Michigan State University
No. 24 Illinois
No. 31 Spartan Men’s Tennis Shuts Out No. 24 Illinois Sunday For Third Upset Win Of Season
4/6/2025 6:34:00 PM | Men's Tennis
Spartans' dominant 4-0 win marks season's third victory over higher-ranked opponent.
EAST LANSING, Mich. – No. 31 Michigan State secured another home court upset as they took down No. 24 Illinois in a 4-0 sweep at the MSU Indoor Tennis Center on Sunday.
This was the Spartans' third upset of the season, including their spring home opener against No. 7 Kentucky back on January 19 and No. 10 Arizona on March 12.
With the victory, the Spartans improved to 13-7 overall and 8-2 in Big Ten play, while Illinois dropped to 12-8 on the season and 5-4 in conference action.
Looking to continue their success in doubles, the Spartans chose to keep the double pairings the same as Friday's win over Northwestern. Junior Ozan Baris/freshman Matthew Forbes were at No. 1 doubles, redshirt-sophomore Aristotelis Thanos/freshman Vuk Radjenovic slid in No. 2 doubles and senior Max Sheldon/freshman Danial Rakhmatullayev rounded out the doubles pairings for the Green & White.
The duo of Ma. Sheldon and Rakhmatullayev took down Jeremy Zhang/Mathis Debru from Illinois, 6-1.
Securing the doubles point was Baris/Forbes. The Spartan pairing defeated Kenta Miyoshi/Tyler Bowers of Illinois, 6-2.
With the doubles point in favor of the Spartans, the remaining match went unfinished.
Freshman Mitchell Sheldon made quick work of his singles match, cruising past Illinois' Gabrielius Guzauskas with a dominant, 6-2, 6-1 win.
Looking to notch his first victory of the day, Radjenovic battled to a 7-5, 6-2 win over Mathis Debru, extending the Spartans' lead to 3-0.
Clinching the match for MSU was Ma. Sheldon, who edged out a tight first set before pulling away for a 7-5, 6-1 win against Jeremy Zhang.
With the match secured for the Spartans, the remaining contests were left unfinished.
Up Next:
The Spartans hit the road to the West Coast as they head to Los Angeles, California, 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.
Results
#31 Michigan State 4 (12-7, 7-2 B1G), #24 Illinois 0 (12-7, 5-3 B1G)
Illinois vs Michigan State
April 6, 2025 at East Lansing, Mich.
MSU Indoor Tennis Center
Doubles:
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Ozan Baris/Matthew Forbes (MSU) def. Kenta Miyoshi/Tyler Bowers (ILL) 6-2
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Vuk Radjenovic/Aristotelis Thanos (MSU) vs Zach Viiala/William Mroz (ILL) 3-4 unf.
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Danial Rakhmatullayev/Max Sheldon (MSU) def. Jeremy Zhang/Mathis Debru (ILL) 6-1
Singles:
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No. 28 Aristotelis Thanos (MSU) vs No. 16 Kenta Miyoshi (ILL) 4-6, 7-6 (7-4), 2-2 unf.
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No. 10 Ozan Baris (MSU) vs No. 64 William Mroz (ILL) 4-6, 6-4, 6-6 (5-3) unf.
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No. 93 Max Sheldon (MSU) def. Jeremy Zhang (ILL) 7-5, 6-1
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No. 91 Matthew Forbes (MSU) vs Zach Viiala (ILL) 7-5, 3-6, 5-6
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Vuk Radjenovic (MSU) def. Mathis Debru (ILL) 7-5, 6-2
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Mitchell Sheldon (MSU) def. Gabrielius Guzauskas (ILL) 6-2, 6-1
Order of finish: Doubles: (3, 1) Singles: (6, 5, 3)
Team Stats
#1 Doubles Match
#2 Doubles Match
#3 Doubles Match
Order of Finish:
3,1
#1 Singles Match
#2 Singles Match
#3 Singles Match
#4 Singles Match
#5 Singles Match
#6 Singles Match
Order of Finish:
6,5,3
Players Mentioned
