OJAI, Calif. – Neither several weather delays nor Ohio State could stand in the way of the Michigan State men’s tennis winning its first Big Ten tournament title since 1967 after a dramatic 4-3 victory over Ohio State in the championship match on Saturday, April 25, at Libbey Park.
After starting at 8 p.m. ET, the match had several weather delays, and finished just before 3 a.m. ET, nearly seven hours after it began.
The spirited fans that waited out all the delays, witnessed the top-seeded Spartans knocking off the 3rd-seeded Buckeyes, who had won 14 of the last 19 Big Ten tournament titles since 2006, and were making their 22nd-consecutive appearance in the final.
The last delay was at 12:10 a.m. ET with two matches still going, redshirt-senior Aristotelis Thanos at No. 1 singles and sophomore Matthew Forbes at No. 2 singles. When play resumed at approximately 2:30 a.m., Thanos battled OSU’s Aidan Kim but fell 7-6 (7-5), 3-6, 7-5, which tied the team score at 3-3, setting up the drama on court 2.
Forbes defeated Jack Anthrop in a thrilling three-set slugfest, 6-2, 5-7, 7-6 (7-3) to clinch the match, and the title, for the Spartans.
This is the second time this season the Spartans have defeated the Buckeyes. The first time they met this season was on March 15 when the Spartans came out victorious in Columbus for the first time since 1998 and ended the Buckeyes’ 49-match conference win streak, dealing OSU its first conference home match since 2003.
In doubles action, the Green & White took a powerful lead with the doubles point. At No. 1 doubles, the dynamic duo of senior Ozan Baris and Forbes defeated Ohio State’s Brandon Carpico and Nikita Filin 6-2.
Following their lead, the Spartan pair of junior Taym Al-Azmeh and sophomore Mitchell Sheldon defeated Alex Okonkwo and Alexander Bernard at No. 2 doubles, 6-3.
Thanos and sophomore Danial Rakhmatullayev took the court opposite Aidan Kim and Bryce Nakashima, and were up 4-3 before their match went unfinished as MSU clinched the doubles point, marking only the fourth time this season that OSU had dropped the doubles point.
In singles action, the Green & White dominated the courts to earn three more victories. Starting off strong for the Spartans, Baris defeated Preston Stearns in straight sets 6-2, 6-4. At No. 4 singles, Al-Azmeh defeated the No. 118-ranked Bryce Nakashima in a three-set battle, 3-6, 6-0, 7-5.
At No. 2 singles, Forbes defeated Jack Anthrop in a thrilling three-set 6-2, 5-7, 7-6 (7-3), to clinch the match and the title for the Spartans.
At No. 1 singles, Thanos squared off against Aidan Kim, but fell 7-6 (7-5), 3-6, 7-5. Nikita Filin defeated Rakhmatullayev at No. 4 singles, 6-4, 6-4. At No. 6 singles, Sheldon put up a three-set battle against Alexander Bernard, but fell 6-4, 4-6, 6-3.
MSU will find out its assignment for the NCAA tournament regionals during the NCAA Selection Show at 4 p.m. Monday, April 27. The show and will be streamed on NCAA.com. The regionals begin on Friday, May 1.
— MSU Athletic Communications
This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: MSU men’s tennis edges Ohio State for first Big Ten tourney title since 1967
Reporting by Barry Kiel, Lansing State Journal / Lansing State Journal
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