No. 11 MSU on the Road For Final Two Matches of Regular Season

STARKVILLE - The Mississippi State men's tennis team are traveling this weekend for their final two matches of the regular season.

No. 11 Bulldogs (19-4, 9-3 SEC) will face the No. 54 Ole Miss Rebels (11-12, 2-11 SEC) on Friday at 5 p.m. and the No. 33 Alabama Crimson Tide (14-9, 4-8 SEC) on Sunday at 1 p.m.

Rankings
MSU
Singles – Benito Sanchez Martinez (41), Petar Jovanovic (61), Mario Martinez Serrano (96), Niccolo Baroni (97)
Doubles – Jovanovic/Sanchez Martinez (2), Baroni/Martinez Serrano (63)

Ole Miss
Singles – N/A
Doubles – Kai Milburn/Isac Stromberg (69)

Alabama
Singles – Filip Planinsek (14), Roan Jones (76), Matias Ponce De Leon (112)
Doubles – Damien Nezar/Andrii Zimnokh (28), Matic Kriznik/Planinsek (45)

Series History
vs. Ole Miss
Overall: Ole Miss leads the series 53-32 all-time.
In Starkville: The Rebels also lead in Starkville by a small margin, 14-13.
Last Meeting: Mississippi State blanked the Rebels (7-0) last year in Starkville. Wins were plentiful in that match for MSU, as current players Roberto Ferrer Guimaraes, Dusan Milanovic, Jovanovic and Sanchez Martinez all recorded at least one.

vs. Alabama
Overall: State leads the all-time series 39-26.
In Starkville: MSU also leads on their home court against the Crimson Tide, 18-12.
Last Meeting: Mississippi State defeated Alabama in a close contest, 4-3, in Starkville. The match featured wins by Michal Novansky, Ferrer Guimaraes, Milanovic and Sanchez Martinez

State Wins Leaders
Overall singles – Sanchez Martinez (22)
Matches clinched – Martinez Serrano (5)
Overall doubles – Jovanovic/Sanchez Martinez (26)
vs. ranked opponents – Jovanovic/Sanchez Martinez (13)
Double clinches – Martinez Serrano (11)

Notes to know
• Mississippi State is in its 102nd season of men's tennis. The program played its first tennis match in 1907 and has competed every year since 1946.
• Matt Roberts is in his 13th season at MSU and 11th as the Bulldogs' head coach. Roberts has compiled a 206-82 overall record and a 133-25 mark at home. He is currently the longest-tenured head coach at State and the second-fastest coach to reach 200 wins, only behind Tom Sawyer.
• The Bulldogs have made 13 consecutive appearances in the NCAA Championships and have reached the Sweet 16 in five of the past six seasons.
• Men's tennis posted a 3.68 grade point average during the fall semester. It was the highest team GPA of any sport at Mississippi State.
• MSU holds a record of 17-1 and are undefeated in SEC play (7-0) when playing in Starkville.
• They have been on a five-game win streak, and they have all come against ranked top 40 SEC teams.
• Petar Jovanovic and Benito Sanchez Martinez have 51 career doubles wins together, which is good for second-place all-time. They need six more doubles wins together to tie Nuno Borges and Strahinja Rakic for first place in school history.
• Jovanovic and Sanchez Martinez have not lost in SEC doubles play yet. They are 10-0, and eight of their wins have been over ranked opponents inside the top 40. Their 10 game win streak is a career best for both players as well.
• The duo also have 13 ranked wins on the year, which is the most by a pair in the SEC, and are ranked No. 2 for this week.
• Jovanovic was named SEC player of the week for his performances against Texas A&M and Auburn last week. This is the second Bulldog to win the award this season (Sanchez Martinez), and this is his second time winning the award in his career.
• Sanchez Martinez is currently on an eight game win streak in singles play, which is a career-best for the German. He also holds the title of most ranked wins on the team in singles play with 10.
• Mario Martinez Serrano has been a clinching machine for MSU this season. He holds the most clinches on the team for singles (5) and doubles (11).
• Bryan Hernandez Cortes stepped up last week for an injured Niccolo Baroni. He played alongside Martinez Serrano, Baroni's usual partner, and clinched the doubles point against Texas A&M. He also went undefeated all weekend on court six in singles while earning his first career match clinch against Auburn.

For more Information on the Bulldog men's tennis program, visit Hailstate.com or search for "HailstateMT" on X, Instagram and Facebook.

– HailState.com –

No. 11 MSU on the Road For Final Two Matches of Regular Season

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Players Mentioned

Niccolo Baroni

Roberto Ferrer Guimaraes

Bryan Hernandez Cortes

Petar Jovanovic

Mario Martinez Serrano

Dusan Milanovic

Michal Novansky

Benito Sanchez Martinez

Mississippi State University Athletics