Thursday, April 3
Starkville
3 p.m.
Mississippi State
6
vs
1
Texas A&M
Photo by: Mike Mattina/MSU Athletics
No. 12 State Picks Up A Dominant Win Over No. 13 Aggies
April 03, 2025 | Men's Tennis
STARKVILLE – The 12th-ranked Mississippi State men's tennis team picked up a top-15 win and remain undefeated in SEC home contests after defeating No. 13 Texas A&M 6-1 on Thursday at the A.J. Pitts Tennis Centre.
State remained dominant in doubles play on Thursday and remained perfect in SEC doubles action, following wins from No. 2 Petar Jovanovic and Benito Sanchez Martinez and Bryan Hernandez Cortes and Mario Martinez Serrano. Jovanovic and Sanchez Martinez dominated for a 6-1 win, and Hernandez Cortez and Martinez Serrano battled to a 7-6(2) tiebreaker victory to clinch the doubles point for MSU.
To begin singles play, Dusan Milanovic cruised to a victory. No. 50 Sanchez Martinez won a tiebreaker during his first set to take a 7-6(5) lead before winning his second set 6-2 over No. 33 Theo Papamalamis to extend the Bulldog lead to 3-0. No. 67 Jovanovic outlasted Alan Magadan in three sets to clinch the match. No 102 Martinez Serrano picked up a win via retirement to push the advantage to 5-0. Hernandez Cortes quickly won his opening set before dropping the second set. However, Hernandez Cortes continued to fight winning his last set and giving the Bulldogs a 6-0 advantage. The victory moved MSU to 16-1 at home and 8-3 in the SEC.
Records
No. 12 Mississippi State (18-4, 8-3 SEC)
No. 13 Texas A&M (15-7, 8-3 SEC)
Quotable From MSU Head Coach Matt Roberts
On the great crowd at The Pitts
"The energy from the crowd today was awesome. Them being able to join our guys in chants created an atmosphere that makes it tough for our opponents to feel comfortable. I feel like today the fans were so engaged with what was going on, on every court, and they followed along with every chant that our guys were creating. It just created such a great atmosphere and really helped us get this win."
On the whole team stepping up
"I was so proud of how our guys stepped up today when there was a change to the lineup. As the head coach, I knew this was a chance for us to face some adversity and make us feel stronger about our team. We showed how tough we are from top to bottom. Guys stepped up. Bryan stepped up in doubles and again in singles. Other guys moved up a spot. I think we accepted it as a great challenge, to go out there and trust yourself and just play. That's what everyone did and the guys did an excellent job executing that mind set today."
Match Notes
Mississippi State will close out its regular season home slate on Saturday when they host No. 29 Auburn for Senior Day at 1 p.m. The Bulldogs will honor their lone senior, Dusan Milanovic.
Match Results
Doubles:
1. No. 2 Petar Jovanovic/Benito Sanchez Martinez (MSU) def. No. 21 Theo Papamalamis/Togan Tokac (TAMU) 6-1
2. Dusan Milanovic/Michal Novansky (MSU) vs. Alan Magadan/Tiago Pires (TAMU) 6-6, unfinished
3. Bryan Hernandez Cortes/Mario Martinez Serrano (MSU) def. Ritesh Patil/Lathan Skrobarcek (TAMU) 7-6(2)
Order of finish: (1,3)
Singles:
1. No. 50 Benito Sanchez Martinez (MSU) def. No. 33 Theo Papamalamis (TAMU) 7-6(5), 6-2
2. No. 67 Petar Jovanovic (MSU) def. Alan Magadan (TAMU) 6-2, 3-6, 6-3
3. No. 102 Mario Martinez Serrano (MSU) def. Tiago Pires (TAMU) 7-6(6), 3-2, Retired
4. Dusan Milanovic (MSU) def. Luke Casper (TAMU) 6-2, 6-3
5. Togan Tokac (TAMU) def. Roberto Ferrer Guimaraes (MSU) 4-6, 6-1, 6-4
6. Bryan Hernandez Cortes (MSU) def. Matthis Ross (TAMU) 6-1, 3-6, 7-5
Order of finish: (4,1,2,3,6,5)
For more information on the Bulldog men's tennis program, visit HailState.com or search for "HailStateMT" on X, Instagram and Facebook.
State remained dominant in doubles play on Thursday and remained perfect in SEC doubles action, following wins from No. 2 Petar Jovanovic and Benito Sanchez Martinez and Bryan Hernandez Cortes and Mario Martinez Serrano. Jovanovic and Sanchez Martinez dominated for a 6-1 win, and Hernandez Cortez and Martinez Serrano battled to a 7-6(2) tiebreaker victory to clinch the doubles point for MSU.
To begin singles play, Dusan Milanovic cruised to a victory. No. 50 Sanchez Martinez won a tiebreaker during his first set to take a 7-6(5) lead before winning his second set 6-2 over No. 33 Theo Papamalamis to extend the Bulldog lead to 3-0. No. 67 Jovanovic outlasted Alan Magadan in three sets to clinch the match. No 102 Martinez Serrano picked up a win via retirement to push the advantage to 5-0. Hernandez Cortes quickly won his opening set before dropping the second set. However, Hernandez Cortes continued to fight winning his last set and giving the Bulldogs a 6-0 advantage. The victory moved MSU to 16-1 at home and 8-3 in the SEC.
Records
No. 12 Mississippi State (18-4, 8-3 SEC)
No. 13 Texas A&M (15-7, 8-3 SEC)
Quotable From MSU Head Coach Matt Roberts
On the great crowd at The Pitts
"The energy from the crowd today was awesome. Them being able to join our guys in chants created an atmosphere that makes it tough for our opponents to feel comfortable. I feel like today the fans were so engaged with what was going on, on every court, and they followed along with every chant that our guys were creating. It just created such a great atmosphere and really helped us get this win."
On the whole team stepping up
"I was so proud of how our guys stepped up today when there was a change to the lineup. As the head coach, I knew this was a chance for us to face some adversity and make us feel stronger about our team. We showed how tough we are from top to bottom. Guys stepped up. Bryan stepped up in doubles and again in singles. Other guys moved up a spot. I think we accepted it as a great challenge, to go out there and trust yourself and just play. That's what everyone did and the guys did an excellent job executing that mind set today."
Match Notes
- Mississippi State is now 16-1 at home, which is the most home wins in the SEC.
- The Bulldogs are also undefeated in SEC play when they are in Starkville with a 6-0 record.
- State is on a four-match win streak, and they have all come against top 40 SEC teams.
- Petar Jovanovic and Benito Sanchez Martinez improve to 9-0 in SEC doubles play with seven of those wins occurring against ranked opponents inside the top 40.
- The duo also have 12 ranked wins on the year which is the most by a pair in the SEC.
- Jovanovic and Sanchez Martinez now have 50 career doubles wins together which ties Nichlas Braun and Giovanni Oradini for second-most all time at MSU.
- Bryan Hernandez Cortes picked up his first collegiate SEC doubles win and his first doubles clinch of his career playing alongside Mario Martinez Serrano.
- Hernandez Cortes and Dusan Milanovic each picked up their second SEC singles wins of the season.
- Sanchez Martinez extends his win streak to seven and improved his SEC record to 9-2 after his singles win over No. 33 Theo Papamalamis 7-6(5), 6-2. He has ten ranked singles wins on the season which is the most on the team.
Mississippi State will close out its regular season home slate on Saturday when they host No. 29 Auburn for Senior Day at 1 p.m. The Bulldogs will honor their lone senior, Dusan Milanovic.
Match Results
Doubles:
1. No. 2 Petar Jovanovic/Benito Sanchez Martinez (MSU) def. No. 21 Theo Papamalamis/Togan Tokac (TAMU) 6-1
2. Dusan Milanovic/Michal Novansky (MSU) vs. Alan Magadan/Tiago Pires (TAMU) 6-6, unfinished
3. Bryan Hernandez Cortes/Mario Martinez Serrano (MSU) def. Ritesh Patil/Lathan Skrobarcek (TAMU) 7-6(2)
Order of finish: (1,3)
Singles:
1. No. 50 Benito Sanchez Martinez (MSU) def. No. 33 Theo Papamalamis (TAMU) 7-6(5), 6-2
2. No. 67 Petar Jovanovic (MSU) def. Alan Magadan (TAMU) 6-2, 3-6, 6-3
3. No. 102 Mario Martinez Serrano (MSU) def. Tiago Pires (TAMU) 7-6(6), 3-2, Retired
4. Dusan Milanovic (MSU) def. Luke Casper (TAMU) 6-2, 6-3
5. Togan Tokac (TAMU) def. Roberto Ferrer Guimaraes (MSU) 4-6, 6-1, 6-4
6. Bryan Hernandez Cortes (MSU) def. Matthis Ross (TAMU) 6-1, 3-6, 7-5
Order of finish: (4,1,2,3,6,5)
For more information on the Bulldog men's tennis program, visit HailState.com or search for "HailStateMT" on X, Instagram and Facebook.
Players Mentioned
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
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