Saturday, January 25
Starkville
10 a.m.
Mississippi State
4
vs
1
Pepperdine
Photo by: Will Porada/MSU Athletics
No. 9 MSU Rallies Past Pepperdine, 4-1
January 25, 2025 | Men's Tennis
STARKVILLE – The old adage of "It's not how you start, it's how you finish" certainly applied to No. 9 Mississippi State on Saturday.
The top-seeded Bulldogs fell behind No. 4 seed Pepperdine after dropping the doubles point in the opening match of ITA Kickoff Weekend inside the Rula Tennis Pavilion. Things continued to be a little shaky as State transitioned to singles, but the Bulldogs ultimately found their footing in a 4-1 victory to advance to Sunday's championship match against No. 22 NC State at 1 p.m.
"I told them after we lost the doubles point that this was good and they all looked at me like I was kind of crazy," said head coach Matt Roberts. "We're not going to win every doubles point so I think it's important that we feel that early and work through it as a team, focus on our courts and stay resilient."
No. 72 Niccolo Baroni and No. 103 Benito Sanchez Martinez both lost their opening sets of singles and Roberto Ferrer Guimaraes fell behind 5-2. But the momentum started to shift as Ferrer Guimaraes continued to fight and ultimately took the first set 7-5 on Court 6 while No. 45 Petar Jovanovic and No. 81 Mario Martinez Serrano survived tiebreakers in their opening sets.
Jovanovic went on to win 7-6(3), 6-3 over Edward Winter to even the match and Martinez Serrano gave MSU the lead with his 7-6(3), 6-3 victory against Aleksa Pisaric. Baroni battled back to beat Lasse Poertner 2-6, 6-1, 6-2 and Sanchez Martinez clinched the win with his 3-6, 6-1, 6-2 triumph over 36th-ranked Maxi Homberg.
For Sanchez Martinez, it was the highest-ranked win of his singles career, his fourth over a ranked opponent this year and sixth overall during his career. It was also the junior from Potsdam, Germany's seventh-career match-clincher and second this season.
"We were in a good, positive mindset when we went down 1-0," Sanchez Martinez said. "I think all of us were still pretty locked in. It didn't show at the beginning of singles because two or three courts immediately got broken during the first service game. But we all made a good comeback. Mario and Pete fought back in the first set and Rob made a good push. I was running a little behind in the first set, but I was able to get it done in three sets. I played my game, believed in myself and I think that's what the other guys did too."
Mississippi State improved to 6-0 with the win. The Bulldogs will now take on NC State with the winner qualifying for the ITA National Team Indoor Championships next month in Dallas and Waco, Texas.
The Wolfpack pushed their record to 3-1 on the year with a 4-1 victory over LSU in Saturday's second match. The third-seeded Tigers (2-1) and No. 4 seed Waves (1-2) will also play a consolation match on Sunday at 10 a.m.
No. 9 Mississippi State 4, Pepperdine 1
Rula Tennis Pavilion | Starkville, Miss.
Jan. 25, 2025
Doubles:
1. No. 9 Petar Jovanovic/Benito Sanchez Martinez (MSU) vs. Edward Winter/Hugh Winter (PEPP) 5-2, unfinished
2. Linus Carlsson Halldin/Maxi Homberg (PEPP) def. No. 20 Niccolo Baroni/Mario Martinez Serrano (MSU) 6-1
3. Aleksa Pisaric/Lasse Poertner (PEPP) def. Dusan Milanovic/Michal Novansky (MSU) 6-3
Order of finish: (2,3)
Singles:
1. No. 45 Petar Jovanovic (MSU) def. Edward Winter (PEPP) 7-6(3), 6-3
2. No. 103 Benito Sanchez Martinez (MSU) def. No. 36 Maxi Homberg (PEPP) 3-6, 6-1, 6-2
3. Dusan Milanovic (MSU) vs. Linus Carlsson Halldin (PEPP) 6-3, 3-6, 5-0, unfinished
4. No. 72 Niccolo Baroni (MSU) def. Lasse Poertner (PEPP) 2-6, 6-1, 6-2
5. No. 81 Mario Martinez Serrano (MSU) def. Aleksa Pisaric (PEPP) 7-6(3), 6-3
6. Roberto Ferrer Guimaraes (MSU) vs. David Fix (PEPP) 7-5, 4-6, 1-1, unfinished
Order of finish: (1,5,4,2)
For more information on the Bulldog men's tennis program, visit HailState.com or search for "HailStateMT" on X, Instagram and Facebook.
The top-seeded Bulldogs fell behind No. 4 seed Pepperdine after dropping the doubles point in the opening match of ITA Kickoff Weekend inside the Rula Tennis Pavilion. Things continued to be a little shaky as State transitioned to singles, but the Bulldogs ultimately found their footing in a 4-1 victory to advance to Sunday's championship match against No. 22 NC State at 1 p.m.
"I told them after we lost the doubles point that this was good and they all looked at me like I was kind of crazy," said head coach Matt Roberts. "We're not going to win every doubles point so I think it's important that we feel that early and work through it as a team, focus on our courts and stay resilient."
No. 72 Niccolo Baroni and No. 103 Benito Sanchez Martinez both lost their opening sets of singles and Roberto Ferrer Guimaraes fell behind 5-2. But the momentum started to shift as Ferrer Guimaraes continued to fight and ultimately took the first set 7-5 on Court 6 while No. 45 Petar Jovanovic and No. 81 Mario Martinez Serrano survived tiebreakers in their opening sets.
Jovanovic went on to win 7-6(3), 6-3 over Edward Winter to even the match and Martinez Serrano gave MSU the lead with his 7-6(3), 6-3 victory against Aleksa Pisaric. Baroni battled back to beat Lasse Poertner 2-6, 6-1, 6-2 and Sanchez Martinez clinched the win with his 3-6, 6-1, 6-2 triumph over 36th-ranked Maxi Homberg.
For Sanchez Martinez, it was the highest-ranked win of his singles career, his fourth over a ranked opponent this year and sixth overall during his career. It was also the junior from Potsdam, Germany's seventh-career match-clincher and second this season.
"We were in a good, positive mindset when we went down 1-0," Sanchez Martinez said. "I think all of us were still pretty locked in. It didn't show at the beginning of singles because two or three courts immediately got broken during the first service game. But we all made a good comeback. Mario and Pete fought back in the first set and Rob made a good push. I was running a little behind in the first set, but I was able to get it done in three sets. I played my game, believed in myself and I think that's what the other guys did too."
Mississippi State improved to 6-0 with the win. The Bulldogs will now take on NC State with the winner qualifying for the ITA National Team Indoor Championships next month in Dallas and Waco, Texas.
The Wolfpack pushed their record to 3-1 on the year with a 4-1 victory over LSU in Saturday's second match. The third-seeded Tigers (2-1) and No. 4 seed Waves (1-2) will also play a consolation match on Sunday at 10 a.m.
No. 9 Mississippi State 4, Pepperdine 1
Rula Tennis Pavilion | Starkville, Miss.
Jan. 25, 2025
Doubles:
1. No. 9 Petar Jovanovic/Benito Sanchez Martinez (MSU) vs. Edward Winter/Hugh Winter (PEPP) 5-2, unfinished
2. Linus Carlsson Halldin/Maxi Homberg (PEPP) def. No. 20 Niccolo Baroni/Mario Martinez Serrano (MSU) 6-1
3. Aleksa Pisaric/Lasse Poertner (PEPP) def. Dusan Milanovic/Michal Novansky (MSU) 6-3
Order of finish: (2,3)
Singles:
1. No. 45 Petar Jovanovic (MSU) def. Edward Winter (PEPP) 7-6(3), 6-3
2. No. 103 Benito Sanchez Martinez (MSU) def. No. 36 Maxi Homberg (PEPP) 3-6, 6-1, 6-2
3. Dusan Milanovic (MSU) vs. Linus Carlsson Halldin (PEPP) 6-3, 3-6, 5-0, unfinished
4. No. 72 Niccolo Baroni (MSU) def. Lasse Poertner (PEPP) 2-6, 6-1, 6-2
5. No. 81 Mario Martinez Serrano (MSU) def. Aleksa Pisaric (PEPP) 7-6(3), 6-3
6. Roberto Ferrer Guimaraes (MSU) vs. David Fix (PEPP) 7-5, 4-6, 1-1, unfinished
Order of finish: (1,5,4,2)
For more information on the Bulldog men's tennis program, visit HailState.com or search for "HailStateMT" on X, Instagram and Facebook.
Players Mentioned
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/ Men's Tennis
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