Freshman Ozan Baris prepares to serve during his singles match against Northwestern on Sunday, April 23 at the MSU Indoor Tennis Center.
Michigan State tennis player Ozan Baris has only been at Michigan State for two years but has been consistently achieving records in a short amount of time. Baris was recently ranked No. 4 in the country by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association, or ITA.
With this, Baris' ranking is the highest individual ranking any player has ever reached while playing at Michigan State.
Michigan State men's tennis account posted about the ranking, saying, “Number 4 in the nation, number 1 in our record books.”
Number 4 in the nation, number 1 in our record books 🫶#GoGreen pic.twitter.com/zXED1DkFtS
— Michigan State Men’s Tennis (@MSU_MTennis) February 21, 2024
Baris, a sophomore, has already accomplished a lot in his young career at MSU. Baris and his doubles partner Max Sheldon were just recently ranked No. 1 in the country by the ITA after reaching as high as No. 6 in 2023. The duo reached the round of 16 in the NCAA tournament in 2023 as well.
As a singles player, Baris holds a 19-3 record this season and has a familiarity with success by himself in the past as well. In 2023, Baris became the first player in MSU history to win a match as a singles and doubles player in the NCAA tournament. Baris also has a six-match win streak going back to January as a singles player this season.
Last season, Baris also collected many accolades such as an ITA Doubles All-American, Big Ten Freshman of the Year, First-Team All-Big Ten and an ITA All-Academic honor. He’s well on his way to a very similar season, if not better, for the 2024 season.
Looking ahead, Michigan State men's tennis, which is currently 10-0 on the season, is heading to Ala. for the Blue Gray Classic tournament on Friday, Feb. 23 and Saturday, Feb. 24, where Baris will be playing to continue his streak of great performances.
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