No. 14 MSU Dominates With Back-to-Back Shutouts

Sunday, February 2

Starkville

9 a.m.

Mississippi State

Tulane

Photo by: Mike Mattina/MSU Athletics

No. 14 MSU Dominates With Back-to-Back Shutouts

February 02, 2025 | Men's Tennis

Photo Gallery

By: Peyton Burkhalter, Student Assistant

STARKVILLE – The No. 14 Bulldogs put up an impressive showing today without two-time All-American Petar Jovanovic.

Jovanovic was invited to play for his home country of Montenegro in the Davis Cup, so he flew to China earlier in the week to fight for his home colors. Matt Roberts' squad needed to step up in his absence, and they soundly delivered.

"We really stepped up as a team," said Roberts. "Some guys got some good matches in and used it as an opportunity to play when Pete is not here. I thought everybody did great today, and we applied what we worked on in practice this week."

The twentieth-ranked Bulldog tandem in Niccolo Baroni and Mario Martinez Serrano had to shift into being the number one spot in the doubles lineup. They acted like they belonged, notching a 6-3 victory over Hady El Kordy and Luka Petrovic of Tulane (1-4) early in the morning.

Benito Sanchez Martinez, Jovanovic's normal doubles teammate, paired up with Roberto Ferrer Guimaraes for the day. They had never been paired up before but their chemistry was undeniable, as they clinched the doubles point against Charlie Burdell and Steven Rice of Tulane.

"It felt great being back out here," said Ferrer Guimaraes. "After last weekend, we wanted to get that sour taste out of our mouths. We were extra motivated to put our foot on the gas today and show everyone what we got."

Ferrer Guimaraes and No. 103 Benito Sanchez Martinez also secured singles victories against the Green Wave. Ferrer Guimaraes defeated Alec Gaudin, 6-2, 6-2, clinching the match for the Bulldogs; meanwhile, Sanchez Martinez tallied a ranked singles win against No. 101 Luka Petrovic, his second since beating No. 36 Maxi Homberg of Pepperdine last weekend.

Ranked Bulldogs No. 72 Niccolo Baroni and No. 81 Mario Martinez Serrano recorded singles victories as well. Baroni ousted Vincent Vohl 7-5, 6-2, and Martinez Serrano beat Asaf Friedler in identical straight-sets, 6-1, 6-1.

Dusan Milanovic won his third dual singles match of the season, defeating Hady El Kordy, 7-5, 6-2, and Michal Novansky finished last but won in a three-set thriller. The Trnava, Slovakia, native bested Tulane's Charlie Burdell, 6-1, 3-6, 1-0[11].

The Bulldogs operated in the same dominating fashion against the Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles (1-5) later in the day.

The duo of Ferrer Guimaraes and Sanchez Martinez started fast, defeating Lukas Krause and Darek Kuczynski, 6-2. No. 20 Baroni and Martinez Serrano clinched the doubles point not too soon after as they beat Lucas Bitzer and Oliver Dao, 6-3.

Novansky, Ferrer Guimaraes, and No. 72 Baroni did not drop a set in singles and blanked their opponents, 6-0, 6-0. Baroni also earned his first singles clinch of the season with his victory against Alex Alvarez.

Michal Novansky also has been unbeaten in singles dual match play since April 20^th, 2023. He pushed his win streak to 10 in a row with his two victories today.

MSU now looks ahead to next Sunday, where they face Memphis and Jackson State in their fourth doubleheader of the season.

No. 14 Mississippi State 7, Tulane 0
A.J. Pitts Tennis Centre | Starkville, Miss.
Feb. 2, 2025

Doubles:
1. No. 20 Niccolo Baroni/Mario Martinez Serrano (MSU) def. Hady El Kordy/Luka Petrovic (TUL) 6-4
2. Dusan Milanovic/Michal Novansky (MSU) vs. Asaf Friedler/AJ Mercer (TUL) 4-5, unfinished
3. Roberto Ferrer Guimaraes/Benito Sanchez Martinez (MSU) def. Charlie Burdell/Steven Rice (TUL) 6-4
Order of finish: (1,3)

Singles:
1. No. 103 Benito Sanchez Martinez (MSU) def. No. 101 Luka Petrovic (TUL) 6-1, 6-3
2. Dusan Milanovic (MSU) def. Hady El Kordy (TUL) 7-5, 6-2
3. No. 72 Niccolo Baroni (MSU) def. Vincent Vohl (TUL) 7-5, 6-2
4. No. 81 Mario Martinez Serrano (MSU) def. Asaf Friedler (TUL) 6-1, 6-1
5. Roberto Ferrer Guimaraes (MSU) def. Alec Gaudin (TUL) 6-2, 6-2
6. Michal Novansky (MSU) def. Charlie Burdell (TUL) 6-1, 3-6, 1-0[11]
Order of finish: (4,1,5,2,3,6)

No. 14 Mississippi State 4, Tennessee Tech 0
A.J. Pitts Tennis Centre | Starkville, Miss.
Feb. 2, 2025

Doubles:
1. No. 20 Niccolo Baroni/Mario Martinez Serrano (MSU) def. Lucas Bitzer/Oliver Dao (TTU) 6-3
2. Michal Novansky/Benito Sanchez Martinez (MSU) vs. Alex Alvarez/Murillo Burckhardt (TTU) 4-3, unfinished
3. Bryan Hernandez Cortes/Radomir Tomic (MSU) def. Lukas Krause/Darek Kuczynski (TTU) 6-2
Order of finish: (3,1)

Singles:
1. No. 72 Niccolo Baroni (MSU) def. Alex Alvarez (TTU) 6-0, 6-0
2. No. 81 Mario Martinez Serrano (MSU) def. Murillo Burckhardt (TTU) 6-2, 1-3, unfinished
3. Roberto Ferrer Guimaraes (MSU) def. Darek Kuczynski (TTU) 6-0, 6-0
4. Michal Novansky (MSU) def. Ella Lauper (TTU) 6-0, 6-0
5. Radomir Tomic (MSU) def. Ricard Garavi (TTU) 6-2, 4-1, unfinished
6. Bryan Hernandez Cortes (MSU) Elyad Oshnavie def. (TTU) 6-0, 5-1, unfinished
Order of finish: (4,3,1)

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