Men's Tennis Set For SEC Tournament Quarterfinals

COLUMBIA, S.C. – The Mississippi State men's tennis team is opening postseason play on Friday.

The Bulldogs (21-4, 11-3 SEC) have earned the second seed in the SEC Tournament and will play against the No.10 seed Oklahoma (15-9, 7-7 SEC) at 5 p.m. CT.

Rankings
MSU
Singles – Benito Sanchez Martinez (29), Petar Jovanovic (61), Niccolo Baroni (94), Mario Martinez Serrano (117)
Doubles – Jovanovic/Sanchez Martinez (2), Baroni/Martinez Serrano (59)

Oklahoma
Singles – Oscar Lacides (91), Luis Alvarez (97)
Doubles – Lacides/Bruno Nhavene (10)

Series History
vs. Oklahoma
Overall: State leads the overall series, 4-2,
In Starkville: MSU is undefeated at home against the Sooners, prevailing a 2-0 record
Last Meeting: Mississippi State defeated Oklahoma in Starkville this past March 5-2. Doubles victories by Jovanovic/Sanchez Martinez and Baroni/Martinez Serrano secured the doubles point for MSU. Baroni clinched the singles point for the Bulldogs before Sanchez Martinez put the cherry on top to make it 5.

State Wins Leaders
Overall singles – Sanchez Martinez (24)
Matches clinched – Martinez Serrano (5)
Overall doubles – Jovanovic/Sanchez Martinez (28)
vs. ranked opponents – Jovanovic/Sanchez Martinez (15)
Double clinches – Martinez Serrano & Sanchez Martinez (11)

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 208-82 overall record and a 133-25 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 17-1 and were undefeated in SEC play (7-0) this season when playing in Starkville.
• State secured the second seed in the SEC Tournament with an impressive 11-3 record. The 11 wins in the SEC is tied for the second-most in school history only behind the 1993 season with 12.
• They have been on a seven-game win streak, and six of them have come against top 40 ranked SEC teams.
• Petar Jovanovic and Benito Sanchez Martinez have 53 career doubles wins together, which is good for second-place all-time. They need four more doubles wins together to tie Nuno Borges and Strahinja Rakic for first place in school history.
• Jovanovic and Sanchez Martinez did not lost in SEC doubles play in the regular season. They went 12-0, and eight of their wins were over ranked opponents inside the top 40. Their 12 game win streak is a career best for both players as well.
• The duo also have 15 ranked wins on the year, which is the most by a pair in the SEC, and have been ranked No. 2 in the nation for three weeks straight.
• Sanchez Martinez was named SEC player of the week for his performances against Ole Miss and Alabama last week. This is his second time to win the award this season. MSU has won SEC Player of the Week for three out of the last four weeks of the regular season, with Jovanovic winning it last week.
• Sanchez Martinez is currently on a 10 game win streak in singles play, which is a career-best for the German. He also holds the title of most ranked wins on the team in singles play with 10.
• He has also ascended to the highest singles ranking of his career to No. 29. Sanchez Martinez after defeating No. 14 Filip Planinsek last Sunday 6-4, 1-6, 6-3 to set MSU up for victory over the Crimson Tide.
• Mario Martinez Serrano has been a clinching machine for MSU this season. He holds the most clinches on the team for singles (5) and doubles (11).

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

– HailState.com –

Men's Tennis Set For SEC Tournament Quarterfinals

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Players Mentioned

Niccolo Baroni

Petar Jovanovic

Mario Martinez Serrano

Benito Sanchez Martinez

Mississippi State University Athletics