Undefeated Spartans to Take on Three Ranked Opponents at Spring Break Tournament

MONTGOMERY, Ala. – Undefeated and 16th ranked men's tennis will face three ranked opponents between Friday and Saturday at the Blue Gray National Tennis Classic, starting with No. 49 Boise State Friday at 10 a.m..

With the Blue Gray Classic seeding based on the season's first ITA computerized rankings, the second-seeded Spartans drew a rematch with the Broncos who they took down 5-2 in East Lansing on Feb. 2.

Following Friday morning's match, the Spartans will take on either No. 26 Middle Tennessee State, who they also took down 5-2 in East Lansing on Feb. 4, or No. 44 Auburn in the second round. The second round match will be split across both days with the doubles point being played at 5 p.m. Friday and the singles picking up on Saturday at 11:30 a.m..

The four teams on the other side of the bracket that MSU could face in the finale Saturday afternoon are first-seeded and national No. 18 Alabama, No. 35 Princeton, No. 47 Old Dominion and Rice.

In Michigan State's ten wins that marks the program's best start to a season in 64 years, each one has been won by multiple points. The Spartans have come out on top 5-2 five times, 6-1 twice, and 4-1, 4-0 and 7-0 once each.

Scouting No. 49 Boise State
The Broncos enter their second matchup of the season with MSU 6-4 and 2-0 on neutral sites. When the Spartans defeated Boise State 5-2 at home on Feb. 2, MSU was without freshman usual No. 3 singles starter Aristotelis Thanos who was representing Greece in the Davis Cup. Boise's State's two points came at No. 4 singles and No. 6 singles.

Senior Sam Sippel is the lone Boise State representative in the ITA player rankings, slotted as the nation's No. 43 singles player. Graduate student Ronald Hohmann III, then ranked No. 12 in the nation, topped Sippel 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 at No. 1 singles in the sides' first meeting.

Series History vs. Boise State
Michigan State is 2-3 all-time against Boise State with the Spartans coming out on top 5-2 in the last two meetings. The Broncos claimed the lone battle between the two on neutral grounds.

Scouting No. 26 Middle Tennessee State
Prior to the start of the tournament the Blue Raiders are 7-5, which includes a 5-2 road defeat at the hands of the Spartans on Feb. 4. In that matchup that was closer than the score indicated, Middle Tennessee State claimed the doubles point and another point at No. 3 singles, where Thanos likely would have been playing had he not been competing abroad.

Two Blue Raiders were ranked in the ITA's latest update Tuesday: Leo Raquin at No. 33 in singles and Marcel Kamrowski at No. 107. They were trumped by MSU sophomore and current national No. 4 Ozan Baris and Hohmann at No. 1 and 2 singles respectively earlier in the month.

Series History vs. Middle Tennessee State
The Spartans victory on Feb. 4 is the lone tally in the win column as the Blue Raiders claimed each of the four prior meetings. This could be the first meeting between the two at a neutral site.

Scouting No. 44 Auburn
Auburn comes down the road to the Blue Gray Classic 6-2 on the season, including most recently a 4-0 home sweep of Middle Tennessee State on Sunday, Feb. 18. Fifth-year player Tyler Stice is the lone ranked tiger, No. 44 in the latest ITA singles player rankings.

Series History vs. Auburn
The all-time series between the Tigers and Spartans is tied at one win a piece with the Tigers having come out on top last in a narrow 4-3 match in eastern Alabama on Jan. 15, 2023.

Nation's Top Doubles Team among Historic Rankings Update for Spartans
On Feb. 7, MSU Men's Tennis received several program-best classifications in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association's first individual rankings update, led by junior Max Sheldon and sophomore Ozan Baris' jump to No. 1 doubles team in the nation.

Sheldon and Baris' status as the chief pairing in the country is the first time any Spartan tennis student-athletes have topped the rankings list.

In the latest rankings update on Feb. 20, Baris remained the program's highest-ever seeded individual, up two spots to No. 4. Also improving to a career-best rating was senior Graydon Lair at No. 92, 3-0 in singles play on the young season.

In the ITA team coaches poll, the undefeated Spartans jumped to as high as No. 16, the fifth straight week the team has improved to a program-high mark since cracking the top 25 in the coaches poll for the first time during the preseason.

Still Perfect
Three Spartans remain undefeated in singles play and of the eleven doubles teams that have notched wins, five are also yet to drop a set.

No. 88 ranked junior Max Sheldon leads the way for the deep MSU lineup, 7-0 in singles and 5-0 in doubles thus far. No. 4 ranked Baris sits at 6-0, including two ranked wins, and No. 92 Lair is undefeated in three matches.

Spartans in ITA DI Men's Tennis Rankings Update (Feb. 20, 2024)
Singles