University of North Carolina Athletics
Friday, May 1
Columbia, S.C.
11 a.m.
North Carolina
1
vs
4
Michigan State (first round)
Photo by: DALTON WAINSCOTT
Michigan State Rallies To Top Men’s Tennis, 4-1, In NCAA First Round
May 1, 2026 | Men's Tennis
COLUMBIA, S.C.— Michigan State dropped the doubles point but came from behind to defeat North Carolina, 4-1 on Friday in the first round of the 2026 NCAA Men's Tennis Tournament at the Carolina Outdoor Tennis Center.
After a rain delay of over two hours, the Tar Heels started out strong in doubles play. Carolina got 6-3 wins at No. 2 from Niels Ratiu and Chris Xu and No. 3 from Ian Mayew and Logan Zapp to take a 1-0 lead to start the match.
The Spartans grabbed four consecutive singles wins to pick up the victory and advance to Saturday's NCAA second round in Columbia.
Big Ten champion MSU, ranked No. 16 in this week's Intercollegiate Tennis Association poll, improved to 19-8 this season. Carolina, at No. 41 for its highest ITA rank of the season, saw its season come to an end at 15-12.
The Tar Heels were making their 29th NCAA Tournament appearance in 31 years under head coach Sam Paul and are now 42-32 all-time in NCAA Tournament play.
How it Happened — Doubles
• Mere minutes into doubles play, the teams cleared the courts for a weather delay due to rain.
• Tar Heels Niels Ratiu and Chris Xu grabbed the first doubles win of the day, 6-3, on court two over Mitchell Sheldon and Taym Al-Azmeh.
• Ian Mayew and Logan Zapp followed suit a few minutes later with a 6-3 of their own on court three to clnch the doubles point.
• UNC won the doubles point for the 18th time in 27 matches this season.
How it Happened — Singles
• The Spartans won the first set in four of six singles matches (courts one through four) while Constantinos Djakouris (court five) and Anthony Wright (six) won first sets for the Tar Heels.
• MSU eventually won singles matches on courts one through four to earn the 4-1 team win.
• #29 Aristotelis Thanos defeated #123 Xu, 6-2, 6-1, on number one to tie the score at 1-1. Not long thereafter, #43 Ozan Baris topped Mayew, 7-5, 6-1 on court three to make it 2-1 MSU.
• The Spartans wrapped it up with wins by #15 Matthew Forbes over #79 Roan Jones (6-3, 6-4) and Danial Rakhmatullayev over Ratiu, 7-5, 6-2.
Quotable
"First of all, congratulations to Michigan State. They're a very good team having won the Big Ten title, and they played well today. I'm also proud of our guys for a good season and a good effort today. We played very well in doubles but just didn't get it done in the end. I like the way we played down the stretch this season, sticking together as a team."
• Head coach Sam Paul
#16 Michigan State 4, #41 North Carolina 1
Doubles
1. #26 Roan Jones/Anthony Wright (UNC) led #35 Ozan Baris/Matthew Forbes (MSU) 5-4 (unfinished)
2. Chris Xu/Niels Ratiu (UNC) def. Mitchell Sheldon/Taym Al-Azmeh (MSU) 6-3
3. Ian Mayew/Logan Zapp (UNC) def. Danial Rakhmatullayev/ Aristotelis Thanos (MSU) 6-3
(order of finish: 2, 3)
Singles
1. #29 Aristotelis Thanos (MSU) def. #123 Chris Xu (UNC) 6-2, 6-1
2. #15 Matthew Forbes (MSU) def. #79 Roan Jones (UNC) 6-3, 6-4
3. #43 Ozan Baris (MSU) def. Ian Mayew (UNC) 7-5, 6-1
4. Danial Rakhmatullayev (MSU) def. Niels Ratiu (UNC) 7-5. 6-2
5. Constantinos Djakouris (UNC) led Taym Al-Azmeh (MSU) 6-4, 1-2 (unfinished)
6. Anthony Wright (UNC) led Mitchell Sheldon (MSU) 6-4, 4-5 (unfinished)
(order of finish: 1, 3, 2, 4)
Follow Tar Heel tennis on Twitter or Instagram.
After a rain delay of over two hours, the Tar Heels started out strong in doubles play. Carolina got 6-3 wins at No. 2 from Niels Ratiu and Chris Xu and No. 3 from Ian Mayew and Logan Zapp to take a 1-0 lead to start the match.
The Spartans grabbed four consecutive singles wins to pick up the victory and advance to Saturday's NCAA second round in Columbia.
Big Ten champion MSU, ranked No. 16 in this week's Intercollegiate Tennis Association poll, improved to 19-8 this season. Carolina, at No. 41 for its highest ITA rank of the season, saw its season come to an end at 15-12.
The Tar Heels were making their 29th NCAA Tournament appearance in 31 years under head coach Sam Paul and are now 42-32 all-time in NCAA Tournament play.
How it Happened — Doubles
• Mere minutes into doubles play, the teams cleared the courts for a weather delay due to rain.
• Tar Heels Niels Ratiu and Chris Xu grabbed the first doubles win of the day, 6-3, on court two over Mitchell Sheldon and Taym Al-Azmeh.
• Ian Mayew and Logan Zapp followed suit a few minutes later with a 6-3 of their own on court three to clnch the doubles point.
• UNC won the doubles point for the 18th time in 27 matches this season.
How it Happened — Singles
• The Spartans won the first set in four of six singles matches (courts one through four) while Constantinos Djakouris (court five) and Anthony Wright (six) won first sets for the Tar Heels.
• MSU eventually won singles matches on courts one through four to earn the 4-1 team win.
• #29 Aristotelis Thanos defeated #123 Xu, 6-2, 6-1, on number one to tie the score at 1-1. Not long thereafter, #43 Ozan Baris topped Mayew, 7-5, 6-1 on court three to make it 2-1 MSU.
• The Spartans wrapped it up with wins by #15 Matthew Forbes over #79 Roan Jones (6-3, 6-4) and Danial Rakhmatullayev over Ratiu, 7-5, 6-2.
Quotable
"First of all, congratulations to Michigan State. They're a very good team having won the Big Ten title, and they played well today. I'm also proud of our guys for a good season and a good effort today. We played very well in doubles but just didn't get it done in the end. I like the way we played down the stretch this season, sticking together as a team."
• Head coach Sam Paul
#16 Michigan State 4, #41 North Carolina 1
Doubles
1. #26 Roan Jones/Anthony Wright (UNC) led #35 Ozan Baris/Matthew Forbes (MSU) 5-4 (unfinished)
2. Chris Xu/Niels Ratiu (UNC) def. Mitchell Sheldon/Taym Al-Azmeh (MSU) 6-3
3. Ian Mayew/Logan Zapp (UNC) def. Danial Rakhmatullayev/ Aristotelis Thanos (MSU) 6-3
(order of finish: 2, 3)
Singles
1. #29 Aristotelis Thanos (MSU) def. #123 Chris Xu (UNC) 6-2, 6-1
2. #15 Matthew Forbes (MSU) def. #79 Roan Jones (UNC) 6-3, 6-4
3. #43 Ozan Baris (MSU) def. Ian Mayew (UNC) 7-5, 6-1
4. Danial Rakhmatullayev (MSU) def. Niels Ratiu (UNC) 7-5. 6-2
5. Constantinos Djakouris (UNC) led Taym Al-Azmeh (MSU) 6-4, 1-2 (unfinished)
6. Anthony Wright (UNC) led Mitchell Sheldon (MSU) 6-4, 4-5 (unfinished)
(order of finish: 1, 3, 2, 4)
Follow Tar Heel tennis on Twitter or Instagram.
Ratiu/Xu 6-3 pic.twitter.com/pGKsa76io5
— Carolina Men's Tennis 🐏🎾 (@carolinatennis) May 1, 2026
UNC 1-0 pic.twitter.com/wtuPkil6Po
— Carolina Men's Tennis 🐏🎾 (@carolinatennis) May 1, 2026
Team Stats
#1 Doubles Match
#2 Doubles Match
#3 Doubles Match
Order of Finish:
2,3
#1 Singles Match
12
21
Aristotelis Thanos / 0 [MSU]
66
#2 Singles Match
12
34
Matthew Forbes / 0 [MSU]
66
#3 Singles Match
12
51
Ozan Baris / 0 [MSU]
76
#4 Singles Match
12
52
Danial Rakhmatullaye / 0 [MSU]
76
#5 Singles Match
123
610
Taym Alazmeh / 0 [MSU]
42UF
#6 Singles Match
123
650
Mitchell Sheldon / 0 [MSU]
44UF
Order of Finish:
1,3,2,4
Players Mentioned
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
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