Michigan State's Ozan Baris advances to Round of 16 at NCAA tennis finals

STILLWATER, Okla. – Michigan State sophomore Ozan Baris advanced to the round of 16 in the NCAA men's tennis Singles Championships Tuesday, collecting his second tournament win while he and his partner, junior Max Sheldon, were eliminated from the doubles competition.

Baris, a native of Okemos, advanced to the round of 16 for the first time in his career after coming back from dropping the first set, 4-6, to trounce Stanford’s 55th-ranked Samir Banerjee in the second and third sets, 6-0, 6-2. In Monday's first round, Baris, the No. 8 overall seed, knocked off Auburn’s 31st-ranked Tyler Stice, 6-2, 6-4.

Baris moves on to meet TCU’s Jack Pinnington, ranked 13th in the latest ITA player rankings. Pinnington has won 12 straight matches, 10 against ranked opponents, including key wins at the No. 1 singles spot during the sixth-ranked Horned Frogs' NCAA Team Championship title run that just concluded in Stillwater on Sunday. The English sophomore hasn’t lost since March 28, having beaten the likes of the nation’s No. 2 player Elliot Spizzirri in the national championship match Sunday.

The Baris-Pinnington match will be at noon Wednesday and will be streamed on ESPN+ with a subscription and on Track Tennis for free without commentary.

Baris and Sheldon, the Spartans’ lone doubles pairing selected to the NCAA Championships, were eliminated in the first round Tuesday, falling to the nation’second-ranked pairing, Dhakshineswar Suresh and Holden Koons of Wake Forest, 6-1, 6-2.

The duo, who reached the NCAA Championships Round of 16 last season, is the most decorated MSU doubles team in history. The pair won the ITA Fall National Championship in November and reached as high as No. 1 in this season's ITA rankings.

— MSU Athletic Communications

This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: Michigan State's Ozan Baris reaches Round of 16 at NCAA tennis finals