Michigan State University
No. 26 USC
No. 28 Michigan State Men’s Tennis Clashes With West Coast Foes in Big Ten Action
4/10/2025 5:41:00 PM | Men's Tennis
MSU men’s tennis faces off against West Coast opponents in the final crucial Big Ten road match-ups.
EAST LANSING, Mich. – No. 28 Michigan State men's tennis hits the road for the last time during the regular-season as the Spartans head to Los Angeles to take on No. 30 USC on Friday, April 11 at 8 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. PT, and No. 27 UCLA on Sunday, April 13 at 3 p.m. ET / 12 p.m. PT.
This is the first meeting between the Spartans and the Bruins and Trojans since the addition of USC, UCLA, Washington, and Oregon.
Decorated Spartans
Before heading to California, the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) released its weekly team and singles rankings, with the Spartans climbing three spots from No. 31 to No. 28 after securing victories over Northwestern and Illinois.
Four Spartans earned spots in this week's rankings. Junior Ozan Baris moved up one position to No. 9, while redshirt-sophomore Aristotelis Thanos jumped four spots to No. 31. Senior Max Sheldon rounded out the top-100 at No. 98, and freshman Matthew Forbes made his spot at No. 101.
Danial Rakhmatullayev was named Big Ten Freshman of the Week for the second time, as announced by the conference office on Wednesday.
Rakhmatullayev, a native of Aktau, Kazakhstan, earned the honor with his outstanding performances against Northwestern and Illinois. In the Spartans' 6-1 win over Northwestern, Rakhmatullayev partnered with senior Max Sheldon to secure the doubles point with a commanding 6-2 victory over Max Bengtsson and Vincent Yang. He then extended MSU's lead with a dominant 7-5, 6-2 singles victory against Yang.
Against Illinois, Rakhmatullayev and his doubles partner cruised to a 6-1 win over Illinois' Jeremy Zhang and Mathis Debru, clinching the doubles point and contributing to MSU's 4-0 upset of No. 24 Illinois on Sunday.
Rakhmatullayev is one of six Spartans to earn Big Ten honors this season. Senior Max Sheldon received the first conference recognition on Sept. 25, followed by junior Ozan Baris on Oct. 16 and Rakhmatullayev on Oct. 30. The spring season accolades began on Jan. 22, when sophomore Aristotelis Thanos earned MSU's first of the year. Freshman Matthew Forbes earned Freshman of the Week honors on Feb. 5, and freshman Vuk Radjenovic claimed the award on March 26.
Last Outing
The Spartans earned their third upset of the season against No. 24 Illinois, following wins over No. 7 Kentucky on January 19 and No. 10 Arizona on March 12.
The Spartans maintained their doubles pairings from Friday's win over Northwestern. Junior Ozan Baris and freshman Matthew Forbes took No. 1 doubles, redshirt-sophomore Aristotelis Thanos and freshman Vuk Radjenovic played at No. 2, and senior Max Sheldon and freshman Danial Rakhmatullayev rounded out the group.
Sheldon and Rakhmatullayev defeated Illinois' Zhang and Debru, 6-1, while Baris and Forbes secured the doubles point with a 6-2 win.
Freshman Mitchell Sheldon dominated his singles match, winning 6-2, 6-1 over Illinois' Guzauskas. Radjenovic followed with a 7-5, 6-2 victory against Debru, extending the Spartans' lead to 3-0.
Max Sheldon clinched the match with a 7-5, 6-1 win over Zhang, and the remaining matches went unfinished.
Scouting USC
USC men's tennis team, currently ranked No. 30 nationally, has demonstrated both resilience and competitiveness throughout the 2025 season, posting a 12-7 overall and 6-3 Big Ten record.
The Trojans recently upset in-state rival UCLA in a close 4-3 victory, breaking their six-match winning streak. USC then split its road trip with a win at Penn State before losing at No. 3 Ohio State.
Scouting UCLA
UCLA began Big Ten play with an impressive six-match winning streak, including a dominant 4-0 victory over Washington on March 30. The Bruins are 9-8 overall but have a 7-2 B1G record, sliding to No. 32 in this week's ITA team rankings.
The Bruins boast four players in the singles rankings: Spencer Johnson at No. 24, Rudy Quan at No. 34, Emon Van Loben Sels at No. 87, and Adarsh Tripathi at No. 113.
Adarsh Tripathi and Alex Hoogermartins are ranked No. 27 in ITA doubles rankings.
Up Next:
The Spartans return home to face in-state rival No. 21 Michigan for Senior Night to celebrate Max Sheldon and Josh Portnoy on Saturday, April 19, at 12 p.m. EST.
Players Mentioned
