Michigan State, UCLA, Penn State Take Home Tennis Awards

ROSEMONT, Ill. – The Big Ten Conference has announced its men’s tennis weekly awards for matches played March 27-29, 2026.

Co-Player of the Week
Aristotelis Thanos, Michigan State
R-Sr. – Athens, Greece

• Clinched match points in back-to-back matches as No. 28-ranked Michigan State upset No. 24 USC (4-3) and No. 20 UCLA (4-2) in East Lansing, Mich.
• Rallied from a set down and staved off three match points to down USC’s Branko Djuruc, 5-7, 6-2, 7-6, on Court No. 1 Friday evening
• Defeated NCAA qualifier Steve Johnson of UCLA, 1-6, 6-2, 6-2, at No. 1 singles on MSU’s new outdoor courts; finished the week with a 3-1 overall record
• Ranked 33rd in singles and 54th in doubles (with partner Mitchell Sheldon) by the ITA
• Earns his second career Big Ten Player of the Week Award
• Becomes the fourth different Spartan to secure Player of the Week honors this season

Co-Player of the Week
Emon van Loben Sels, UCLA
R-Jr. – Sacramento, Calif.

• Dropped just four games in downing 11th-ranked All-American Matthew Forbes of Michigan State in straight sets, 6-2, 6-2, at No. 2 singles
• Teamed with Steve Johnson to post a 6-4 win over the 18th-ranked doubles team from Michigan State
• Went 4-0 overall (2-0 singles, 2-0 doubles) during No. 20 UCLA’s trip to the Great Lakes State, which began with a 4-2 win over No. 42 Michigan
• Won all six sets and 67.9 percent (36-17) of his games played
• Ranked 25th in singles and 32nd in doubles (with Johnson) by the ITA
• Collects his second career Big Ten Player of the Week certificate

Freshman of the Week
Kyle Chesman, Penn State
Fr. – Dallas, Pa.

• Played a role in Penn State’s 4-3 win over No. 69 Northwestern on Friday
• Clinched match point against the Wildcats with a win at No. 6 singles, rallying from a set down
• Produced Penn State’s lone point in a loss to No. 14 Illinois, winning a marathon match over Jeremy Zhang, 7-6 (7-3), 6-7 (3-7), 1-0 (10-8) at No. 6 singles
• Finished 3-1 in tiebreakers on the weekend
• Extended conference win streak in singles to five matches; owns 21 total wins on the season
• Captures his second Freshman of the Week Award, having been honored on February 18

2025-26 Big Ten Men’s Tennis Player of the Week
Sept. 17       
P: Ozan Baris, Sr., MSU
F: Adam Jilly, Fr., ILL

Sept. 24       
P: Nikita Filin, So., OSU

Oct. 1          
P: Aidan Kim, Jr., OSU
F: Sam Olszakowski, ORE

Oct. 8          
P: Nicholas Steglehner, Sr., MICH
F: Arnav Bhandari, Fr., MICH

Oct. 15        
P: Sam Landau, Sr., IND
F: Jeri Lassila, Fr., NEB

Oct. 22        
P: Spencer Johnson, Jr., UCLA
F: Max Dahlin, R-Fr., MICH

Nov. 5         
P: David Saye, Sr., MSU

Nov. 12       
P: Jack Anthrop, Sr., OSU
F: Max Dahlin, R-Fr., MICH

Jan. 14         
P: Bjorn Swenson, Sr., MICH
F: Max Exsted, Fr., USC

Jan. 21         
P: Alex Okonkwo, Jr., OSU
F: Sasha Colleu, Fr., ILL

Jan. 28         
P: Alexander Bernard, Sr., OSU
F: Jeri Lassila, Fr., NEB
F: Max Exsted, Fr., USC

Feb. 4 
P: Nikita Filin, So., OSU
F: Cooper Han, Fr., NU

Feb. 11
P: Max Dahlin, R-Fr., MICH
F: Max Dahlin, R-Fr., MICH

Feb. 18        
P: Jack Anthrop, Sr., OSU
F: Kyle Chesman, Fr., PSU

Feb. 25        
P: William Mroz, Sr., ILL
F: Max Exsted, Fr., USC

March 4       
P: Gabriel Debru, Fr., ILL
F: Adam Jilly, Fr., ILL

March 11     
P: Zach Viiala, R-So., ILL
F: Branko Djuric, Fr., USC

March 18     
P: Matthew Forbes, So., MSU
F: Adam Jilly, Fr., ILL

March 25     
P: Nikita Filin, So., OSU
F: Cassius Chinlund, R-Fr., UCLA

April 1         
P: Aristotelis Thanos, R-Sr., MSU
P: Emon van Loben Sels, R-Jr., UCLA
F: Kyle Chesman, Fr., PSU