EAST LANSING, MICH. – The NCAA announced Tuesday that three Spartans would represent Michigan State Men’s Tennis in the NCAA Singles and Doubles Championships in Stillwater, Okla. beginning May 20.
The ITA Fall National Champion pairing of sophomore Ozan Baris and junior Max Sheldon return to the NCAA Championships for the second time in as many years. Graduate student Ronald Hohmann III was selected to the NCAA Singles Championships for the third time in his career and Baris earns singles entry in back-to-back seasons.
“Todays another historic day for this program,” head coach Harry Jadun said. “It’s a testament to their hard work and I’m just really proud of the guys and the way they’ve competed all year. It really just shows that we’re one of the premier programs out there and I’m excited to see these guys make a run.”
This marks the first time in program history that the Spartans have sent three student-athletes to the NCAA Championships. Baris and Sheldon were at-large selections to the doubles field of 32 while Hohmann was an at-large and Baris an auto-qualifier for the singles field of 64.
Baris and Sheldon defeated the No. 1 seeded doubles team in the first round of last year’s NCAA Championships but fell in the round of 16. The duo bounced back the next fall however, winning the ITA Fall National Championship in November and reaching as high as No. 1 in this season’s ITA rankings, currently No. 16 with a 12-5 record.
In Hohmann’s first season at MSU, the Second Team All-Big Ten selection is headed to the singles tournament for the third time in his career after earning entry twice while at LSU. The Oyster Bay, N.Y. native made it to the sweet 16 behind a pair of wins in 2022 after falling in the first round in 2021. Hohmann finished the season 20-14, ranked 50th, as high as a career-best 11th.
Last season, Baris became the first Spartan to ever win a match in both the NCAA Singles and Doubles Championships and will look to repeat the feat this season. The Okemos, Mich. native earned automatic qualification as he was the top-ranked player in the Big Ten at No. 9, reaching as high as No. 4. Baris is 27-6, having won each of his last seven, going undefeated in B1G play.
The singles and doubles championships will take place May 20-25 at Oklahoma State University, after the conclusion of the team…
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