SAN DIEGO, CALIF. – MSU Men’s Tennis duo of junior Max Sheldon and sophomore Ozan Baris completed a historic run at the ITA Fall National Championships double title, claiming the first national title in program history.
“This really plants the Spartan flag on the national stage and I think that a lot of people are starting to realize that Michigan State is for real,” Head Coach Harry Jadun said. “We’re just getting started, but, I’m excited for the future and to see where this takes us.”
Sheldon and Baris topped Old Dominion brothers Connor and Codie Van Schalkwyk in the title match on Sunday, Nov. 5, 7-5, 6-3. The Monarchs siblings were up 5-4, a game away from clinching the first set of the match, but the relentless Spartans bounced back and claimed it for their own. The MSU duo would use that momentum to control the second set, never allowing the Old Dominion team to claim consecutive games, winning the match in straight sets.
Resilience was a theme throughout the course of the five-day tournament for Sheldon and Baris. The Spartan pair came out on top in tiebreakers in each of the prior four rounds.
“I’m just so proud of them for staying tough in big moments today and throughout the whole tournament,” Jadun said. “From the first match on Wednesday all the way to Sunday, they played at a really high level, and that’s what this tournament demands.”
In the opening round of 32 Wednesday, the two split the first sets with South Florida’s Alvin Tudorica and Erik Grevelius, 6-1, 2-6. The Spartans claimed the first-to-10 tiebreaker set 10-5 to advance.
The following night, the duo outlasted Jeremie Casabon and Nathan Cox of Vanderbilt in a lengthy battle, 6-3, 6-7 (7/9), [16-14]. In the quarterfinals, they were victorious over Boston College’s JJ Bianchi and Jake Vassel, 7-6 (7/3), 6-3.
In the semifinals on Saturday, Sheldon and Baris again battled to a hard-fought tiebreaker victory in the first set and kept the upper hand in the second set, defeating Washington’s Cesar Bouchelaghem and Dzianis Zharyn, 7-6 (7/4), 6-3.
The young duo made history before play had even begun at the Barnes Tennis Center on Wednesday. The two became the second MSU doubles team to earn entry into the ITA Fall National Championships since the Spartan pairing of Francisco Trinidad and Ken Kigongo in 1998. At the…
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