Max Sheldon and Ozan Baris—Photo courtesy of ITA (Intercollegiate Tennis Association)
Max Sheldon and Ozan Baris, two Michigan State tennis players who act as a dynamic duo on the tennis court, have received an honor from the Intercollegiate Tennis Association, or ITA, as being ranked as the number one doubles pair in the country. This achievement marks the first time any Spartan, either as a singles player or in a doubles team, has ever been ranked No. 1 in the country in the ITA rankings, the largest ranking organization in collegiate tennis.
The Michigan State men’s tennis posted an infographic on their social media account about the accomplishment, labeling the two MSU players as “top dogs.”
Baris is a sophomore and is from just down the road in Okemos, was an ITA Doubles All-American, Big Ten Freshman of the Year, ITA All-Academic and First Team All-Big Ten, all in his freshman year at MSU in this last season. Baris holds a 17-3 singles record this season and is the No. 6 singles player in the country as well.
Sheldon is a junior from Arlington Heights, Ill. and was awarded Academic All-Big Ten, an ITA Doubles All-American and First Team All-Big Ten during his sophomore year in 2023. This season, Sheldon is ranked within the ITA top 100 in singles and holds a 13-3 singles record.
As a pair, Sheldon and Baris have familiarity with ranking high in the ITA as the duo ranked as high as No. 6 in the ITA rankings, as well as spending four weeks straight in the top 10 at one point in 2023. The two also reached the NCAA Doubles Championship Round of 16 after defeating a number one seeded South Carolina team en route.
The team's next match is at home on Friday, Feb. 9 at 6 p.m. against Clemson. The match will take place at the MSU Indoor Tennis Facility.
