Milanovic Embracing New Challenges At MSU
March 29, 2024 | Men's Tennis
STARKVILLE – Dusan Milanovic did nearly everything there was to do during his first two years at Presbyterian College.
Milanovic was named the Big South Freshman of the Year in 2022 and followed that up by being selected as the Big South Player of the Year as a sophomore. He was also tabbed first team all-conference both years in singles and doubles.
After becoming the first player in Presbyterian history to earn a spot in the NCAA Division I Singles Championships last spring, Milanovic made the decision to enter the transfer portal to search for another challenge.
"I didn't have a lot of options (coming out of Bosnia and Herzegovina) because I wasn't really active in playing junior tournaments at that time," Milanovic said. "But I got an offer from PC and went there. It was more of honestly a blind shot. I was just going to go there. I didn't know a lot of things yet. For the second time, you kind of have a good view on what you want to have and what you don't want to have."
Milanovic played at Mississippi State last year while with Presbyterian and was ranked in both singles and doubles at the time. He competed against fellow countryman and friend Nemanja Malesevic and got a firsthand view of the Bulldogs' facilities and a glimpse of what life was like in the Southeastern Conference.
After deciding to transfer to MSU and enrolling in August, he admits that it is still surreal to see the magnitude of support the Bulldogs receive from their fan base in every sport.
"When I talk about Starkville and Mississippi State, it's a lot bigger than PC," Milanovic said. "Like when I just look at the football stadium and it can fit 60K people, PC could only fit a thousand people. It was like only one corner of the stadium. It's so nice to see that people are passionate about the team and from the other side it's so crazy to think it's just a bunch of 20-year-olds down there. Also, the difference between other sports like baseball, and I just love that kind of culture that Mississippi state has for different sports."
Also aiding Mississippi State's efforts to land the 6-foot-3 southpaw standout was the number of Balkan players the Bulldogs have on their roster. In addition to Malesevic, State also has Petar Jovanovic from Montenegro and had also signed Radomir Tomic from Bosnia and Herzegovina to join the team this year.
"Obviously, it helped were a Balkan factory here with our tennis team and he knew a lot of our guys already," said assistant coach Jake Jacoby. "But it's been really cool to see (Milanovic) fit in, adapt to our culture but also provide leadership and awesome vibes all the time for our team very quickly. It has helped him join the family quickly and have the other guys trust him fully."
The kinship between Milanovic and his fellow Balkans has continued to build over the past few months and considers his new teammates to be some of his best friends.
"I feel like it's crazy when you think about the Balkan countries are around 20 million people living there and out of those 20 million people, you find four people at the same place in the U.S.," Milanovic said. "It's just crazy to me. I knew all three of the other guys, 'Memo', Pete, and Rade, from tournaments before and I knew Rade because he was pretty close to me, around 30-40 minutes away from my home. We had a good relationship before college, but when I signed here and you knew it was going to be four of us, I knew this is going to be something more because you are going to be seeing each other every single day. I'm rooming with Pete, you're seeing that guy 15 hours in a day and it just naturally comes. When you find time on an off day or something, it's really nice to just go out to lunch and just talk in your native language."
Although Milanovic is in his first season at MSU, he has already been in some clutch moments. He currently leads the team with five match-clinchers this spring. Perhaps his biggest clinch of the year came last weekend when he helped the Bulldogs rally from a 3-1 deficit to clinch the match at No. 16 South Carolina with his 7-5, 7-6(6) victory over Sam Daryabeigi.
"It's a good feeling, but I feel like no matter who stays last on court I feel like everyone is going to have the same mentality," Milanovic said. "Everyone wants to be that guy to (clinch) it for the team because it feels good you can't lie. If you ask anyone, they're going to say it's an unreal feeling. In those situations, honestly, I don't feel pressure. You just trust your game because that's what you've been doing since I came here late August. You just trust your game, trust your patterns, you play your game and it just naturally comes to you."
During his junior campaign, Milanovic has racked up 19 total victories and been ranked as highly as 22nd in doubles with partner Carles Hernandez and 36th in singles, both of which are career-highs. He has spent most of year at the No. 4 position in State's singles lineup and is looking forward to helping the Bulldogs get back into the postseason at the end of the year.
"The season is going good but it's obviously a lot different than where I played at Presbyterian College in the Big South, Milanovic said. "It's a lot different I would say. Most of the teams in the SEC at are pretty even with a lot of good players, which sometimes wasn't the same in the Big South. We've overcome a couple of heartbreaking losses early in the season and are now 5-2 in the SEC with a couple of home matches this week. I think we're on our way to accomplishing something big."
