No. 14 MSU Set For Sunday Doubleheader

Sunday, February 2

Starkville

9 a.m.

Mississippi State

Tulane

Mario Martinez Serrano Pepperdine 1-25-25

Photo by: Ivy Ball/MSU Athletics

No. 14 MSU Set For Sunday Doubleheader

February 01, 2025 | Men's Tennis

Match Notes Live Video/Stats

By: Peyton Burkhalter, Student Assistant

STARKVILLE – No. 14 Mississippi State looks to carry its successful start into February.

The Bulldogs enter the second month of the calendar year at 6-1 and are set to play their first outdoor matches of the season on Saturday at the A.J. Pitts Tennis Centre against Tulane and Tennessee Tech at 9 a.m. and 1 p.m., respectively. It will be part of a quadruple-header in conjunction with MSU's women's tennis team, who will be competing inside the Rula Tennis Pavilion against UAB at 11 a.m. and Arkansas State at 3 p.m.

MSU is 18-7 against Tulane all-time and are 9-2 against the Green Wave in Starkville. The Bulldogs have won four-straight in the series and 10 of the last 11 matches, including a 4-3 victory in New Orleans last season. However, the narrow margin of victory is a bit deceiving. After dropping the doubles point, State responded with four-consecutive singles victories to clinch the victory with the final two matches being played out. Petar Jovanovic and Benito Sanchez Martinez contributed singles wins at Tulane in 2024.

Mississippi State also leads the series versus Tennessee Tech 8-1 and is 7-1 at home. The Bulldogs have won the last eight matches against the Golden Eagles, prevailing 7-0 in the last meeting in Starkville in 2023. Jovanovic, Sanchez Martinez and Michal Novansky all picked up singles victories in that match as well as Sanchez Martinez and Novansky teaming together for a doubles win.

Tennessee Tech's lone 5-4 win in the series came back in 1971.

MSU's singles lineup features four ranked competitors in Jovanovic (45), Niccolo Baroni (72), Mario Martinez Serrano (81) and Sanchez Martinez (103). Jovanvoic and Martinez Serrano top the team with 11 wins apiece. Novansky sports a career and team-best eight-match winning streak in singles and has not lost in singles during dual match play since April 20, 2023.

The Bulldogs also have a pair of ranked doubles teams in No. 9 Jovanovic and Sanchez Martinez along with 20th-ranked Baroni and Martinez Serrano. Jovanovic and Sanchez Martinez have earned 41 career victories together. That total is tied with Jordan Angus and Malte Stropp (2013-14) for the fifth-most wins by a doubles team in program history.

State is looking to bounce back from its lone loss of the year, falling 4-1 to then 22nd-ranked NC State in the championship match of ITA Kickoff Weekend at home last Sunday.

Tulane comes to town with a 1-3 record and has lost three straight. The Green Wave's only win was 7-0 against Southern on Jan. 18 and are coming off a 6-1 home loss to UAB on Wednesday.

No. 101 Luka Petrovic headlines Tulane's singles lineup. Novansky rallied past Petrovic 3-6, 7-5, 6-4 at the ITA Southern Regional Championship in Baton Rouge, Louisiana back in October. Jovanovic also owns a 6-1, 6-2 win against Petrovic in Starkville on Feb. 3, 2023.

Tennessee Tech is 1-4 early on this season. The Golden Eagles defeated Austin Peay 6-1 in Bowling Green, Kentucky on Jan. 24 but were shutout 7-0 on the road by Chattanooga on Friday.

For more information on the Bulldog men's tennis program, visit HailState.com or search for "HailStateMT" on X, Instagram and Facebook.