State Sweeps Opening Day At ITA Sectionals
November 07, 2024 | Men's Tennis
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Mississippi State brought out the brooms on the first day of the ITA South Sectional Championships, sweeping all three of its matches on Thursday.
No. 60 Mario Martinez Serrano and Niccolo Baroni put on a show at the Scott Speicher Tennis Center on the campus of Florida State. Baroni battled Erik Schiessl on his home court, but cruised to a 6-4, 6-2 victory to advance to the Round of 16 on Friday. Martinez Serrano also had an impressive singles win, defeating Georgia's 28th-ranked Ryan Colby in straight sets 7-6(9), 6-4.
In doubles play, the Bulldogs pair persevered through a thriller of a match. Baroni and Martinez Serrano bested the Georgia Tech tandem of Christophe Clement and Krish Arora in a third set super tiebreaker 2-6, 7-6(5), 1-0[8].
Baroni and Martinez Serrano are back in action on Friday as Baroni faces No. 111 Alejandro Moreno of Tennessee at 8 a.m. CT while Martinez Serrano goes up against Julien Penzlin of LSU at 9:15 a.m. In doubles, the Bulldog tandem advanced to the quarterfinals and will take on FSU's 47th-ranked duo of Schiessl and Joshua Dous-Karpenschif at 1 p.m.
The nation's top-ranked doubles team of Petar Jovanovic and Benito Sanchez are also in action on Friday at the ITA Conference Masters Championships in Rome, Georgia. After receiving a first-round bye, Jovanovic and Sanchez Martinez meet Bucknell's Brendan McDonald and Amar Tahirovic at 11:30 a.m. CT.
ITA South Sectional ChampionshipsScott Speicher Tennis Center | Tallahassee, Fla.
Nov. 7, 2024
Singles:
Main Draw First Round
Niccolo Baroni (MSU) def. Erik Schiessl (Florida State): 6-4, 6-2
No. 60 Mario Martinez Serrano (MSU) def. No. 28 Ryan Colby (Georgia): 7-6(9), 6-4
Doubles:
Round of 16
Niccolo Baroni/Mario Martinez Serrano (MSU) def. Krish Arora/Christophe Clement (Georgia Tech): 2-6, 7-6(5), 1-0[8]
For more information on the Bulldog men's tennis program, visit HailState.com or search for "HailStateMT" on X, Instagram and Facebook
