Mississippi State
Texas A&M
State Drops Top 25 Match To Texas A&M
March 08, 2024 | Men's Tennis
COLLEGE STATION, Texas – No. 22 Mississippi State struck first by winning its initial match at 10th-ranked Texas A&M on Friday evening.
In just their second time teaming together this season, the Bulldog duo of Nemanja Malesevic and Michal Novansky earned a 6-4 victory over Tiago Pires and Kenner Taylor. However, MSU was unable to sustain its early momentum and fell 7-0 at the Mitchell Tennis Center.
Following Malesevic and Novansky's win, Texas A&M (11-3, 2-1 SEC) was able to take the doubles point by edging out the Bulldogs on the other two courts. No. 58 Giulio Perego and Togan Tokac tiptoed past 35th-ranked Petar Jovanovic and Benito Sanchez Martinez while Luke Casper and JC Roddick claimed the point in a tiebreaker against Carles Hernandez and Dusan Milanovic 7-6(4).
No. 27 Jovanovic, Sanchez Martinez and Radomir Tomic all stretched their singles matches to third sets. Jovanovic and Tomic each won their first sets. Jovanovic won 6-3 over Roddick before the 64th-ranked Aggie rallied for a 7-5, 6-3 victory in the final two sets.
Tomic blanked Brayden Michna 6-0 in the opening set before Michna turned the tide with 6-1 victories in each of the last two sets. After falling to Pires 6-3 in the first set, Sanchez Martinez earned a 6-1 win to force a third set that Pires ultimately prevailed 6-2 in.
No. 36 Raphael Perot defeated Malesevic 6-1, 6-4 on Court 1 while 116th-ranked Perego downed Milanovic 6-3, 6-4. No. 118 Tokac clinched the match with his 6-4, 7-5 victory against 121st-ranked Hernandez.
State (9-4, 1-1 SEC) continues its road trek against another top 20 opponent on Sunday. The Bulldogs are bound for Baton Rogue to take on No. 19 LSU at noon. The Tigers (11-3, 1-2 SEC) lost 4-2 at home to Ole Miss on Friday.
No. 10 Texas A&M 7, No. 22 Mississippi State 0Mitchell Tennis Center | College Station, Texas
March 8, 2024
Doubles
1. No. 58 Giulio Perego/Togan Tokac (A&M) def. No. 35 Petar Jovanovic/Benito Sanchez Martinez (MSU) 7-5
2. Luke Casper/JC Roddick (A&M) def. Carles Hernandez/Dusan Milanovic (MSU) 7-6(4)
3. Nemanja Malesevic/Michal Novansky (MSU) def. Tiago Pires/Kenner Taylor (A&M) 6-4
Order of finish: (3,1,2)
Singles
1. No. 36 Raphael Perot (A&M) def. Nemanja Malesevic (MSU) 6-1, 6-4
2. No. 64 JC Roddick (A&M) vs. No. 27 Petar Jovanovic (MSU) 3-6, 7-5, 6-3
3. No. 118 Togan Tokac (A&M) vs. No. 121 Carles Hernandez (MSU) 6-4, 7-5
4. No. 116 Giulio Perego (A&M) def. Dusan Milanovic (MSU) 6-3, 6-4
5. Tiago Pires (A&M) vs. Benito Sanchez Martinez (MSU) 6-3, 1-6, 6-2
6. Brayden Michna (A&M) vs. Radomir Tomic (MSU) 0-6, 6-1, 6-1
Order of finish: (4,1,3,6,5,2)
For more information on the Bulldog men's tennis program, visit HailState.com or search for "HailStateMT" on X, Instagram and Facebook.
Players Mentioned
