Michigan State University
Penn State
No. 32 Michigan State Men's Tennis Returns Home After Two Weeks on the Road
3/27/2025 7:12:00 PM | Men's Tennis
Spartans set to defend home court following back-to-back road weekends.
EAST LANSING, Mich. – Michigan State men's tennis returns to home turf after two weekends full of road trips to host a pair of matches at the MSU Indoor Tennis Center on Saturday and Sunday.Â
The Spartans will take on Penn State on Saturday, March 29 at 11 a.m., and then Ohio State on Saturday, March 30 at 2 p.m., in the second half of a doubleheader with the MSU women's tennis team.
With their most recent road victories, the Michigan State men's tennis team holds an overall record of 10-6 and 5-1 in B1G conference play, while remaining undefeated at home this season.
Decorated Spartan
The Big Ten Conference announced its weekly awards, where freshman Vuk Radjenovic was named the Big Ten Freshman of the Week award.Â
Radjenovic earns this award after his outstanding performance against Indiana and Purdue this past weekend.Â
Against Purdue, Radjenovic delivered a decisive 6-2, 4-6, 6-3 victory over Maj Premzl to clinch the road win for the Spartans.
The first-year Spartan added another pivotal victory with a hard-fought 6-3, 6-4 triumph over Indiana's Braeden Gelletich.
The freshman finished the weekend undefeated (2-0) in match play against Purdue and Indiana.Â
Last Outing
The Spartans hit the road last weekend, taking on No. 59 Indiana and No. 47 Purdue.Â
Against Indiana, the Spartans returned to their top doubles pairings, with junior Ozan Baris/redshirt sophomore Aristotelis Thanos at No. 1, the Sheldon brothers- senior Max Sheldon and freshman Mitchell Sheldon at No. 2, and freshmen Danial Rakhmatullayev/ Radjenovic at No. 3.
Ma. Sheldon/Mi. Sheldon dominated at No. 2 doubles, winning 6-1, while Baris/Thanos secured the doubles point with another 6-1 victory. The final match went unfinished.
In singles, Ma. Sheldon, fresh off his Big Ten Player of the Week honor, cruised to a 6-1, 6-1 win. Freshman Matthew Forbes added a 6-4, 6-0 victory, and Radjenovic clinched the match with a 6-3, 6-4 win. The remaining matches went unfinished.
On Sunday against Purdue, the Spartans adjusted their doubles lineup, keeping Baris/Thanos at No. 1, moving Alazmeh/Rakhmatullayev to No. 2, and placing the Sheldon brothers at No. 3.Â
Ma. Sheldon/Mi. Sheldon secured a 6-4 win, but Purdue claimed the doubles point after victories at No. 1 and No. 2.
In singles, junior David Saye got MSU on the board with a 6-2, 6-2 win, followed by Forbes' 6-3, 6-2 victory to put the Spartans ahead.Â
Purdue tied it up before Ma. Sheldon's 7-6 (7-3), 6-3 win reclaimed the lead.Â
Radjenovic clinched the match with a 6-2, 4-6, 6-3 victory.
Thanos closed out the day with a comeback win, 6-7, 7-5, 10-3.
ITA Team Rankings
The Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) dropped their weekly team rankings at the beginning of the week. Michigan State dropped from No. 29 to No. 32 in this week's rankings.Â
Scouting Penn State
Penn State is 11-6 on the season and are 0-5 in conference play. The Nittany Lions have one player in ITA singles ranking, Loren Byers finds his spot at No. 91.Â
Scouting Ohio State
Ohio State is 16-2 on the season and are 5-0 in conference play. The Buckeyes are ranked No. 3 in the latest ITA rankings and have been in the Top 4 all year.
Three Buckeyes are ranked in the singles rankings. Aidan Kim is No. 13, Alexander Bernard is No. 52, and Jack Anthrop is No. 77. In doubles, Bryce Nakashima and Will Jansen are ranked No. 41.
Up Next:
The Green and White are back home next weekend, as well as taking on Northwestern on Friday, April 4 at 5 p.m. and Illinois on Sunday, April 6 at 12 p.m.
Players Mentioned
