State Sweeps Second Day In Fayetteville
September 17, 2024 | Men's Tennis
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Mississippi State swept the second day of play at the ITF Fayetteville 15K on Tuesday.
The Bulldogs won all three matches at the Billingsley Tennis Center and now have four singles competitors and two doubles teams headed into the main draw of the tournament. Â
Benito Sanchez Martinez qualified for the main draw by downing American William Mroz 6-2, 6-2 and winning in straight sets for the second consecutive day.
The All-American tandem of Sanchez Martinez and Petar Jovanovic, the current No. 1 team in collegiate tennis, was also in action for the first time this fall in the first round of the doubles main draw along with MSU's newcomer team of Niccolo Baroni and Mario Martinez Serrano.
Jovanovic and Sanchez Martinez topped the American duo of Tommy Czaplinski and Gray Voelzke 6-4, 6-3. It took a little longer, but Baroni and Martinez Serrano soon joined their teammates in the win column as they topped Mexican Luis Carlos Alvarez Valdes and South African Kholowam Montsi 6-3, 1-6, 1-0[6].
The two Bulldog tandems will now face off against each other in the quarterfinals on Thursday.
But all four of State's student-athletes at the event are back in action on Wednesday with singles play starting in the main draw. Sanchez Martinez will face Canadian Joshua Peck, who played collegiately at North Carolina from 2017-21, while Jovanovic battles American Keshav Chopra, who graduated from Georgia Tech this past spring.
Sanchez Martinez and Jovanovic's matches are slated to start at 10 a.m.
Martinez Serrano will play the second match on Court 1 at approximately 1 p.m. against Arkansas junior Benedikt Emesz of Austria and Baroni closes out the afternoon against Oklahoma senior Jordan Hasson of Israel at around 4 p.m.
Dusan Milanovic defeated Emesz 6-1, 6-7(3), 7-6(3) back in April.
ITF Fayetteville 15KÂBillingsley Tennis Center | Fayetteville, Ark.
Sept. 17, 2024
Singles:
Qualifying Second Round
Benito Sanchez Martinez (Germany / MSU) def. William Mroz (Illinois / USA): 6-2, 6-2
Doubles:
Main Draw First Round
Benito Sanchez Martinez / Petar Jovanovic (MSU) def. Tommy Czaplinski / Gray Voelzke (USA / VCU): 6-4, 6-3
Niccolo Baroni / Mario Martinez Serrano (MSU) def. Luis Carlos Alvarez / Valdes Khololwam Montsi (Mexico / South Africa) 6-3, 1-6, 1-0[6].
For more information on the Bulldog men's tennis program, visit HailState.com or search for "HailStateMT" on X, Instagram and Facebook. Â
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Players Mentioned
