No. 12 State Faces Off Against No. 13 Texas A&M, No. 29 Auburn in Final Home Stretch

STARKVILLE - Mississippi State men's tennis is in the A.J. Pitts Tennis Centre this weekend for their last two home matches of the regular season.

No. 12 Bulldogs (17-4, 7-3 SEC) will face the No. 13 Texas A&M Aggies (15-6, 8-2 SEC) on Thursday at 3 p.m. and the No. 29 Auburn Tigers (16-7, 6-5 SEC) on Saturday at 1 p.m.

Rankings
MSU
Singles – Benito Sanchez Martinez (50), Petar Jovanovic (67), Niccolo Baroni (101), Mario Martinez Serrano (102)
Doubles – Jovanovic/Sanchez Martinez (2), Baroni/Martinez Serrano (54)

Texas A&M
Singles – Theo Papamalamis (33), J.C. Roddick (44)
Doubles – Theo Papamalamis/Togan Takic (21), Luke Casper/Togan Takic (32), Giulio Perego/Togan Takic (67)

Auburn
Singles – Alexander Frusina (57)
Doubles – Billy Blaydes/Will Nolan (13)

Series History
vs. Texas A&M
Overall: Texas A&M leads the series all-time, 13-6
In Starkville: The Aggies also hold the lead in Starkville, 4-2.
Last Meeting: State fell to the Aggies in their last meeting in College Station in 2024, 7-0.

vs. Auburn
Overall: Mississippi State dominates the series against Auburn, 34-21.
In Starkville: MSU also leads the series in Starkville, 17-9.
Last Meeting: State defeated Auburn in their last meeting in Auburn in 2024, 4-2. After picking up the doubles point with a win by Jovanovic and Sanchez Martinez, those two also earned a singles victory each to defeat the Tigers.

State Wins Leaders
Overall singles – Baroni, Roberto Ferrer Guimaraes, Sanchez Martinez (20)
Matches clinched – Martinez Serrano (5)
Overall doubles – Jovanovic/Sanchez Martinez (24)
vs. ranked opponents – Jovanovic/Sanchez Martinez (11)
Double clinches – Baroni/Martinez Serrano (10)

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 15-1 and are undefeated in SEC play (5-0) when playing in Starkville. They have been on a three-game win streak, and they have all come against ranked top 40 SEC teams.
• Petar Jovanovic and Benito Sanchez Martinez have 49 career doubles wins together, which is good for third-place all-time. They need one more win to tie Niclas Braun and Giovanni Oradini for second-most all-time in school history.
• Jovanovic and Sanchez Martinez have not lost in SEC doubles play yet. They are 8-0, and six of their wins have been over ranked opponents inside the top 40. Their eight game win streak is a career best for both players as well.
• The duo also have 11 ranked wins on the year, which is the most by a pair in the SEC, and are ranked No. 2 for this week.
• Niccolo Baroni and Mario Martinez Serrano are on a doubles point clinch streak. They have clinched it for four straight matches, which is the longest on the team, and they are on a four game win streak.
• Baroni and Martinez Serrano now have 10 doubles clinches on the year, which is the most on the team.
• Roberto Ferrer Guimaraes has accumulated an impressive 15-3 dual match record while being 6-2 in SEC play. He is also tied for the most wins on the team with Baroni and Sanchez Martinez with 20.

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

No. 12 State Faces Off Against No. 13 Texas A&M, No. 29 Auburn in Final Home Stretch

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Players Mentioned

Niccolo Baroni

Roberto Ferrer Guimaraes

Petar Jovanovic

Mario Martinez Serrano

Benito Sanchez Martinez

Mississippi State University Athletics