After a remarkable weekend, Aristotelis Thanos of Michigan State University’s men’s tennis team has been named the Big Ten Player of the Week. The redshirt sophomore played a crucial role in MSU’s historic victory over No. 7 Kentucky at the MSU Indoor Tennis Center.
This accolade marks Thanos’ first career weekly honor from the Big Ten Conference. His performance was instrumental in securing MSU’s highest-ranked win in program history during their first-ever top-25 match-up at home.
Previously, MSU’s most significant victory came in 2004 against No. 8 Vanderbilt under head coach Gene Orlando. Over the weekend, Thanos achieved a 2-0 record in singles and a 1-0 record in doubles, helping clinch both team wins for the Spartans.
In his match against Kentucky, Thanos faced Jaden Weekes, ranked No. 39 nationally. Despite losing the first set 6-3, he rallied to win the next two sets 6-3 and 6-2, securing a decisive point for his team.
Thanos continued his strong performance against Vanderbilt by defeating Danil Panarin in straight sets at No. 2 singles. He also teamed up with Ozan Baris to achieve a doubles victory over Western Michigan’s Brogan Pierce and Jack Davison with a score of 6-2.
His efforts contributed to MSU jumping from No. 23 to No. 17 in the ITA Team Rankings—the largest leap made by any team in this week’s poll.
Looking ahead, MSU will travel to Fort Worth, Texas for their upcoming matches during the ITA Kickoff Weekend hosted by TCU. They are scheduled to play Liberty on January 25th and will face either TCU or Pacific on January 26th.
