No. 16 Men’s Tennis Concludes Home Stand Friday

EAST LANSING, Mich. – 16^th ranked Men’s Tennis will play conclude it’s five game home stretch Friday, taking on Clemson at the MSU Indoor Tennis Center at 6  p.m..
 
The Spartans enter the contest 8-0 on the season after sweeping two double headers last weekend with quality opponents such as Middle Tennessee State and Boise State. MSU will look to equal the best start to a season in 63 years, a 9-0 start accomplished in the 2011 season.
 
Rejoining the squad is freshman Aristotelis Thanos was in his hometown Athens, Greece, over the weekend representing his native nation alongside the likes of World No. 10 Stefanos Tsitsipas. On Saturday, Thanos defeated the world No. 265 singles player, Nicholas David Ionel, 4-6, 6-3, 6-2, helping the Greeks to the next round.
 
Scouting Clemson
The Tigers enter the matchup 2-2, dropping their last two matches at the ITA Kickoff Weekend Columbia, S.C. Regional, swept by Louisville and 4-2 at the hands of No. 2 South Carolina. A common opponent for Clemson and MSU this season is Brown who the Spartans swept 7-0 on Jan. 19 while the Tigers trumped the Bears 6-1 on Jan. 13.
 
Freshman Noa Vukadin is the lone ranked Tiger in singles, slotted at No. 84 in the ITA’s most recent rankings update on Wednesday, Feb. 7. In doubles, Vukadin teams up with junior Maxwell Smith to make the No. 33 duo nationally. Senior Ryuhei Azuma finished the 2023 season inside the ITA Single top 100 and has a team-best 6.4 WTN.
 
Series History vs. Clemson
This is the first meeting between the two sides in East Lansing while Clemson holds a 4-0 all-time record over Michigan State. The last meeting was a 4-3 home win for Clemson on Jan. 29, 2017.  
 
Nation’s Top Doubles Team among Historic Rankings Update for Spartans
On Wednesday, MSU Men’s Tennis received several program-best classifications in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association’s updated rankings, led by junior Max Sheldon and sophomore Ozan Baris’ jump to No. 1 doubles team in the nation.
 
In the team poll, the undefeated Spartans jumped to No. 16, the fifth straight week the team has improved to a program-high mark since cracking the top 25 in the coaches poll for the first time during the preseason. 
 
Sheldon and Baris’ status as the chief pairing in the country is the first time any Spartan tennis student-athletes have topped the…