Lansing Sun

Michigan State University's sophomore tennis player, Ozan Baris, has advanced to the NCAA Singles Championships Quarterfinals. He achieved this milestone by defeating Jack Pinnington in straight sets, 6-1, 7-6 (7-5), on Tuesday afternoon in Stillwater, Oklahoma.

Baris hails from Okemos, Michigan, and becomes only the second Spartan to reach the quarterfinals since Mashiska Washington did so in 1994. His opponent, Pinnington, had an impressive record leading up to this match with 12 consecutive victories against ranked opponents. Notably, he was a key player for the sixth-ranked Horned Frogs during their NCAA Team Championship title run.

The Big Ten Player of the Year, Baris is on a winning streak himself with seven consecutive victories and has not lost a singles match since March 10. His season record now stands at 31-6. He secured All-American status for the second consecutive year after his recent performances.

In previous rounds of the tournament, Baris demonstrated resilience and skill. He overcame Stanford's Samir Banerjee after dropping the first set but dominated with scores of 6-0 and 6-2 in subsequent sets. Earlier, he defeated Auburn's Tyler Stice with scores of 6-2 and 6-4.

Baris is set to face Ohio State's Jack Anthrop next. Anthrop holds a season record of 41-4 and was part of a Buckeye team that maintained top national rankings throughout the regular season. He reached the elite eight by defeating Radu Papoe, Quinn Vandecasteele, and Dylan Dietrich.

The upcoming match between Baris and Anthrop will be streamed on ESPN+ with a subscription or can be viewed without commentary on Track Tennis.