Mississippi State Hosts Alabama for Senior Day Showdown

Sunday, April 12

Starkville

1 p.m.

Mississippi State

Alabama

Benito Sanchez Martinez and Petar Jovanovic Spring 2026

Mississippi State Hosts Alabama for Senior Day Showdown

April 11, 2026 | Men's Tennis

By: Tad Couch, Mississippi State Athletic Communications Student Intern

Sunday, April 12 at 1 p.m. CT
Starkville, Miss. | A.J. Pitts Tennis Centre
Match 24
No. 6 Mississippi State vs No. 49 Alabama
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STARKVILLE – No. 6 Mississippi State will close out the SEC regular season Sunday with a Senior Day matchup against No. 49 Alabama at the A.J. Pitts Tennis Centre.

Mississippi State enters the matchup with a strong edge in the series, holding a 40-26 all-time record against Alabama, including a 19-12 mark in Starkville. Under head coach Matt Roberts, the Bulldogs have consistently found success, as Roberts owns an impressive 15-2 record against the Crimson Tide, including victories in each of his first 10 meetings.

The Bulldogs will honor four seniors prior to first serve: Petar Jovanovic, Mario Martinez Serrano, Michal Novansky and Benito Sanchez Martinez. The quartet has been instrumental in Mississippi State's rise to national prominence, helping lead the program to consistent top-10 rankings and deep postseason runs.

Mississippi State continues to showcase one of the most balanced lineups in the country, featuring five nationally ranked singles players and three ranked doubles teams. The Bulldogs are led by No. 8 Petar Jovanovic, alongside No. 39 Mario Martinez Serrano and No. 55 Benito Sanchez Martinez, giving State a formidable presence throughout the lineup.

Alabama enters with key ranked contributors of its own. In singles, Matic Kriznik (No. 82) and Vit Kalina (No. 92) lead the Crimson Tide, while in doubles, the duo of Andrii Zimnokh and Kalina ranks No. 8 nationally. Alabama also boasts another ranked pair in Jacob Olar and Zimnokh at No. 38.

Mississippi State Notes
• Benito Sanchez Martinez is the only player in the nation to be raked in the top five in both singles and doubles.
• Petar Jovanovic set the all-time program wins record with a singles and doubles victory versus Tennessee.
• Head Coach Matt Roberts holds the record for most wins in program history with 231 wins at the helm.
• Sanchez Martinez has played 40 consecutive singles matches on court one.
• 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.
• All of Mississippi States's conference victories have been over ranked opponents
• Mississippi State opened the 2026 season with four consecutive road wins before returning home to beat Santa Clara and Auburn at the ITA Kickoff Weekend to secure a birth in the ITA National Team Indoor Championships.
• The Bulldogs are above .500 at every singles position.
• Four Bulldogs are ranked in the ITA singles rankings, led by Sanchez Martinez at No. 5, the second highest-ranked player in the SEC.
• Sanchez Martinez and Jovanovic are the highest ranked SEC doubles 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.
• 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 1,126-648-8.

Mississippi State Record Book Watch
• Jovanovic has 93 career doubles wins, making him third-most all-time. He sits seven wins away from Laurent Miquelard's (1992-95) total of 97.
• Jovanovic currently has 63 career dual match doubles wins. He is just two wins away from breaking Ramskogler's total for the for the most all-time.
• Jovanovic is now 4^th all-time in career singles wins with 107.
• Benito Sanchez Martinez is 2^nd all-time in career dual singles wins, nine behind Nuno Borges' tally of 81.

Mississippi State in the ITA Rankings
Team Ranking – 6th
Singles
No. 5 – Benito Sanchez Martinez
No. 10 – Petar Jovanovic
No. 83 – Mario Martinez Serrano
No. 85 – Benito Sanchez Martinez

Doubles
No. 4 - Petar Jovanovic and Benito Sanchez Martinez

Series History vs. Alabama
• Mississippi State is 40-26 all-time versus Alabama
• The Bulldogs hold the advantage in Starkville, 19-12
• Head Coach, Matt Roberts won his first 10 meetings against the Crimson Tide, he has gone on to pick up five more victories against the Bulldogs.


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