No. 16 State Falls In Close Contest to No. 30 Georgia

Saturday, March 15

Athens, Ga.

12 p.m. CT

Mississippi State

Georgia

Photo by: Mississippi State Athletics

No. 16 State Falls In Close Contest to No. 30 Georgia

March 15, 2025 | Men's Tennis

By: Peyton Burkhalter, Student Assistant

ATHENS, Ga. - No. 16 Mississippi State was defeated on Saturday in another SEC nail biter to No. 30 Georgia.

Dusan Milanovic and Michal Novansky started the day hot for the Maroon and White, defeating Miguel Perez Pena and Gabriele Vulpitta, 6-1. No. 29 Niccolo Baroni and Mario Martinez Serrano clinched the doubles point for MSU in a tiebreaker against Thomas Paulsell and Oscar Pinto Sansano, 7-6(6).

Mississippi State could not take advantage early with the momentum after securing the doubles point, but they did climb back with victories by No. 72 Benito Sanchez Martinez and No. 92 Mario Martinez Serrano. Bryan Hernandez Cortes fought his way to a third set while the match was tied 3-3 to give some hope for MSU, but he could not hold on and win it.

Records
No. 16 Mississippi State (14-4, 4-3 SEC)
No. 30 Georgia (10-6, 4-2 SEC)

Match Notes
• Niccolo Baroni and Mario Martinez Serrano now have seven clinches on the year, which is right on the tail of teammates Petar Jovanovic and Benito Sanchez Martinez who have eight.
• Jovanovic and Sanchez Martinez were right on the heels of another ranked doubles victory. They had match point before Baroni and Martinez Serrano finished their tiebreaker first.
• Sanchez Martinez now has eight ranked victories on the year, the most on the team by far, with the victory over No. 32 Miguel Perez Pena. This was also Sanchez Martinez's highest ranked win of the season.
• Since taking over at line one for MSU, Sanchez Martinez is 3-1 with two ranked wins. His only loss comes from No. 7 Timo Legout of Texas.
• All three losses in the SEC for MSU have been in away matches.
• Mario Martinez Serrano went 2-0 in singles competition over the weekend. He defeated Vanderbilt's Henry Ruger and Georgia's Oscar Pinto Sansano both in straight sets.

Up Next
No. 16 MSU will take on No. 25 South Carolina next Sunday, March 23, at 1 p.m.

Match Results
Doubles:
1. No. 4 Petar Jovanovic/Benito Sanchez Martinez (MSU) vs. No. 23 Freddy Blaydes/Niels Ratiu (UGA) 6-5, unfinished
2. No. 29 Niccolo Baroni/Mario Martinez Serrano (MSU) def. Thomas Paulsell/Oscar Pinto Sansano (UGA) 7-6(6)
3. Dusan Milanovic/Michal Novansky (MSU) def. Miguel Perez Pena/Gabriele Vulpitta (UGA) 6-1
Order of finish: (3,2)

Singles:
1. No. 72 Benito Sanchez Martinez (MSU) def. No. 32 Miguel Perez Pena (UGA) 7-5, 6-4
2. No. 27 Ryan Colby (UGA) def. No. 88 Petar Jovanovic (MSU) 6-2, 6-4
3. No. 26 Thomas Paulsell (UGA) def. No. 125 Niccolo Baroni (MSU) 6-3, 2-6, 6-2
4. No. 92 Mario Martinez Serrano (MSU) def. Oscar Pinto Sansano (UGA) 7-6(1), 6-3
5. Niels Ratiu (UGA) def. Roberto Ferrer Guimaraes (MSU) 6-3, 6-3
6. Gabriele Vulpitta (UGA) def. Bryan Hernandez Cortes (MSU) 7-6(7), 4-6, 6-2
Order of finish: (5,2,4,3,1,6)

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