Mississippi State
Texas A&M
Top 20 Road Tests Await No. 22 State
March 07, 2024 | Men's Tennis
No. 22 Mississippi State has two huge opportunities ahead this weekend as the Bulldogs begin their SEC road slate at 10th-ranked Texas A&M and 19th-ranked LSU.
MSU will start things off against the Aggies in College Station on Friday at 6Â p.m. before closing out the weekend in Baton Rouge versus the Tigers at noon on Sunday.
Matt Roberts' 9-3 Bulldogs began conference play on a strong note by downing then No. 43 Georgia 4-3 this past Sunday. Three of State's victories that day came against ranked opponents as Petar Jovanovic and Carles Hernandez each picked up a ranked singles win while Hernandez and Dusan Milanovic prevailed in doubles over the then 37th-ranked tandem in the country.
Hernandez, ranked No. 121, and Benito Sanchez Martinez are tied for the team lead with 9-1 singles records during dual match play. Hernandez has won 13 of his last 14 singles matches dating back to last spring and Sanchez Martinez is coming off clinching both the doubles point and match against UGA last week.
No. 27 Jovanovic tops the Bulldogs with a 19-9 singles overall record and is also ranked 35th nationally in doubles alongside Sanchez Martinez. The sophomore doubles tandem has racked up 13 wins on the year.
Texas A&M is 10-3 this spring and split its first weekend of SEC play on the road last weekend. The Aggies were shutout 4-0 at Florida last Friday but bounced back with a 4-3 victory over then 16th-ranked South Carolina on Sunday.
Texas A&M's singles lineup is highlighted by four ranked competitors in Raphael Perot (36), JC Roddick (64), Giulio Perego (116) and Togan Tokac (118). Perego and Tokac also makeup the nation's No. 58 doubles duo.
Hernandez topped Perego in straight sets 6-3, 6-3 in Starkville last season and Jovanovic earned a 7-6(3), 6-3 victory over Tokac at the 2023 ITA All-American Championships in Tulsa, Oklahoma on Oct. 2.
LSU enters the weekend 11-2 and holds a perfect 8-0 record at home this spring. The Tigers are also 1-1 in league play, defeating South Carolina 4-2 in Columbia in last Friday's opener before falling at Florida 4-1 on Sunday.
LSU is set to host Ole Miss on Friday before welcoming the Bulldogs on Sunday.
The Tigers feature the No. 51 doubles team of Stefan Latinovic and Aleksi Lofman.
State has won seven of its last eight matches against LSU, including a 6-1 victory in Starkville last season. The Bulldogs dropped the doubles point but swept singles with current players Jovanovic, Hernandez, Sanchez Martinez and Nemanja Malesevic all enjoying victories.
For more information on the Bulldog men's tennis program, visit HailState.com or search for "HailStateMT" on X, Instagram and Facebook.
Players Mentioned
