Jovanovic, Malesevic Earn All-SEC Selections
April 25, 2024 | Men's Tennis
STARKVILLE – Mississippi State's Petar Jovanovic and Nemanja Malesevic were each tabbed as All-SEC selections by the conference office on Thursday.
Jovanovic was named to the first team after compiling 48 total wins this season. The Podgorica, Montenegro native leads the team with 26 singles wins and ranked as highly as 13th in singles and currently holds a No. 12 ranking in doubles with fellow sophomore Benito Sanchez Martinez while racking up 22 victories together.
Jovanovic has knocked off eight ranked singles opponents this year and nine ranked doubles tandems. He won the ITA Singles Consolation Championship at the ITA National Fall Championships where he also competed in doubles alongside Sanchez Martinez.
For the third consecutive year, Malesevic was selected second team All-SEC. The senior produced 10 of his 13 singles wins this spring from the No. 1 position in the lineup and is tied for the team lead with five match-clinchers on the year. Malesevic, who has been ranked as highly as 46th in singles and 14th in doubles this season, has also topped six ranked singles foes and six ranked doubles tandems.
Malesevic's 103 career combined dual match wins is tied with Mark Jeffrey (1988-91) for 10th all-time in school history and his 59 dual match singles victories are the seventh-most in MSU's annals. The native of Banja Luka, Bosnia and Herzegovina needs one more win to match former teammate Florian Broska (2018-22) for ninth in all-time dual match victories.
Both Jovanovic and Malesevic have earned postseason accolades from the SEC every year of their careers with the Bulldogs. Malesevic was tabbed to the Freshman All-SEC in 2021 before his three consecutive second team selections. Jovanovic was a Freshman All-SEC honoree last spring.
Jovanovic, Malesevic and the 16th-ranked Bulldogs are currently awaiting their fate for the NCAA Championships and will find out on Monday at 5 p.m.
First Team All-SEC
Filip Planinsek, Alabama
Tyler Stice, Auburn
Finn Murgett, Auburn  Â
Taha Baadi, Kentucky
Joshua Lapadat, Kentucky
JJ Mercer, Kentucky
Nikola Slavic, Ole Miss
Petar Jovanovic, Mississippi State       Â
Toby Samuel, South Carolina
Johannus Monday, Tennessee
Shunsuke Mitsui, Tennessee
Raphael Perot, Texas A&M
JC Roddick, Texas A&M
Second Team All-SEC
Matias Ponce De Leon, Alabama         Â
Gerard Planelles Ripoll, Arkansas       Â
Billy Blaydes, Auburn  Â
Jeremy Jin, Florida       Â
Aidan Kim, Florida
Thomas Paulsell, Georgia       Â
Charlelie Cosnet, Kentucky    Â
Jaden Weekes, Kentucky
John Hallquist Lithen, Ole Miss            Â
Nemanja Malesevic, Mississippi State
James Story, South Carolina   Â
Danil Panarin, Vanderbilt
All-Freshman
Andrii Zimnokh, Alabama        Â
Jeremy Jin, Florida       Â
Aidan Kim, Florida       Â
Jack Loutit, Kentucky Â
Eli Stephenson, Kentucky
Danil Panarin, Vanderbilt
Player of the Year
Johannus Monday, Tennessee
Freshmen of the Year
Danil Panarin, Vanderbilt
Coach of the Year
Cedric Kauffmann, Kentucky
For more information on the Bulldog men's tennis program, visit HailState.com or search for "HailStateMT" on X, Instagram and Facebook.
