Mississippi State
Tennessee
No. 14 MSU Edged 4-3 By No. 7 Vols
April 05, 2024 | Men's Tennis
STARKVILLE – No. 14 Mississippi State jumped out to a 3-0 lead on seventh-ranked Tennessee in its regular season home finale at the A.J. Pitts Tennis Centre on Friday.
But victory eluded the Bulldogs as the Volunteers rallied back to win 4-3 after claiming a close third set on the final court.
MSU (15-6, 7-3 SEC) began the afternoon by sweeping the doubles point. Carles Hernandez and Dusan Milanovic won their match 6-1 over Filip Apltauer and Younes Lalami. No. 22 Petar Jovanovic and Benito Sanchez Martinez then clinched things by downing eighth-ranked Angel Diaz and Johannus Monday 6-3.
It was highest of the eight ranked wins Jovanovic and Sanchez Martinez have had together this season.
The Bulldogs' success continued early on in singles as well. Sanchez Martinez made short work of Diaz 6-2, 6-3. Hernandez – the reigning SEC Player of the Week - also enjoyed a senior day win over Chris Li 6-2, 6-2 to improve to a team-leading 15-4 singles record during dual match play.
Tennessee (20-4, 9-1 SEC) took the next three matches leaving it all up to Court 2 to decide the match's outcome. Jovanovic, ranked 42nd in singles, battled shot-for-shot with No. 37 Shunsuke Mitsui for three sets.
Mitsui took a first-set tiebreaker 7-6(3) before Jovanovic evened things with a 7-5 win of his own in the second set. The Vols, however, earned their fifth-straight win when Mitsui outlasted Jovanovic 6-4 in the final set.
State closes out the regular season with back-to-back road matches. The Bulldogs begin that stretch at 32nd-ranked Auburn at noon on Sunday.
The Tigers are 14-8 overall on the year and 5-4 in league play. They snapped a three-match skid by beating No. 23 Alabama 4-3 at home on Friday.
No. 45 Tyler Stice highlights Auburn's singles' lineup followed by 101st-ranked Finn Murgett. Murgett also makes up the nation's No. 37 doubles duo with Raul Dobai.
Mississippi State leads the overall series against Auburn 33-21 overall and 15-10 on The Plains. The Bulldogs have won 14 of the last 15 matches against the Tigers, including nine straight.
MSU won 4-3 last year in Starkville. Malesevic defeated Stice 6-1, 3-6, 7-5 in that match. Hernandez and Sanchez Martinez also contributed singles wins to the Bulldogs' cause.
No. 7 Tennessee 4, No. 14 Mississippi State 3
A.J. Pitts Tennis Centre | Starkville, Miss.
April 5, 2024
Doubles
1. No. 22 Petar Jovanovic/Benito Sanchez Martinez (MSU) def. No. 8 Angel Diaz/Johannus Monday (TENN) 6-3
2. Nemanja Malesevic/Michal Novansky (MSU) vs. No. 50 Shunsuke Mitsui/Filip Pieczonka (TENN) 4-3, unfinished
3. Carles Hernandez/Dusan Milanovic (MSU) def. Filip Apltauer/Younes Lalami (TENN) 6-1
Order of finish: Doubles (3,1)
Singles
1. No. 4 Johannus Monday (TENN) def. No.107 Nemanja Malesevic (MSU) 7-6(5), 6-3
2. No. 37 Shunsuke Mitsui (TENN) def. No. 42 Petar Jovanovic (MSU) 7-6(3), 5-7, 6-4
3. Carles Hernandez (MSU) def. Chris Li (TENN) 6-2, 6-2
4. Filip Pieczonka (TENN) def. Dusan Milanovic (MSU) 6-3, 7-6(6)
5. Benito Sanchez Martinez (MSU) def. Angel Diaz (TENN) 6-2, 6-3
6. James Newton (TENN) def. Roberto Ferrer Guimaraes (MSU) 6-1, 6-3
Order of finish: (5,3,6,1,4,2)
For more information on the Bulldog men's tennis program, visit HailState.com or search for "HailStateMT" on X, Instagram and Facebook.
Players Mentioned
