Senior Bulldogs Set For Another Regional In Starkville
May 01, 2024 | Men's Tennis
STARKVILLE – It was a jovial Monday evening in the recruiting lounge of Davis Wade Stadium as the No. 16 Mississippi State's men's tennis team sat around a giant screen and waited to hear its name called for the upcoming NCAA Championships.
Supporters lined the room, quieting down as the selections began to be announced. The silence was quickly shattered by cheers and clapping when State was officially announced as the top seed in the Starkville Regional for the second year in a row.
Among the nine student-athletes seated were seniors Nemanja Malesevic and Carles Hernandez. The pair has been around through it all, and now, their wish of getting one last shot to play on their home courts to start postseason play has come true. It's something they've worked for all year.
"Reaching that goal of getting to host the first two rounds of [the NCAA Championships] is pretty nice," Hernandez said.
Malesevic echoed his teammate's thoughts, adding that the program's back-to-back years as a host site are a testament to the hard work that has been put in over the past few seasons.
"It's just a good feeling and it's showing us that we were doing good things the last three, four years," Malesevic said.
The Bulldogs are indeed no strangers to success. Men's tennis has a storied history in Starkville. This is MSU's 13th-consecutive year in the NCAA Championships and its 32nd appearance overall. In the past five years, the program has cruised through the first two rounds of action and advanced to the Sweet 16 four times.
Malesevic is confident that this consistency — and his and his teammates' contributions to it — will be remembered for decades to come.
"You always hear about the guys in the past, and it's good to be part of that history and you know that people 20, 30 years from now are going to talk about you in some kind of way," Malesevic said.
Head coach Matt Roberts hopes that his seniors are able to exit to a standing ovation and another big victory secured. The contributions that they have made to the program have been enormous, and the pair has gained just as much from being part of such a special group.
"Carles and [Nemanja] have done so much for us," Roberts said. "They've both grown so much in so many areas."
The 10-year program leader highlighted the biggest ways in which his talented veterans have led State this season.
"Carles' leadership qualities have grown," Roberts said. "He's a leader by example. He brings so much energy and intensity on the court and he's going to be remembered for that."
As for Malesevic?
"It's like having another coach in your locker room," Roberts said of Malesevic. "He's just so mature and wise and sees things going on with other guys so he can help them and also communicate that to me."
Aside from the pride that comes from hosting postseason play at home, there are other logistical reasons why MSU will have a bit of an advantage on its own court. There will be no time spent on traveling hours or adjusting to completely different facilities. Instead, the team will have more time to prepare.
"We are able to focus more on practice and getting ourselves ready for matches," Malesevic said. "It's also going to be nice because we don't have to get used to the courts. We already know how it feels."
Most importantly, State fans will be able to watch their Dawgs in action for one more weekend to close out the spring season. The team is highly anticipating having their biggest fans cheering them on, just like they have all year.
"It's always good to play with the home crowd and we don't have to move," Malesevic said. "It's going to be a good crowd. I remember from [hosting] last year it was one of the best crowds we've had in my four years."
The No. 53 singles competitor in the country doesn't just want a sold-out crowd. He expects it. Malesevic has issued a challenge for Bulldogs near and far to come out and pack the A.J. Pitts Tennis Centre this weekend.
"I would invite everyone in Starkville to come on Friday and Saturday and support us," Malesevic said.
Mississippi State will take on fourth-seeded Alabama State on Friday at 1 p.m. Second-seeded Georgia Tech and third-seeded Middle Tennessee will face off in Friday's morning match beginning at 10. The winners of each match will face off on Saturday at 1 p.m. in hopes of making it to the Sweet 16.
Players Mentioned
