Sunday Doubleheader On Tap For State

STARKVILLE – There will be plenty of tennis on tap for Sunday as Mississippi State men’s tennis prepares for its doubleheader against Presbyterian and Jackson State.

The Bulldogs will begin the day with the Blue Hose at 9 a.m. and will battle the Tigers later that afternoon at 3. MSU’s women’s tennis team will also be in action with a twin bill of their own against Memphis at noon and Jackson State at 6 p.m.

Matt Roberts‘ Bulldogs are off to a 6-1 start and are 5-0 at home this season. Mississippi State produced a 4-3 victory over Tulane on Friday to push its non-conference winning streak at home to eight. In his nine seasons as head coach, Roberts sports a 92-19 record in Starkville.

No. 107 Petar Jovanovic leads Mississippi State with a 13-2 overall record and has won 10 consecutive singles matches, including seven this spring.

Carles Hernandez has knocked off three ranked opponents in singles play this year and also has a pair of ranked doubles wins alongside partner Nemanja Malesevic. Hernandez and Malesevic – ranked 42^nd nationally – clinched a crucial doubles point for the Bulldogs during their match against Tulane on Friday.

Jovanovic and Gregor Ramskogler earned the other doubles victory moving Ramskogler into a tie with Matthieu Ballay (1996-99) for third on the school’s all-time dual match doubles wins list with 56. He needs one more to match Jeremy Bayon (1997-2000) for second.

Ramskogler’s 78 career doubles wins ranks seventh in MSU history.

Presbyterian is 2-5 on the year and coming off a 4-3 loss at UNC Wilmington on Jan. 29. The Blue Hose features the nation’s No. 63 singles competitor in Dusan Milanovic as well as the 22^nd-ranked doubles tandem of Milanovic and Maxwell Benson.

The series between the Bulldogs and Blue Hose is tied 1-1 all-time. MSU won the previous meeting 5-4 in Starkville on April 12, 1973.

Jackson State dropped its only match of the year thus far 6-1 at home to Jacksonville State on Jan. 28.

Mississippi State is a perfect 6-0 against the Tigers, winning by a combined score of 41-1. The Bulldogs claimed a 6-1 victory against Jackson State in Starkville last season.

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