No. 12 MSU Falls in Semifinal Battle

Saturday, April 19

Columbia, S.C.

2 p.m.

Mississippi State

South Carolina

No. 12 MSU Falls in Semifinal Battle

April 19, 2025 | Men's Tennis

By: Peyton Burkhalter, Student Assistant

COLUMBIA, S.C.. – The Mississippi State men's tennis team fell to the No. 3 seed South Carolina Gamecocks 4-3 in a close SEC Tournament semifinal matchup.

Once again, the Bulldogs started hot and won the doubles point. Niccolo Baroni and Mario Martinez Serrano earned a ranked win and opened the scoring as they defeated No. 50 Atakan Karahan and Jelani Sarr 6-2. Dusan Milanovic and Michal Novansky clinched the doubles point to give MSU an early lead by besting Sean Daryabeigi and Max Stenzer 6-4.

In singles, State fought until the very end. Milanovic won his matchup to give them a two point cushion, but South Carolina came back with two points of their own. Bryan Hernandez Cortes earned an important win against Gabe Avram, 6-1, 1-6, 6-1 to give MSU a chance to win, but unfortunately, the Gamecocks prevailed on the other courts to seal the victory.

Records
No. 12 Mississippi State (22-5, 11-3 SEC)
No. 13 South Carolina (19-6, 11-3 SEC)

Match Notes

Bryan Hernandez Cortes extended his singles win streak to five after his win over Gabe Avram.
Dusan Milanovic and Hernandez Cortes were the only two Bulldogs to win both singles matches in the SEC Tournament.
Mississippi State had its eight game win streak snapped tonight, having last lost in March.

Up Next
No. 12 MSU will wait to be selected for the next round of the postseason. The NCAA selection show will air on April 28^th for the next stage.

Match Results
Doubles:
1. No. 2 Petar Jovanovic/Benito Sanchez Martinez (MSU) vs. Lucas Andrade da Silva/Conor Thomson 5-4, unfinished
2. No. 59 Niccolo Baroni/Mario Martinez Serrano (MSU) def. No. 50 Atakan Karahan/Jelani Sarr (USC) 6-2
3. Dusan Milanovic/Michal Novansky (MSU) def. Sean Daryabeigi/Max Stenzer (USC) 6-4
Order of finish: (2,3)

Singles:
1. No. 20 Conor Thomson (USC) def. No. 29 Benito Sanchez Martinez (MSU) 0-6, 7-5, 7-6(5)
2. Lucas Andrade da Silva (USC) def. No. 61 Petar Jovanovic (MSU) 6-4, 6-3
3. No. 119 Sean Daryabeigi def. No. 94 Niccolo Baroni (MSU) 6-0, 6-2
4. Dusan Milanovic (MSU) def. Atakan Karahan (USC) 6-0, 6-3
5. Jelani Sarr (USC) def. No. 117 Mario Martinez Serrano (MSU) 4-6, 7-6(5), 7-6(3)
6. Bryan Hernandez Cortes (MSU) def. Gabe Avram (USC) 6-1, 1-6, 6-1
Order of finish: (4

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

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