Lansing Sun

Michigan State University's men's tennis senior, Max Sheldon, has been recognized as the Big Ten Men's Tennis Player of the Week. This announcement was made by the conference office on Wednesday afternoon following Sheldon's notable performance at the ITA All-American Championships.

Sheldon secured five consecutive wins in singles matches over the initial four days of the championships, thereby qualifying for the Main Draw. Among five players who advanced from Pre-Qualifying to the Main Draw, Sheldon is the only representative from the Big Ten.

In this tournament, Sheldon achieved two significant three-set victories against seeded players. One of these wins involved a comeback from a set down against Christopher Li of Ohio State, who was seeded 13th. The match scores were 4-6, 6-2, 6-2.

Sheldon also defeated four other ranked players: Connor Gannon of Memphis (seeded 17-32), Alexander Hoogmartens of UCLA (ranked No. 96), Gabriele Brancatelli of Georgia Tech (ranked No. 1,216), and William Mroz of Illinois (ranked No. 1,851).

In doubles action, Sheldon teamed up with freshman Matthew Forbes to defeat Tulsa's Gus Tettamble and Timothy Carlsson Seger, who are ranked 60th in doubles.

This accolade marks Sheldon's first Player of the Week award in his career and Michigan State's first since junior Ozan Baris received it on April 3 last season.

Sheldon joins his teammate Baris and Ronald Hohmann III in receiving B1G Player of the Week honors over the past two seasons.

A two-time Academic All-Big Ten selection, Sheldon also earned first-team All-Big Ten accolades in 2023. He continues to compete in the final rounds of the ITA All-Americans this weekend after advancing to the round of 32 earlier on Wednesday.

The Spartans' next event will be at the Milwaukee Tennis Classic from September 27-29.