Michigan State University Athletics
Michigan State University
No. 46 Michigan
No. 20 MSU Men’s Tennis Downed In Final Regular Season Road Match
4/11/2026 9:22:00 PM | Men's Tennis
Michigan State falls at Michigan, 4-2, in Ann Arbor in final regular season road match.
ANN ARBOR, Mich. – No. 20 Michigan State men's tennis had its 10-match win streak halted with the Spartans' first Big Ten Conference loss in a tightly-contested, strenuous, 4-2 battle at No. 46 Michigan in Ann Arbor on Saturday.
Michigan State slides to 13-8 overall and 10-1 in Big Ten Conference action, while Michigan advances to 10-9 and 6-5 in B1G play.
Play began with the Spartans asserting their claim on the courts, with the No. 62-ranked tandem of sophomore Mitchell Sheldon and redshirt-senior Aristotelis Thanos winning at No. 3 doubles, 6-1.
The No. 63-ranked pairing of senior Ozan Baris/sophomore Matthew Forbes followed suit, clinching the doubles point for MSU at No. 2 doubles with a 6-3 win.
Singles play began with the Green & White looking to serve up a victory.
Baris supported the cause, securing a singles point at No. 3 singles versus Mert Oral, 6-4, 6-1.
The Wolverines were quick to bounce back, evening the score.
Junior Taym Alazmeh fell to Alex Cairo at No. 5 singles despite a back-and-fourth battle, 6-4, 6-4.
Sophomore Danial Rakhmatullayev finished shortly after, where Nicholas Steiglehner was victorious at No. 4 singles, 6-2, 6-4.
Michigan got a leg up over the Spartans at No. 1 singles, where Thanos dropped his match to No. 8-ranked Max Dahlin, 6-1, 7-6 (7-1), despite battling from behind and forcing a tie-break during his second set.
With the score 3-2, the remaining Spartans had to battle it out with their Wolverine opponents.
While 14th-ranked Forbes took his first set, No. 65 Bjorn Swenson came back and overtook Forbes in straight sets, ultimately clinching the match in Michigan's favor, 1-6, 6-3, 6-3.
Sheldon's match at No. 6 singles went unfinished, standing at 6-7 (5-7), 6-2, 5-2.
Up Next
MSU men's tennis returns to East Lansing for its final set of home matches, hosting Indiana on Friday, April 17, at 5 p.m. and Purdue on Sunday, April 19, at 12 p.m.
Locations for these matches will be announced at a later date, depending on the weather.
Fans can keep up to date with Michigan State men's tennis by following them on Instagram, X and Facebook @msu_mtennis.
Tennis Match Results
Michigan vs. Michigan State
4/11/2026 at Ann Arbor, Mich.
Michigan 4, Michigan State 2
Singles
No. 1 – No. 8 Max Dahlin (U-M) d. Aristotelis Thanos (MSU) 6-1, 7-6 (1)
No. 2 – No. 65 Bjorn Swenson (U-M) d. No. 14 Matthew Forbes (MSU) 1-6, 6-3, 6-3
No. 3 – No. 50 Ozan Baris (MSU) d. Mert Oral (U-M) 6-4, 6-1
No. 4 – Nicholas Steiglehner (U-M) d. Danial Rakhmatullayev (MSU) 6-2, 6-4
No. 5 – Alex Cairo (U-M) d. Taym Alazmeh (MSU) 6-4, 6-4
No. 6 – Arnav Bhandari (U-M) vs. Mitchell Sheldon (MSU) 7-6 (5), 2-6, 2-5 unfinished
Doubles
No. 1 – No. 55 Max Dahlin/Pierce Shaya (U-M) vs. No. 32 Taym Alazmeh/Danial Rakhmatullayev (MSU) 4-5 unfinished
No. 2 – No. 63 Ozan Baris/Matthew Forbes (MSU) d. Bjorn Swenson/Alex Cairo (U-M) 6-3
No. 3 – No. 62 Mitchell Sheldon/Aristotelis Thanos (MSU) d. Arnav Bhandari/Mert Oral (U-M) 6-1
Order of Completion: Doubles 2-3; Singles 3-5-4-1-2
Players Mentioned
