No. 66. The pair of Thanos and Baris is No. 94, while the duo of Forbes and Baris is No. 99, and the tandem of Sheldon and Forbes is No. 107.
Big Ten Player to Watch List
Michigan State freshman Vuk Radjenovic (Vook Rad-jen-oh-vich) has been named to the Big Ten Player to Watch List entering the spring of 2025 season, announced Jan. 10 by the conference office.
Radjenovic, a native of Belgrade, Serbia, just joined the Spartan roster at the semester break after signing with MSU in December.
Radjenovic played in the Junior Championships at Wimbledon and the Junior French Open in 2023. The 19-year-old has an ITA Junior career-high ranking of No. 57, as well as ATP rankings of 787 in singles and 789 in doubles.
Scouting Kentucky
No. 7 Kentucky started its season with a doubleheader against Northern Kentucky and Xavier. The Cats clinched two victories, 7-0, 7-0 on opening day with three players, Charlelie Cosnet, Matt Rankin, and Martin Breysach, each recording four match wins across singles and doubles on the day.
Scouting Vanderbilt
Vanderbilt is set to start its spring season on Thursday, January 16 where the Commodores take on Alabama A&M and Tennessee Tech in a home opener doubleheader. The Dores return to the court after competing at the ITA Sectional Championships in November.
Scouting Western Michigan
Western Michigan started its own spring season going 1-1, taking down Duquesne and losing to Notre Dame last Sunday. Western Michigan returns home for two matches on Friday before heading to East Lansing on Sunday to take on the Spartans.
Up Next
After Sunday's doubleheader, MSU hits the road for the first time during dual match play, heading to Fort Worth, Texas next weekend. The Spartans will take on Liberty on Saturday, Jan. 25 in an 11 a.m. ET / 10 a.m. CT start time, and then face either No. 2 TCU or Pacific on Sunday, Jan. 26.
Preview courtesy of MSU Athletics.
