Mississippi State
Vanderbilt
No. 15 MSU Wins Ninth Straight Versus Vandy
March 15, 2024 | Men's Tennis
STARKVILLE – No. 15 Mississippi State racked up six consecutive wins to start Friday's match to secure it's ninth-straight victory against 64th-ranked Vanderbilt 5-2 inside the Rula Tennis Pavilion.
The Bulldogs claimed the doubles point and then won on Courts 1-4 to improve to 11-4 overall and 3-1 in Southeastern Conference play.
"I was happy with how we executed in doubles on all three courts," said head coach Matt Roberts. "I thought we served and returned really well and we're getting better at putting volleys away at the net. I'm really happy with all the guys in singles. They were very locked in with a high level of focus and intensity. It shows that we had a really good week of practice. We applied some things today that we worked on throughout this week."
Carles Hernandez and Dusan Milanovic started the afternoon strong in doubles with their 6-3 win over Jeremie Casabon and Nathan Cox. Nemanja Malesevic and Michal Novansky followed up to clinch the point with their victory against Hugo Coquelin and Danil Panarin by the same score.
MSU continued its dominance in singles and clinched the match in short order. No. 27 Petar Jovanovic conquered Cox 6-1, 6-2 while Hernandez – ranked No. 121 in singles – prevailed over Joubert Klopper 6-2, 6-1. Milanovic clinched with a dazzling 6-1, 6-1 showing against Casabon and is now tied with Malesevic for the team lead with four match-clinchers this season.
"He's trusting himself out there and applying his game plan really well," Roberts said of Milanovic. "He's putting together a good solution and attacking it."
Malesevic tacked on another victory for the Bulldogs by downing 57th-ranked Panarin 6-3, 6-3 on Court 1. It was the third ranked singles win of the season for the senior from Bosnia and Herzegovina and the 20th of his career.
The Commodores claimed the final two courts but fell to 0-4 in conference play and 9-7 overall.
"It was a good day in the office for all of our guys," Milanovic said. "Even though two guys lost, we had a purpose on all six courts and all three courts of doubles and it showed."
State continues its weekend homestand on Sunday when it hosts sixth-ranked Kentucky at 1 p.m. at the A.J. Pitts Tennis Centre.
No. 15 Mississippi State 5, No. 64 Vanderbilt 2Rula Tennis Pavilion | Starkville, Miss.
March 15, 2024
Doubles
1. No. 35 Petar Jovanovic/Benito Sanchez Martinez (MSU) vs. Joubert Klopper/Michael Ross (VANDY) 4-3, unfinished
2. Carles Hernandez/Dusan Milanovic (MSU) def. Jeremie Casabon/Nathan Cox (VANDY) 6-3
3. Nemanja Malesevic/Michal Novansky (MSU) def. Hugo Coquelin/Danil Panarin (VANDY) 6-3
Order of finish: (2,3)
Singles
1. Nemanja Malesevic (MSU) def. No. 57 Danil Panarin (VANDY) 6-3, 6-3
2. No. 27 Petar Jovanovic (MSU) def. Nathan Cox (VANDY) 6-1, 6-2
3. No. 121 Carles Hernandez (MSU) def. Joubert Klopper (VANDY) 6-2, 6-1
4. Dusan Milanovic (MSU) def. Jeremie Casabon (VANDY) 6-1, 6-1
5. Michael Ross (VANDY) def. Benito Sanchez Martinez (MSU) 7-6 (7-2), 7-6 (8-6)
6. Hugo Coquelin (VANDY) def. Radomir Tomic (MSU) 6-3, 6-4
Order of finish: (2,3,4,1,6,5)
For more information on the Bulldog men's tennis program, visit HailState.com or search for "HailStateMT" on X, Instagram and Facebook.
Players Mentioned
