No. 12 MSU Blanks Privateers, Advance to NCAA Second Round

Friday, May 2

Starkville

1 p.m.

Mississippi State

New Orleans

Photo by: Mike Mattina/MSU Athletics

No. 12 MSU Blanks Privateers, Advance to NCAA Second Round

May 02, 2025 | Men's Tennis

Photo Gallery

By: Peyton Burkhalter, Student Assistant

STARKVILLE – The Mississippi State men's tennis team took care of business in round one of the NCAA Tournament, defeating New Orleans 4-0.

Doubles play was dominated by the Bulldogs, as both victories happened in quick succession of each other and only took 30 minutes. No. 60 Niccolo Baroni and Mario Martinez Serrano finished first, 6-2, over Jay Temming and Joesph Townes. Petar Jovanovic and Benito Sanchez Martinez, the number one duo in the nation, then clinched the doubles point to give MSU the lead.

It was Mario Martinez Serrano's first time playing on court six this season, and finished his match in convincing fashion over Townes, 6-0, 6-2. Sanchez Martinez cruised to a 6-0, 6-1 victory on court one, and Baroni finished the match off with a 6-2, 6-2 win over Julien Franzmann.

Mississippi State now faces second-seeded Michigan State in Round two of the NCAA Tournament on Saturday.

Records
No. 12 Mississippi State (23-5)
New Orleans (15-8)

Quotable

"The [Michigan State] Spartans are a good team. It's got to start with doubles. It's got to start with a good warm-up. We got to take care of our service games in doubles. We got to figure them out. After doubles, we have to play our game. We have to play committed, tough tennis on every court, not look around much and stay focused on what we can do and what we can control." - Head Coach Matt Roberts

Match Notes

This is the third consecutive season that Mississippi State is moving on to the second round of the NCAA Championships.
The Bulldogs surpassed the previous home season record of 17 wins with the victory today.
State pushed their opening round of the NCAA Tournament record to an impressive 22-5 with the win.
MSU has never lost when they play on a Friday this season, as they sport a 5-0 record.
Petar Jovanovic and Benito Sanchez clinched the doubles point once again for MSU, making it their 12^th clinch as a duo this season. They also extended their doubles win streak to 14 in a row, extending back to February.
Jovanovic and Sanchez Martinez have accumulated 55 doubles victories together now, which is the second-most in MSU history. They are two wins away from tying Nuno Borges and Strahinja Rakic for first.
The Junior Bulldog tandem are now fourth all-time in Mississippi State history in single season doubles wins by one pair with 30. One more victory ties them with Simon Larose and Matt Pledger for third place.
Niccolo Baroni and Mario Martinez Serrano recorded a doubles victory in the win, which extended their win streak to two.
Baroni has now clinched three matches for the Bulldogs, which is good for third-most on the team.
Sanchez Martinez has won 11 of his last 12 singles matches with his victory today, and holds the most overall wins on the team in singles with 26.

Up Next
No. 12 MSU will face No. 22 Michigan State in the Second Round of the NCAA Tournament on Saturday at 1 p.m. in the A.J. Pitts Tennis Centre.

Match Results
Doubles:
1. No. 1 Petar Jovanovic/Benito Sanchez Martinez (MSU) def. Matthew Armbruster/Sep de Visser (UNO) 6-2
2. No. 60 Niccolo Baroni/Mario Martinez Serrano (MSU) def. Jay Temming/Joesph Townes (UNO) 6-2
3. Dusan Milanovic/Michal Novansky (MSU) vs Julian Franzmann/Marc Mail (UNO) 5-2, unfinished
Order of finish: (2,1)

Singles:
1. No. 28 Benito Sanchez Martinez (MSU) def. Marc Mail (UNO) 6-0, 6-1
2. No. 67 Petar Jovanovic (MSU) vs. Matthew Armbruster (UNO) 4-6, 6-3, 1-1, unfinished
3. No. 111 Niccolo Baroni (MSU) def. Julian Franzmann (UNO) 6-2, 6-2
4. Dusan Milanovic (MSU) vs. David Tesic (UNO) 7-6(2), 1-0, unfinished
5. Bryan Hernandez Cortes (MSU) def. Sep de Visser (UNO) 7-6(1), 5-3, unfinished
6. Mario Martinez Serrano (MSU) def. Joesph Townes (UNO) 6-0, 6-2
Order of finish: (6,1,3)

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