State Racks Up 14 Wins On Friday
October 18, 2024 | Men's Tennis
BATON ROUGE, La. – Mississippi State racked up its highest win total of the fall on Friday as Matt Roberts' Bulldogs recorded 14 victories out of 17 matches played during the third day of the ITA Southern Regional Championships. Â
With the tournament reaching the midway point, MSU has already accumulated 23 total wins.
Petar Jovanovic, Mario Martinez Serrano and Benito Sanchez Martinez all won all three of their matches on Friday.
Jovanovic and Sanchez Martinez, the top-ranked doubles tandem in college tennis, downed Alexander Frusina and Jake Kennedy of Auburn, 8-4 while Martinez Serrano teamed with Niccolo Baroni to defeat Benjamin Martin and Loan Lestir of rival Ole Miss, 8-3.
In singles, No. 12 Jovanovic ousted Samford's Hayden Khoo Menon, 5-7, 6-3, 6-1 in the second round and defeated Alabama's Zach Foster 6-2, 7-6(4) in the Round of 16. Martinez Serrano, ranked 60th nationally, won both of his matches in straight sets, recording a victory against LSU's Rudy Ceccon, 6-4, 7-5 and Alabama's Damien Nezar, 6-4, 6-1, to reach the quarterfinals.
Sanchez Martinez, ranked 107th, bested Birtan Duran of North Alabama 6-1, 6-1 then defeated David Jeanne-Grandinot of Alabama State 6-2, 6-2 in the Round of 16.
Michal Novansky and Radomir Tomic downed Charlie Penman and Lucius Soller of Jacksonville State in the second round of doubles 8-2. Novansky also won his second-round singles match against Tulane's Luka Petrovic 3-6, 7-5, 6-4 but was unable to fight through another three-setter, falling to Javier Montoya of South Alabama, 6-3, 1-6, 0-6 in the Round of 16. Baroni fell in the won in straight sets 7-5, 6-3 against Isac Stromberg of Ole Miss in the second round dropping his Round of 16 showdown with Auburn's Billy Blaydes 6-3, 6-3.
Roberto Ferrer Guimaraes and Marshall Landry completed Mississippi State's doubles sweep by beating J.B. Pickard and Victorio Sardinha of Samford, 8-4 in a pick-up match. Guimaraes and Landry also earned one singles win apiece. Guimaraes looked dominant against LSU's Jaimie Diack 6-0, 6-2, on his home court as part of the consolation bracket while Landry topped Freddie Lawrence of Alabama A&M 6-2, 6-1.
The Bulldogs are back in action on Saturday as they play their singles quarterfinals matchups and their doubles Round of 16 matchups.
All the singles matches are set for 10 a.m. as Jovanovic faces Alabama's 118th-ranked Matias Ponce de Leon, Martinez Serrano goes up against Noah Schlagenhauf of Ole Miss and Sanchez Martinez will play Alabama's 62nd-ranked Andrii Zimnokh. All doubles matches are slated for 2 p.m. as Jovanovic and Sanchez Martinez take on Tulane's Luc Hoeijmans and Luka Petrovic, Baroni and Martinez Serrano face Lun Obrul and Matteo Lataste of Alabama State and Novansky and Tomic go up against Auburn's Blaydes and William Nolan.
A trio of MSU players will also play pick up singles matches on Saturday at 10 a.m. Tomic squares off against Louisiana's Oriol Fillat Gimenez, Novansky meets Samford's Sandeep Mohandoss and Ferrer Guimaraes takes on Samuel Kyjaci of the Ragin' Cajuns.
ITA Southern Regional ChampionshipsLSU Tennis Complex | Baton Rouge, La.
Oct. 18, 2024
Singles:
Main Draw Second Round
No. 12 Petar Jovanovic (MSU) def. Hayden Khoo Menon (Samford): 5-7, 6-3, 6-1
No. 60 Mario Martinez Serrano (MSU) def. Rudy Ceccon (LSU): 6-4, 7-5
No. 107 Benito Sanchez Martinez (MSU) def. Birtan Duran (North Alabama): 6-2, 6-2
Niccolo Baroni (MSU) def. Isac Stromberg (Ole Miss): 7-5, 6-3
Michal Novansky (MSU) def. Luka Petrovic (Tulane): 3-6, 7-5, 6-4
Noah Schlagenhauf (Ole Miss) def. Radomir Tomic (MSU): 2-6, 7-6(8), 6-2
Main Draw Round of 16
No. 12 Petar Jovanovic (MSU) def. Zach Foster (Alabama),6-2, 7-6(4)
No. 60 Mario Martinez Serrano (MSU) def. Damien Nezar (Alabama): 6-4, 6-1
No. 107 Benito Sanchez Martinez (MSU) David Jeanne-Grandinot (Alabama State): def. 6-1, 6-1
Billy Blaydes (Auburn) def. Niccolo Baroni (MSU): 6-3, 6-3
Javier Montoya (South Alabama) def. Michal Novansky (MSU): 3-6, 6-1, 6-0
Main Draw Consolation
Roberto Ferrer Guimaraes (MSU) def. Jaimie Diack (LSU): 6-0, 6-2
Pick-up Match
Marshall Landry (MSU) def. Freddie Lawrence (Alabama A&M): 6-2, 6-1
Doubles:
Main Draw Second Round
No. 1 Petar Jovanovic/Benito Sanchez Martinez (MSU) def. Alexander Frusina/Jake Kennedy (Auburn): 8-4
Niccolo Baroni/Mario Martinez Serrano (MSU) def. Loan Lestir/Benjamin Martin (Ole Miss): 8-3
Michal Novansky/Radomir Tomic (MSU) def. Charlie Penman/Lucius Soller (Jackson State): 8-2
Pick-up Match
Roberto Ferrer Guimaraes/Marshall Landry (MSU) def. J.B. Pickard/Victorio Sardinha (Samford): 8-4
For more information on the Bulldog men's tennis program, visit HailState.com or search for "HailStateMT" on X, Instagram and Facebook. Â
Players Mentioned
