Spartans win 12th Straight, but Later Fall in Tournament Final

MONTGOMERY, Ala. – No. 16 ranked Men's Tennis won it 's 12^th consecutive game to start the season, 4-3 over No. 44 Auburn Saturday morning, prior to falling 4-0 to No. 35 Princeton in the Blue Gray National Tennis Classic final in the afternoon.

On the day the Spartans saw their historic 64-year-best 12-game win streak snapped as well as a stretch of 11 consecutive matches won by multiple points to start the season.

MSU Advances to 12-0, Blue Gray Classic Final
The semifinal versus Auburn started with a doubles point played on Friday afternoon and picked up with singles play Saturday morning. The Spartans held an overnight 1-0 lead behind two tiebreak wins at No.1 and No. 2 doubles.

In singles play, MSU and the local Tigers would go back and forth, with only one match being decided in straight-sets, national No. 4 and sophomore Ozan Baris, winning 6-2, 6-3 at No. 2. Junior and national No. 88 Max Sheldon also picked up a win, moving to 8-0 on the season.

With the score even at 3-3, it was the experienced graduate student and No. 19 Ronald Hohmann III that clinched with a comeback win over the 44^th-ranked Tyler Stice, 4-6, 6-4, 6-3. It was Hohmann's fourth ranked win of the season as he improved to 6-1.

Spartans Suffer First Defeat of the Season
In the Blue Gay Classic Final, the Spartans ran into a buzzsaw in No. 35 ranked and the tournaments three seed Princeton that had already swept No. 47 Old Dominion Friday and upset No. 18 Alabama 4-3 earlier in the day.

The nation's No. 1 doubles pairing of Sheldon and Baris fell for the first time this season as the Spartans dropped the doubles point and to an early 1-0 deficit. The Ivy League's Tigers would collect wins at No. 1, No. 3 and No. 4 singles to clinch the match and the tournament.

Results
#16 Michigan State 4 (12-0), #44 Auburn 3 (7-3)
Doubles
1. #1 Ozan Baris/Max Sheldon (MSU) def. Raul Dobai/Finn Murgett (AUB) 7-6 (7-5)
2. Sebastien Collard/Taym Alazmeh (MSU) def. Billy Blaydes/Alejandro Moreno (AUB) 7-6 (7-5)
3. Tyler Stice/Will Nolan (AUB) def. Graydon Lair/Ronald Hohmann (MSU) 6-2

Singles
1. #19 Ronald Hohmann (MSU) def. #44 Tyler Stice (AUB) 4-6, 6-4, 6-3
2. #4 Ozan Baris (MSU) def. Raul Dobai (AUB) 6-2, 6-3
3. Finn Murgett (AUB) def. Sebastien Collard (MSU) 6-3, 7-6 (7-5)
4. Alejandro Moreno (AUB) def. David Saye (MSU) 6-1, 1-6, 7-5
5. #88 Max Sheldon (MSU) def. Billy Blaydes (AUB) 4-6, 6-2, 6-3
6. Nicholas Heng (AUB) def. #92 Graydon Lair (MSU) 6-2, 7-6 (7-4)
Order of finish: Doubles (3,1,2); Singles (6,2,3,5,4,1)

#16 Michigan State 0 (12-1), #35 Princeton 4 (11-4)
Doubles
1. Paul Inchauspe/Filippos Astreindis (PRIN) def. #1 Ozan Baris/Max Sheldon (MSU) 7-6 (7-5)
2. Ellis Short/Sebastien Sec (PRIN) def. Sebastien Collard/Taym Alazmeh (MSU) 6-4
3. Fnu Nidunjianzan/Alan Kam (PRIN) vs. Graydon Lair/Josh Portnoy (MSU) 6-6, unfinished

Singles
1. #66 Paul Inchauspe (PRIN) def. #19 Ronald Hohmann (MSU) 6-2, 6-4
2. Fnu Nidunjianzan (PRIN) vs. #4 Ozan Baris (MSU) 4-6, 3-5, unfinished
3. Sebastien Sec (PRIN) def. Sebastien Collard (MSU) 6-3, 6-2
4. Landon Ardila (PRIN) def. Taym Alazmeh (MSU) 6-3, 6-4
5. Ellis Short (PRIN) vs. David Saye (MSU) 6-0, 3-6, 1-0, unfinished
6. Aleksandar Mitric (PRIN) vs. #88 Max Sheldon (MSU) 6-3, 5-2, unfinished
Order of finish: Doubles (2,1); Singles (1,4,3)

The Spartans will be back in action in another spring break tournament, the Diablo College Tennis Invitational, hosted by Arizona State. MSU will play three matches from a field that comprises of seven other ranked teams, some in the top-25, from Friday through Sunday March 1-3.

Spartans win 12th Straight, but Later Fall in Tournament Final

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Team Stats

Players Mentioned

Taym Alazmeh

Ozan Baris

Sebastien Collard

Ronald Hohmann

Graydon Lair

Josh Portnoy

David Saye

Max Sheldon