Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 EAST LANSING, MICH. – Spartans Men’s Tennis improved to 6-0 on the season with two wins to start the four-match home weekend, victorious over Ball State 4-0 and over Boise State 5-3 in Friday afternoon’s double header.
“It was a gritty win by the guys,” Head Coach Harry Jadun said. “The scoreboard shows 5-2 but it definitely felt very close; credit to Boise State, they battled. It’s a big one for the guys and we’ve got to more big ones on Sunday.
MSU will host another double header Sunday, taking on a talented Middle Tennessee State squad at noon and Bellarmine at 3 p.m. in the MSU Indoor Tennis Center.
Young Talent Leads MSU to Second Sweep of Season
In the front end of the double header MSU swept Ball State, 4-0, their 17th consecutive win over the Cardinals. Spartan underclassmen helped them halfway to the doubles point while two Spartan juniors and a sophomore claimed the winning singles points.
Freshman Taym Alazmeh and sophomore Ozan Baris made quick work at No. 2 doubles, winning 6-0. After Ball State pulled even, the duo of senior Graydon Lair and graduate student Ronald Hohmann clinched the doubles point with a narrow 7-6 (7-5) win in a tiebreaker.
In singles play, No. 59 ranked Max Sheldon cruised to a 6-3, 6-3 win. Sophomore David Saye followed up with a 6-3, 6-3 win of his own, pushing the score to 3-0. Junior East Lansing native Josh Portnoy would clinch the match for MSU, triumphant at No. 5 singles, 6-3, 6-2.
Senior Reed Crocker played his first singles match in 364 days, last having played on Feb. 3, 2023, also against Ball State. Lair won his first set 6-1 and was in a 6-6 (4-4) tiebreak in the second set, but his match also went unfinished.
Experienced Players Give MSU 2-0 Weekend Start
It was the experienced Spartans that helped Michigan State to it’s second win on the day and sixth of the season, as it beat Boise State 6-2.
In doubles, after a 6-4 win by the grad transfer duo and ITA’s No. 45 Sebastien Collard and Ronald Hohmann III, senior Graydon Lair was part of the double’s point clinching tiebreaker for the second time on the afternoon as he and junior Max Sheldon combined for the 7-6 [7-4] win.
Collard was again the first on the board in singles, winning in straight sets 6-3, 6-3 and improving to 5-0 on the season. Junior Max Sheldon followed with a straight set victory of his own, moving to 4-0 in 2024 himself.
After Boise State would reclaim a point at No. 6 singles, No. 12 ranked Ronnie Hohmann III would knock off the 40th ranked Sam Sippel at No. 1 singles in a 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 affair to clinch the victory for MSU at 4-1. With the dual already decided, Baris and sophomore David Saye played out their third sets at No. 2 and No. 4 singles, the national No. 6 ranked Baris bouncing back to come out on top 5-7, 7-5, 6-3 while Saye fell the second tiebreak of the match to settle the score at 5-2 for MSU.
Results
No. 19 Michigan State 4 (5-0), Ball State 0 (3-3)
Singles
1. Sebastien Collard (MSU) vs. Nathaniel Webster (BALLST) 4-6, 4-2, unfinished
2. #59 Max Sheldon (MSU) def. Mason Tran (BALLST) 6-3, 6-3
3. David Saye (MSU) def. Sajin Smith (BALLST) 6-3, 6-3
4. #116 Graydon Lair (MSU) vs. Eli Herran (BALLST) 6-1, 6-6 (4-4), unfinished
5. Josh Portnoy (MSU) def. Broc Fletcher (BALLST) 6-3, 6-2
6. Reed Crocker (MSU) vs. Drew Hayward (BALLST) 4-6, 4-4, unfinished
Doubles
1. Graydon Lair/Ronald Hohmann (MSUM) def. Nathaniel Webster/Mason Tran (BALLST) 7-6 (7-5)
2. Ozan Baris/Taym Alazmeh (MSUM) def. Petar Petrovic/Parrish Simmons (BALLST) 6-0
3. Eli Herran/Sajin Smith (BALLST) def. Josh Portnoy/Reed Crocker (MSUM) 6-3
Order of finish: Doubles (2,3,1); Singles (2,3,5)
No. 19 Michigan State 5 (6-0), Boise State 2 (3-2)
Singles
1. #12 Ronald Hohmann (MSU) def. #40 Sam Sippel (BSU) 6-3, 4-6, 6-4
2. #6 Ozan Baris (MSU) def. Jip van Assendelft (BSU) 5-7, 7-5, 6-3
3. Sebastien Collard (MSU) def. Jan Lucca Marquardt (BSU) 6-3, 6-3
4. James Van Herzeele (BSU) def. David Saye (MSU) 6-7 (4-7), 6-4, 7-6 (7-4)
5. #59 Max Sheldon (MSU) def. Jett Middleton (BSU) 6-4, 6-2
6. John Chin (BSU) def. Luke Baylis (MSU) 6-4, 6-4
Doubles
1. #45 Sebastien Collard/Ronald Hohmann (MSU) def. Sam Sippel/Jip van Assendelft (BSU) 6-4
2. Caden Moortgat/Jan Lucca Marquardt (BSU) def. Ozan Baris/Taym Alazmeh (MSU) 6-2
3. Max Sheldon/Graydon Lair (MSU) def. John Chin/Jett Middleton (BSU) 7-6 (7-4)
Order of finish: Doubles (2,1,3); Singles (3,5,6,1,2)