No. 20 Bulldogs Gearing Up For No. 18 Gamecocks

STARKVILLE - Mississippi State men's tennis is back home for a five match homestand after being on the road for two matches last week.

No. 20 MSU (14-4, 4-3 SEC) will face No. 18 South Carolina (13-4, 7-1 SEC) on Sunday at 1 p.m. at the A.J. Pitts Tennis Centre.

Rankings
MSU
Singles – Benito Sanchez Martinez (38), Mario Martinez Serrano (95), Petar Jovanovic (100), Niccolo Baroni. (117)
Doubles – Jovanovic/Sanchez Martinez (4), Baroni/Martinez Serrano (39)

South Carolina
Singles – Connor Thomson (54), Sean Daryabeigi (82), Jelani Sarr (106)
Doubles – Lucas Andrade de Silva/Connor Thomson (15), Atakan Karahan/Jelani Sarr (84)

Series History
vs. South Carolina
Overall: Mississippi State leads 25-13 in the series
In Starkville: MSU leads 12-4
Last Meeting: South Carolina defeated the Bulldogs last year in the SEC Tournament, 4-2.

State Wins Leaders
Overall singles – Baroni and Roberto Ferrer Guimaraes (18)
Matches clinched – Martinez Serrano (5)
Overall doubles – Jovanovic/Sanchez Martinez (22)
vs. ranked opponents – Jovanovic/Sanchez Martinez (9)
Double clinches – Jovanovic/Sanchez Martinez (8)

Notes to know
• Mississippi State is in its 102nd season of men's tennis. The program played its first tennis match in 1907 and has competed every year since 1946.
• Matt Roberts is in his 13th season at MSU and 11th as the Bulldogs' head coach. Roberts has compiled a 201-82 overall record and a 128-25 mark at home. He is currently the longest-tenured head coach at State and the second-fastest coach to reach 200 wins, only behind Tom Sawyer.
• The Bulldogs have made 13 consecutive appearances in the NCAA Championships and have reached the Sweet 16 in five of the past six seasons.
• Men's tennis posted a 3.68 grade point average during the fall semester. It was the highest team GPA of any sport at Mississippi State.
• Petar Jovanovic and Benito Sanchez Martinez have 47 career doubles wins together, which is tied for third-place all-time in school history. They need one more victory to take third place outright and three more to tie Niclas Braun and Giovanni Oradini for second-most.
• Jovanovic and Sanchez Martinez have not lost in SEC doubles play yet. They are 6-0, and four of their wins have been over ranked opponents inside the top 40. The duo has also clinched the doubles point four times in the last seven matches.
• Dusan Milanovic and Michal Novansky are currently on a three game win streak, which ties a career-high for them. One more victory on Sunday would give them a new career best in consecutive doubles wins as a pair.
• Jovanovic and Sanchez Martinez have accumulated nine ranked doubles wins this year and are one ranked victory away from reaching the double digit mark.
• Novansky extended his dual match singles win streak to 12 last week against Vanderbilt. This streak is the longest on the team by far, and has been going since April 20, 2023, as he missed the 2024 season due to injury.
• Sanchez Martinez has ascended to his second-highest singles ranking in his career, No. 38, only behind when he was ranked No. 36 in 2023. He was previously at 72 and jumped 34 spots after defeating the highest ranked singles player in his career, No. 32 Miguel Perez Pena of Georgia, 7-5, 6-4. The Potsdam, Germany, native is currently on a three game win streak on line 1 and 5-2 in the SEC.

For more Information on the Bulldog women's tennis program, visit Hailstate.com or search for "HailstateWT" on X, Instagram and Facebook.

No. 20 Bulldogs Gearing Up For No. 18 Gamecocks

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Players Mentioned

Niccolo Baroni

Roberto Ferrer Guimaraes

Petar Jovanovic

Mario Martinez Serrano

Dusan Milanovic

Michal Novansky

Benito Sanchez Martinez

Mississippi State University Athletics