Mississippi State
Samford
No. 11 State Shuts Out Samford To Start Season
January 12, 2025 | Men's Tennis
STARKVILLE – No. 11 Mississippi State started its spring slate off with a 7-0 shutout of Samford on Sunday inside the friendly confines of the Rula Tennis Pavilion.
It was the 13th consecutive victory MSU has had over Samford dating back to 1975 and its eighth-straight shutout in the series. It also extended State's opening-match winning streak to nine.
"I'm happy for the whole team and how we competed," said head coach Matt Roberts. "It's a good start. Our hard work this year is paying off. It looked like we were pretty clean."
Mississippi State got off to a hot start by sweeping doubles. Dusan Milanovic and Michal Novansky struck first with their 6-1 victory over Sebastian Harrison and Victorio Sardinha. No. 9 Petar Jovanovic and Benito Sanchez Martinez secured the doubles point with their win over Hayden Menon and Sandeep Mohandoss 6-2.
It was the ninth time that MSU's two-time All-Americans have clinched a doubles point in their careers teaming together.
The momentum carried over into singles as No. 72 Niccolo Baroni made short work of Menon 6-0, 6-0 as the freshman earned his first dual match singles win. Jovanovic, ranked 45th in singles, followed suit with a 6-2, 6-1 victory over Mohandoss before No. 81 Mario Martinez Serrano clinched things for State with his 6-1, 6-0 triumph against J.B. Pickard.
It was the first match-clincher for Martinez Serrano in Maroon and White after transferring in during the fall following two all-conference seasons at Troy.
"It was really good," Martinez Serrano said. "The feeling is great that all the work that we have been doing for the last four months is paying off. Everyone did a really good job. We try to compete as hard as we can and try to give our best every day."
No. 103 Sanchez Martinez kept things going in State's favor with a 6-3, 6-2 win over Darcy Nicholls while Roberto Ferrer Guimaraes topped Sardinha 6-1, 6-1. Novansky, who was limited to doubles duty last spring due to injury, completed the shutout by beating Harrison 7-5, 6-2 to claim his first dual match singles win since March 26, 2023.
"It was good for everyone to get a match against a good team," Roberts said. "I thought that we came out ready to go and executed really well on every court. I think Niccolo and Mario were a little bit nervous in doubles, but they responded very well in singles. I was really happy with 'Pete' and Benito playing really clean in doubles and also awesome in singles. I'm happy for 'Mikey' to get his first singles win since his surgery."
Mississippi State is back in action on Friday when the Bulldogs host Chattanooga in a doubleheader at noon and 4 p.m.
No. 11 Mississippi State 7, Samford 0
Rula Tennis Pavillion | Starkville, Miss.
Jan. 12, 2025
Doubles
1. No. 9 Petar Jovanovic/Benito Sanchez Martinez (MSU) def. Hayden Menon/Sandeep Mohandoss (SAM) 6-2
2. No. 20 Niccolo Baroni/Mario Martinez Serrano (MSU) vs. Darcy Nicholls/J.B. Pickard (SAM) 2-4, unfinished
3. Dusan Milanovic/Michal Novansky (MSU) def. Sebastian Harrison/Victorio Sardinha (SAM) 6-1
Order of finish: (3,1)
Singles
1. No. 45 Petar Jovanovic (MSU) def. Sandeep Mohandoss (SAM) 6-2, 6-1
2. No. 103 Benito Sanchez Martinez (MSU) def. Darcy Nicholls (SAM) 6-3, 6-2
3. No. 72 Niccolo Baroni (MSU) def. Hayden Menon (SAM) 6-0, 6-0
4. No. 81 Mario Martinez Serrano (MSU) def. J.B. Pickard (SAM) 6-1, 6-0
5. Michal Novansky (MSU) def. Sebastian Harrison (SAM) 7-5, 6-2
6. Roberto Ferrer Guimaraes (MSU) def. Victorio Sardinha (SAM) 6-1, 6-1
Order of Finish: (3,1,4,2,6,5)
For more information on the Bulldog men's tennis program, visit HailState.com or search for "HailStateMT" on X, Instagram and Facebook.
Team Stats
#1 Doubles Match
#2 Doubles Match
#3 Doubles Match
Order of Finish:
3,1
#1 Singles Match
#2 Singles Match
#3 Singles Match
#4 Singles Match
#5 Singles Match
#6 Singles Match
Order of Finish:
3,1,4,2,6,5
Players Mentioned
