STARKVILLE – No. 18 Mississippi State split a doubleheader on Saturday that earned head coach Matt Roberts his 100th career home win and also extended the Bulldogs’ non-conference home winning streak to 13 matches.
MSU (14-3, 2-2 SEC) suffered its first home setback of the season in a 4-2 loss to 39th-ranked Texas A&M (7-7, 2-2 SEC) but bounced back with a 6-1 victory over Belmont (7-5) to close out the day.
Freshman Benito Sanchez Martinez was the Bulldogs’ biggest winner of the day by claiming two singles victories. Sanchez Martinez started things off by earning his first career ranked win over No. 100 Pierce Rollins of Texas A&M in straight sets 6-4, 6-3.
Sanchez Martinez also topped Belmont’s Tomas Luis 6-4, 6-2 to boost his dual match record to 13-4. He also teamed with Michal Novansky for a 6-2 victory over the Bruin duo of Jack Randall and Alfred Wallin.
Petar Jovanovic and Ewen Lumsden teamed together in doubles for the first time since Oct. 15 and garnered a pair of wins. Jovanovic and Lumsden took down the Aggies’ Giulio Perego and Raphael Perto and also clinched the doubles point with their 6-3 win over Luis and Ian Cruz of Belmont.
The Bulldogs picked up five singles wins during their match against Belmont. No. 125 Nemanja Malesevic won 6-2, 6-2 over Marko Ilic on Court 1 while Jovanovic got back to his winning ways by making short work of Cruz 6-0, 6-4. Novansky battled back to beat Randall 3-6, 6-1, 6-0 and Lumsden clinched his fourth match of the spring against Riccardo Trione 6-3, 6-3.
No. 89 Carles Hernandez also earned his eighth consecutive singles win during the Texas A&M match as he pushed past Perego 6-3, 6-3.
Mississippi State will conclude its four-match homestand on March 19 when it hosts fifth-ranked South Carolina at 1 p.m.
No. 39 Texas A&M 4, No. 18 Mississippi State 2
A.J. Pitts Tennis Centre | Starkville, Miss.
March 11, 2023
Doubles
1. No. 78 Trey Hilderbrand/Noah Schachter (TAMU) def. No. 26 Carles Hernandez/Nemanja Malesevic (MSU) 6-2
2. Pierce Rollins/Kenner Taylor (TAMU) def. Michal Novansky/Benito Sanchez Martinez (MSU) 6-3
3. Petar Jovanovic/Ewen Lumsden (MSU) def. Giulio Perego/Raphael Perot (TAMU) 6-2
Order of finish: (3,1,2)
Singles
1. No. 31 Noah Schachter (TAMU) def. No. 125 Nemanja Malesevic (MSU) 6-4, 6-3
2. No. 66 Raphael Perot (TAMU)…
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