No. 17 MSU Takes On Two At Home

STARKVILLE - Mississippi State men's tennis stays in the A.J. Pitts Tennis Centre this weekend for two matches as they are in the middle of their five match homestand.

No. 17 MSU (15-4, 5-3 SEC) will face No. 38 Arkansas (14-9, 3-6 SEC) on Thursday at 3 p.m. and No. 29 Florida (11-7, 6-3 SEC) on Sunday at 1 p.m.

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)

Arkansas
Singles – Lucas Palovic (80)
Doubles – Connor Smillie/Jakub Vrba (48)

Florida
Singles – Jeremy Jin (65), Henry Jefferson (113), Adhithya Ganesan (124)
Doubles – Jefferson/Tanapatt Nirundorn (18), Nirundorn/Ganesan (79)

Series History
vs. Arkansas
Overall: Mississippi State dominates the series against Arkansas, 35-8.
In Starkville: MSU also leads the series in Starkville, 16-4.
Last Meeting: MSU won the last regular season meeting 4-2 against Arkansas in Fayetteville in 2024. A doubles victory by Petar Jovanovic and Benito Sanchez Martinez and a singles win by Dusan Milanovic helped secure the victory last year.

vs. Florida
Overall: Florida leads the series all-time, 41-21.
In Starkville: The Gators also hold the lead in Starkville, 16-8.
Last Meeting: State defeated Florida in their last meeting in Gainesville in 2024, 4-3. After dropping the doubles point, the Bulldogs won four singles courts to secure the victory. Two of those wins were from current players, Jovanovic and Sanchez Martinez.

State Wins Leaders
Overall singles – Roberto Ferrer Guimaraes (19)
Matches clinched – Martinez Serrano (5)
Overall doubles – Jovanovic/Sanchez Martinez (23)
vs. ranked opponents – Jovanovic/Sanchez Martinez (10)
Double clinches – Jovanovic/Sanchez Martinez and Baroni/Martinez Serrano (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.
• MSU holds a record of 13-1 and are undefeated in SEC play (3-0) when playing in Starkville this season.
• Petar Jovanovic and Benito Sanchez Martinez have 48 career doubles wins together, which is good for third-place all-time in school history. They need two more wins to tie Niclas Braun and Giovanni Oradini for second-most all-time.
Jovanovic and Sanchez Martinez have not lost in SEC doubles play yet. They are 7-0, and five 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 eight matches.
• Niccolo Baroni and Mario Martinez Serrano are on a doubles point clinch streak. They have clinched it for two straight matches and are looking to be the second duo on the team to do it three times in a row.
• Sanchez Martinez ascended to his second-highest singles ranking in his career, No. 38. He boasts a 6-2 record in the SEC, is on a four-game win streak, and has eight ranked wins on the season, which is the most on the team.
• The Potsdam, Germany, Native also secured SEC Player of the Week honors when he went undefeated and clinched the match for MSU against No. 18 South Carolina.
• Roberto Ferrer Guimaraes has accumulated an impressive 14-2 dual match record while being 5-1 in SEC play.

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

No. 17 MSU Takes On Two At Home

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Players Mentioned

Niccolo Baroni

Roberto Ferrer Guimaraes

Petar Jovanovic

Mario Martinez Serrano

Dusan Milanovic

Benito Sanchez Martinez

Mississippi State University Athletics