TULSA, Okla., – Mississippi State’s run at the ITA All-American Championships concluded on Friday.
And wow, what a run it was for Petar Jovanovic and Benito Sanchez Martinez.
The Bulldog sophomores reeled off five doubles victories during the tournament, three of which came against ranked opponents. Jovanovic and Sanchez Martinez took down No. 5 Robin Catry and Luca Staeheli of N.C. State in straight sets 6-4, 6-4 in the Round of 16 on Thursday and nearly claimed another upset against the nation’s sixth-ranked tandem in the quarterfinals the following day.
Illinois’ Hunter Heck and Karlis Ozolins took the first set 6-0 but the Bulldogs rallied back to win a 7-6(4) tiebreaker in the second to force a decisive super tiebreaker. The Illini jumped out to a 7-2 advantage early in the third set only to see Jovanovic and Sanchez Martinez score six straight to go up 8-7.
However, Heck and Ozolins closed out the match by scoring three-straight points to win 10-8 and advance into the semifinals.
The late doubles battle that closed out Friday’s action at the Michael D. Case Tennis Center in Tulsa was the third match of the day for Jovanovic. The Bulldogs’ No. 68 singles competitor clipped USC’s Lodewijk Weststrate 6-3, 6-2 in the main draw consolation Round of 16.
Jovanovic battled No. 13 Jeffrey von der Schulenberg of Virginia in the quarterfinals later in the afternoon only to fall in three sets, 6-4, 3-6, 6-1.
Mississippi State earned 15 total wins during the event, five of which came over ranked foes. Jovanovic alone competed in 13 matches over a five-day span and was victorious in 10 of those.
“I’m very proud of the way our team competed this week with a growth mindset and playing every point in the moment,” said head coach Matt Roberts. “We built a lot of momentum for the spring season with our guys getting so many matches. Petar and Benito learned so much in their doubles run and the other guys built a lot of confidence in their singles. We look forward to competing again next week at regionals.”
The Bulldogs will trek across the state line to Auburn for ITA Southern Regionals from Oct. 12-16.
ITA All-American Championship
Michael D. Case Tennis Center | Tulsa, Okla.
Oct. 6, 2023
Doubles Main Draw Quarterfinals
No. 6 Hunter Heck/Karlis Ozolins (Illinois) def. Petar Jovanovic/Benito Sanchez Martinez (MSU) 6-0, 6-7(4),…
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