Spartans take four Buckeyes to third sets but fall at No. 1 Ohio State Saturday

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WILX) - No. 18 Michigan State Men’s Tennis took four Buckeyes to third sets in singles, but fell 1-6 at the hands of top-ranked Ohio State on the road on Saturday.

“Obviously not the result we wanted here,” head coach Harry Jadun said. “Plying on the road against the top team in the country you’ve got to really believe and you’ve got to accelerate when you’ve got a lead and today we had spots where we didn’t press on them enough. A lot to build and hope to see these guys again down the road but off the Penn State we go.”

Sophomore Ozan Baris claimed the Spartans lone point on the day. The 14th-ranked player in the nation topped 28th-ranked Justin Boulais, 6-2, 4-6, 6-4, winning on a 29-shot rally which he finalized with a lob of Boulais at the net.

Baris breaks the Buckeyes streak of 13 straight sweeps of the Spartans, claiming the first MSU point against MSU since 2013. He ties the team lead in wins at 13 as the top-ranked Big Ten player moved to 5-0 in conference play in 2024.

Things started slowly for the Spartans, dropping doubles decisions 6-3 on courts two and three and winning just two of six first sets to start singles play.

In the second sets, Ohio State completed straight-set wins on courts three and four to push it’s lead to 3-0. Two Spartans won their first sets of the day to force third sets, however, the two who won their first sets, dropped the second, sending a total of four matches to third sets.

With no matches to spare, the Spartans would have to claim each of the four deciding third sets to complete a comeback and defeat the Buckeyes for the first time since 1999. Ohio State persisted, however, powering through 6-3 and 6-1 third set wins at No. 5 and No. 6 to clinch and push things out of reach.

“We had spots where we were up, but they did what great teams do and bounced back and took those matches,” Jadun said.

After Baris put MSU on the board, redshirt freshman Aristotelis Thanos, playing at No. 2 singles for the first time while both Baris and graduate student Ronald Hohmann III are in the lineup, was the last Spartan standing. He would drop the final set, 3-6, to the nation’s 19th-ranked Cannon Kingsley to end his streak of 11 straight matches won.

Up Next

The Spartans travel to State College, Pa. to look to bounce back against bottom of the league Penn State Sunday, with first serve set for noon. The Nittany Lions have lost 14 straight and have been swept 10 times on the year, last against Michigan, 0-4 on Friday.

Results

No. 18 Michigan State 1, No. 1 Ohio State 6

Singles

1. #14 Ozan Baris (MSU) def. #28 Justin Boulais (OSU) 6-2, 4-6, 6-4

2. #19 Cannon Kingsley (OSU) def. Aristotelis Thanos (MSU) 6-3, 6-7 (2-7), 6-3

3. #16 JJ Tracy (OSU) def. #43 Ronald Hohmann (MSU) 6-3, 7-5

4. #25 Jack Anthrop (OSU) def. Sebastien Collard (MSU) 7-5, 6-4

5. #114 Robert Cash (OSU) def. Max Sheldon (MSU) 6-2, 6-7 (5-7), 6-1

6. Alexander Bernard (OSU) def. David Saye (MSU) 5-7, 6-1, 6-3

Doubles

1. #20 Andrew Lutschaunig/Justin Boulais (OSU) vs. #6 Ozan Baris/Max Sheldon (MSU) 5-4, unfinished

2. #80 Robert Cash/Bryce Nakashima (OSU) def. Sebastien Collard/Taym Alazmeh (MSU) 6-3

3. Cannon Kingsley/JJ Tracy (OSU) def. Graydon Lair/Aristotelis Thanos (MSU) 6-3

Michigan State 20-4 (6-1); National ranking #18

Ohio State 24-1 (6-0); National ranking #1

Order of finish: Doubles (2,3); Singles (3,6,5,1,2)

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