Mississippi State
Arkansas
No. 12 Dawgs Down Hogs To Finish Third In SEC
April 14, 2024 | Men's Tennis
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark., - Matt Roberts' 'Road Dawgs' struck again on Sunday as No. 12 Mississippi State wrapped up its regular season with a 4-2 victory over 34th-ranked Arkansas.
It was the fifth consecutive match the Bulldogs have won on the road against a ranked opponent and their 10th ranked triumph of the spring overall.
MSU (17-6, 9-3 SEC) finished the regular season in third place in the Southeastern Conference standings. The Bulldogs receive a double-bye and will take on either sixth-seeded Alabama or No. 11 seed South Carolina in the third round of the SEC Championships on Friday at 2 p.m. in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
Sunday's match against the Razorbacks started well with State securing the early doubles point. After Arkansas won the opening match, Carles Hernandez and Dusan Milanovic evened things for the Bulldogs with their 6-2 win over Melvin Manuel and Alan Sau Franco.
Mississippi State's 16th-ranked tandem of Petar Jovanovic and Benito Sanchez Martinez clinched the point as they topped No. 47 Bozo Barun and Jared Horwood 6-4. It was the team-leading seventh doubles point that Jovanovic and Sanchez Martinez have clinched this season and 10th victory over a ranked team this year.
The momentum carried over into singles as No. 70 Nemanja Malesevic beat Barun 7-5, 6-3 to give the Bulldogs an early 2-0 lead. Arkansas notched a win on Court 6 before Jovanovic – ranked 42nd in singles – took down No. 89 Gerard Planelles 6-1, 1-6, 6-3 for his eighth ranked victory this season and 12th of his career.
The Razorbacks earned another win on Court 4 before Milanovic put Arkansas away with his triumph past Benedikt Emesz. Milanovic took the first set 6-1, lost a tiebreaker 6-7(3) in the second and prevailed in another 7-6(3) in the final set.
It was the fifth time Milanovic has clinched this spring, tying him with Malesevic for the team lead. The victory also snapped a five-match winning streak the Hogs (19-10, 5-7 SEC) had going against ranked foes.
"Today was another great team effort by all of our guys," Roberts said. "It can be difficult playing at Arkansas in between both sides of the crowd if you let it get to you. But our guys didn't let anything get to them in this match. It started with doubles with Pete and Bento as well as Carles and Dusan and Pete serving it out the way he did. Singles was a grind and Dusan was so mentally tough in his third-set tiebreaker. I'm proud of the boys and ready to get to work for the SEC Tournament."
No. 12 Mississippi State 4, No. 34 Arkansas 2Billingsley Tennis Center | Fayetteville, Ark.
April 14, 2024
Doubles
1. No. 16 Petar Jovanovic/Benito Sanchez Martinez (MSU) def. No. 47 Bozo Barun/Jared Horwood (ARK) 6-4
2. Connor Smillie/Jake Sweeney (ARK) def. Nemanja Malesevic/Michal Novansky (MSU) 6-1
3. Carles Hernandez/Dusan Milanovic (MSU) def. Melvin Manuel/Alan Sau Franco (ARK) 6-2
Order of finish: (2,3,1)
Singles
1. No. 70 Nemanja Malesevic (MSU) def. Bozo Barun (ARK) 7-5, 6-3
2. No. 42 Petar Jovanovic (MSU) def. No. 89 Gerard Planelles (ARK) 6-1, 1-6, 6-3
3. Melvin Manuel (ARK) vs. Carles Hernandez (MSU) 6-7(16), 6-4, unfinished
4. Stefanos Savva (ARK) def. Benito Sanchez Martinez (MSU) 6-4, 4-6, 6-4
5. Dusan Milanovic (MSU) def. Benedikt Emesz (ARK) 6-1, 6-7(3), 7-6(3)
6. Karlo Kajin (ARK) def. Roberto Ferrer Guimaraes (MSU) 6-2, 7-5
Order of finish: (1,6,2,4,5)
For more information on the Bulldog men's tennis program, visit HailState.com or search for "HailStateMT" on X, Instagram and Facebook.
Players Mentioned
