No. 12 MSU Defeats No. 6 Ohio State, Advances to Quarterfinals

Saturday, May 10

Columbus, OH

11 a.m. CT

Mississippi State

Ohio State

No. 12 MSU Defeats No. 6 Ohio State, Advances to Quarterfinals

May 10, 2025 | Men's Tennis

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By: Peyton Burkhalter, Student Assistant

COLUMBUS, Ohio – After losing to the Buckeyes last year in the Round of 16, the Bulldogs finally got their long awaited revenge, defeating the Buckeyes 4-2 in Columbus, Ohio to advance to the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament.

Ohio State started out strong with a doubles win, but MSU fought back even stronger. No. 1 Petar Jovanovic and Benito Sanchez tied it up with a strong win on court 1, and their victory also marked their 16^th straight victory as a pair. Dusan Milanovic and Michal Novansky clinched it for MSU with a gritty, 7-6(6), win to put State up one.

The Buckeyes started off hot again in singles with two straight singles wins, but Jovanovic put a stop to their push. The Podgorica, Montenegro, Native got Mississippi State started in singles with a win over No. 61 Alexander Bernard, 6-4, 6-3, and flipped the momentum. MSU recorded two straight wins to advance to the Elite Eight, courtesy of Mario Martinez Serrano and Dusan Milanovic.

Records
No. 12 Mississippi State (25-5)
No. 6 Ohio State (28-4)

Match Notes

This is the seventh time in school history that MSU has advanced to the Quarterfinals of the NCAA Tournament, and it is the first time since 2018.
2018 and now 2025 are the only two times that the Bulldogs have advanced to the Elite Eight in the 2000s era.
Petar Jovanovic and Benito Sanchez extended their doubles win streak to 16 in a row, extending back to February.
Jovanovic and Sanchez Martinez have accumulated 57 doubles victories together now, which ties Nuno Borges and Strahinja Rakic for first all-time in school history. One more puts them in first place outright.
The Junior Bulldog tandem are now tied for first all-time in Mississippi State history with two other MSU duos for single season doubles wins by one pair with 32.
Dusan Milanovic clinched the match versus the Buckeyes today, marking only his third match clinch of the season. His victory today also extended his singles win streak to three.
Jovanovic now has eight ranked singles wins with his victory over No. 61 Alexander Bernard, 6-4, 6-3. Those eight ranked wins are good for second-most on the team behind Sanchez Martinez.

Up Next
No. 12 MSU will face No. 4 Stanford in the Quarterfinals of the NCAA Tournament on Friday, May 16 in Waco, Texas. The match time will be released at a later date.

Match Results
Doubles:
1. No. 1 Petar Jovanovic/Benito Sanchez Martinez (MSU) def. William Jansen/Aiden Kim (OSU) 6-4
2. Brandon Carpico/Nikita Filin (OSU) def. No. 60 Niccolo Baroni/Mario Martinez Serrano (MSU) 6-2
3. Dusan Milanovic/Michal Novansky (MSU) def. Alex Fuchs/Bryce Nakashima (OSU) 7-6(6)
Order of finish: (2,1,3)

Singles:
1. No. 11 Aiden Kim (OSU) def. No. 28 Benito Sanchez Martinez (MSU) 6-1, 6-4
2. No. 67 Petar Jovanovic (MSU) def. No. 61 Alexander Bernard (OSU) 6-4, 6-3
3. No. 111 Niccolo Baroni (MSU) vs. No. 120 Jack Anthrop (OSU) 5-7, 6-2, 2-1, unfinished
4. Dusan Milanovic (MSU) def. William Jansen (OSU) 7-5, 7-6(4)
5. No. 97 Bryce Nakashima (OSU) def. Bryan Hernandez Cortes (MSU) 6-3, 6-4
6. Mario Martinez Serrano (MSU) def. Preston Sterns (OSU) 6-4, 6-4
Order of finish: (1,5,2,6,4)

For more information on the Bulldog men's tennis program, visit HailState.com or search for "HailStateMT" on X, Instagram and Facebook.