Michigan State men's tennis to face North Carolina in NCAA tournament opener

MSU and Ozan Baris are headed to their third straight NCAA tournament.

EAST LANSING — Short on sleep, but high on life following an epic Big Ten tournament championship win over Ohio State — which finished after midnight Saturday in California — Michigan State’s men’s tennis team learned Monday it’ll be close to the other coast when it begins NCAA tournament play this Friday.

The Spartans face North Carolina in the first round at 11 a.m. Friday in Columbia, South Carolina, home of the 13th-seeded Gamecocks, whom the Spartans would likely face in the second round if they get past the Tar Heels on Friday. South Carolina plays Richmond in the first round on Friday.

“We have somewhere to go. We have someone to hunt down now. It’s just good to get to know what we have coming next,” MSU senior Ozan Baris said.

The Spartans had an outside shot at one of the top 16 seeds after winning both the Big Ten regular season and tournament championship, but an 0-5 start to the season in non-conference play early last winter meant they’ll have to start on the road.

“A lot of that was self-inflicted in terms of how we played in the non-conference season, and then also just a lot of injuries that we dealt with throughout non-conference,” MSU coach Harry Jadun said, after his program earned its third straight trip to the NCAA tournament. “But we know we've got a win over the No. 1 team in the country on the road, a couple other top 10 wins, as well, so we know we can go toe to toe with anyone. But it's going to be about moments. It's going to be about playing big in the big moments and going after it. So we’ve got to go do that for three hours this weekend.”

North Carolina won four of its final five matches to earn its NCAA tournament bid. The Tar Heels reached the NCAA tournament finals in 2017 and have made 29 of the last 31 tournaments.

The Spartans have become a factor much more recently, headed to just their fourth NCAA tournament ever, and third in four years under Jadun. MSU also has two players from North Carolina, Matthew Forbes and David Saye.

“We got a chip on our shoulder, no doubt, and we feel like we still have a lot to prove,” Jadun said.