Spartan Men’s Tennis Heads to South Carolina for First Round of the NCAA Regional Tournament, Face North Carolina On Friday

Friday, May 1

Columbia, S.C.

11 AM

Michigan State University

North Carolina

Spartan Men’s Tennis Heads to South Carolina for First Round of the NCAA Regional Tournament, Face North Carolina On Friday

4/30/2026 1:45:00 PM | Men's Tennis

Michigan State making third-straight appearance in NCAA Tournament and fourth overall.

EAST LANSING, Mich. – No. 16 Michigan State men's tennis will open NCAA Tournament regional action by taking on No. 43-ranked North Carolina in Columbia, South Carolina, on Friday, May 1 at 11 a.m. ET. The regional is hosted by South Carolina, and the Spartans and Tar Heels will be in action at the Carolina Outdoor Tennis Center, weather permitting.

After claiming the Big Ten Conference championship over the weekend, Michigan State earned the league's automatic bid to the tournament. This is the Spartans' third-straight year earning a bid to the tournament, and the fourth overall appearance.

MSU ended the regular season with an overall record of 18-8 and a conference record of 12-1. Michigan State is entering the NCAA Tournament after a standout performance at the Big Ten Tournament, defeating opponents Indiana, UCLA, and Ohio State on the way to its first B1G Tournament title since 1967.

The Spartans moved up in the ITA Team Rankings from No. 25 last week to No. 16 this week.

In the individual rankings, sophomore Matthew Forbes is No. 15, while senior Aristotelis Thanos is No. 29 and senior Ozan Baris is No. 43.

Junior Taym Alazmeh and sophomore Danial Rakhmatullayev moved up to No. 35 in doubles. The duo of Baris and Forbes are No. 35, while the tandem of Thanos and Mitchell Sheldon are ranked No. 64.

The Spartans have two players that are natives of North Carolina, in senior David Saye, who is from Charlotte, and sophomore Matthew Forbes, who is from Raleigh. Forbes' older sister, Abbey, played women's tennis at UNC, and was a member of the Tar Heels' 2023 NCAA National Championship and 2024 ACC Championship teams.

UNC had an impressive performance in the ACC Tournament, taking down Virginia Tech and Clemson in the first two rounds. In the quarterfinals, UNC fell to Notre Dame, 4-3.

The Tar Heels ended their season with an overall record of 15-11 and a conference record of 6-7.

Michigan State will join North Carolina, Richmond and South Carolina in Columbia for the first and second rounds. If the Spartans advance, they will face the winner of the match between Richmond and 13th-seeded South Carolina on Saturday, May 2 in the second round.

Fans can follow the Spartan action throughout the tournament on Instagram, X, and Facebook by following @MSU_MTennis or with "Watch Live" and "Live Stats" links at MSUSpartans.com.

Series History vs UNC
The Spartans and the Tar Heels have never faced each other in East Lansing. Michigan State holds a 2-23-0 record against UNC. Ahead of Friday's matchup, the Spartans are looking to claim the doubles point over UNC. Taking the doubles point to get an early score will give either team enough momentum to control singles action.