STARKVILLE – Mississippi State opens its 100th season of men’s tennis on Saturday as the Bulldogs begin their 2023 slate against East Tennessee State inside the Rula Tennis Pavilion on Saturday at 11 a.m.
MSU played its first tennis match back in 1907 and has had a team every year since 1946. The Bulldogs have made 11 consecutive appearances in the NCAA Championships and are coming off a 14-13 campaign a year ago that saw the season end in the opening round of the Cambridge Regional.
“We just try to improve every day and get closer as a team,” said Matt Roberts, who is entering his ninth season as head coach. “We’re just hyper-focused on that, getting better and having fun along the way. If you do that, you’re going to have results and hopefully go on a late season run. We have to stay healthy and control what we can control but it feels like it’s going to be a fun season and we can do a lot with this group.”
Mississippi State returns four players from last year’s squad, including the nation’s No. 42 doubles tandem in juniors Carles Hernandez and Nemanja Malesevic. Hernandez and Malesevic represented the Bulldogs in doubles at the ITA Fall Nationals in San Diego, California this past November. Malesevic, a 2022 second team All-SEC selection, also played singles at the event.
Graduate Gregor Ramskogler and redshirt sophomore Seth Richey are also back in Maroon and White this season. Ramskogler ranks eighth all-time in school history with 51 career doubles wins and needs just one more to tie Matt Pledger (1994-97) and René-Charles Combette (2000-03) for sixth at MSU.
The Bulldogs also brought in two veteran transfers in Ewen Lumsden from Washington and Patrick Lazo from Georgia State along with three talented freshmen – Petar Jovanovic, Michal Novansky and Benito Sanchez Martinez. Jovanovic is rated 107th in singles after posting an impressive 6-2 record during the fall.
“You’re going to see depth play a huge role and that’s really one through nine for us,” said assistant coach Jake Jacoby. “We’ve got options in doubles and options to move guys around in singles. We’re confident in every spot in our lineup.”
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