Bulldogs Climb to No. 5, Set to Host South Alabama Wednesday

Wednesday, February 25

Starkville

2 p.m.

Mississippi State

South Alabama

Bulldogs Climb to No. 5, Set to Host South Alabama Wednesday

February 24, 2026 | Men's Tennis

By: Tad Couch, Mississippi State Athletic Communications Student Intern

Saturday, February 25 at 2 p.m. CT
Starkville, Miss | A.J. Pitts Tennis Centre
Match 12
No. 5 Mississippi State vs South Alabama
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STARKVILLE – Mississippi State returns to action Wednesday at 2 p.m. against South Alabama in a rescheduled matchup originally set for Feb. 7.

State received a five spot boost in the latest ITA rankings after facing a stretch of five consecutive ranked opponents going 3-2 with notable wins over No. 4 Stanford, No. 23 Florida, and No. 37 Vanderbilt.

The Bulldogs enter the contest looking to rebound after a narrow 4-3 loss to No. 3 Texas on Monday. Mississippi State split its last two matches against Southeastern Conference opponents, defeating No. 37 Vanderbilt on Saturday before falling to the Longhorns in a tightly contested battle.

Mississippi State's matchup with Texas marked one of its strongest tests of the season, as the Bulldogs pushed the third-ranked team in the nation to the final match before coming up just short. The team now shifts focus to South Alabama with an opportunity to regain momentum.

South Alabama enters the match with a 2-4 record. The Jaguars' losses have come against LSU, Florida Atlantic, James Madison and Old Dominion, while their two wins were against Southern University and Jackson State.

The Bulldogs will aim to capitalize on home-court advantage as they prepare for a return to conference play Sunday at Auburn.

Mississippi State Notes
• Head coach Matt Roberts has officially won the most matches in program history with 221 wins at the helm.
• The Bulldogs picked up their first top-five victory of the season defeating No. 4 Stanford 4-3 at the ITA National Team Indoor Championships.
• Mississippi State is wrapping up a three game home stand where they have split results with one win and one loss.
• Mississippi State opened the 2026 season with four consecutive road wins before returning home to sweep Santa Clara and Auburn at the ITA Kickoff Weekend.
• The Bulldogs hold a record of .500 or better at every singles position through the opening stretch of the season.
• Mississippi State earned its second and third ranked victories of the year at the ITA National Team Indoors over No. 4 Stanford and No. 23 Florida.
• Four Bulldogs are ranked in the ITA singles rankings, led by Petar Jovanovic at No. 10, the second highest-ranked player in the SEC.
• The Bulldogs have two doubles teams in the ITA Rankings for the first time this season. No. 4 Petar Jovanovic and Benito Sanchez Martinez are the highest ranked SEC duo.
• Seniors Petar Jovanovic and Benito Sanchez Martinez return as ITA Doubles All-Americans, while Jovanovic also earned ITA Singles All-American honors after reaching the NCAA Individual Championships quarterfinals.
• Mississippi State posted 25 wins in 2025, tying the 1979 team for the most single-season victories in program history.
• In 2025, Benito Sanchez Martinez set single-season program records for dual-match wins in both singles and doubles.
• Jovanovic and Sanchez Martinez are the winningest doubles pair in program history, surpassing Nuno Borges and Strahinja Rakic by nine victories.
• The Bulldogs return eight letterwinners from last season's NCAA quarterfinal squad.
• Mississippi State is in its 102nd season as a program, with an all-time record of 1,119-646-8.

Mississippi State Record Book Watch
•Petar Jovanovic sits at 187 career wins (singles and doubles). He trails the all-time leader, Nuno Borges by two wins.
• Jovanovic has 87 career doubles wins. He sits just 10 wins away from Laurent Miquelard's (1992-95) total of 97.
• Jovanovic currently has 57 career dual match doubles wins. He is just eight wins away from breaking Ramskogler's total for the for the most all-time.
• Jovanovic is 5th all-time in career dual match wins with 115 wins. He is now two wins away from being tied for 4th all-time.
• Jovanovic is in sole possession of 8th for career singles with a total of 98. He is one wins away from jumping to 5th all-time.

Mississippi State in the ITA Rankings
Team Ranking – 5th

Singles
No. 10 – Petar Jovanovic
No. 43 – Mario Martinez Serrano
No. 47 – Benito Sanchez Martinez
No. 55 – Bryan Hernandez Cortes

Doubles
No. 4 - Petar Jovanovic and Benito Sanchez Martinez
No. 47 – Mario Martinez Serrano and Michal Novansky

Series History vs. South Alabama
• Mississippi State and South Alabama have met 24 times in program history. The Bulldogs hold the series lead at 17-7.
• Mississippi State is 13-4 against the Jaguars at home and 4-0 under head coach Matt Roberts.
• State has emerged victorious in the past six meetings.

For the most up-to-date information on the Bulldogs, follow MSU Men's Tennis on Twitter, like them on Facebook and join them on Instagram by searching for "HailStateMT"

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