TUSCALOOSA, Ala., – Mississippi State men’s tennis closed out its fall season on Sunday by contributing three singles wins to the Southeastern Conference’s cause in claiming victory in the SEC-Big 12 Challenge.
MSU racked up nine wins overall during the three-day tournament hosted by the University of Alabama. The Bulldogs, Crimson Tide and South Carolina teamed up to take down the Big 12 team comprised of Oklahoma, Oklahoma State and Texas Tech, 21-15.
“It was a great weekend for us to build our mental routine and our resiliency in dealing with adversity,” said head coach Matt Roberts. “I was proud of how the guys dealt with each day’s matches and definitely finished the weekend off strong today. The guys are competing at a high level and are rubbing off on each other in good ways.”
For the second day in a row, the Bulldogs received a pair of victories from freshmen Petar Jovanovic and Benito Sanchez Martinez. Jovanovic downed Oklahoma’s Justin Schlageter in straight sets 6-3, 6-2 while Sanchez Martinez beat the Sooners’ Baptiste Anselmo 6-2, 6-4.
Gregor Ramskogler continued Mississippi State’s dominance on Sunday by defeating Leighton Allen of Oklahoma State 6-4, 6-0.
Patrick Lazo suffered the Bulldogs’ lone singles loss on Sunday, falling to SEC counterpart Lucas da Silva of South Carolina 7-5, 6-3.
Jovanovic and Sanchez Martinez nearly added another win for State and the SEC in doubles. The freshman duo dropped a tiebreaker 7-6(5) to Anselmo and Schlageter to start the day.
The SEC-Big 12 Challenge closes out a strong fall for the Bulldogs that saw several players reach new career milestones, including Carles Hernandez and Nemanja Malesevic who competed at the ITA Fall National Championship in San Diego, California earlier in the week.
“We’re ready to keep this momentum going into the break and then come out in January ready to play some dual matches,” Roberts said.
For more information on the Bulldog men’s tennis program, visit HailState.com or search for “HailStateMT” on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
SEC-Big 12 Challenge
Alabama Tennis Stadium | Tuscaloosa, Ala.
Nov. 6, 2022
Doubles
Baptiste Anselmo/Justin Schlageter (Oklahoma) def. Petar Jovanovic/Benito Sanchez Martinez (MSU) 7-6(5)
Singles
Petar Jovanovic (MSU) def. Justin Schlageter (Oklahoma) 6-3, 6-2
Benito Sanchez…
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