For the second time in 15 days, Mississippi State defeated a team ranked 16th in the country Saturday as the No. 22 Bulldogs beat No. 16 Oklahoma 5-2 in Starkville, marking the 200th career dual victory for head coach Matt Roberts.

MSU took the doubles point thanks to its two pairings ranked in the top 30 nationally. The No. 29 duo of freshman Niccolo Baroni and junior Mario Martinez Serrano earned a 6-4 victory on the No. 2 court, and juniors Petar Jovanovic and Benito Sanchez Martinez, ranked fourth in the nation, did the same at No. 1 doubles.

Jovanovic started things off in singles with a 6-1, 6-4 win at No. 2, then the Sooners got on the board at No. 4 as senior Dusan Milanovic fell in straight sets. Sophomore Roberto Ferrer Guimaraes put the Bulldogs on the brink of victory at No. 6 with a 6-4, 6-4 triumph, but the Sooners stayed alive as Martinez Serrano lost a pair of tight sets at No. 5. Baroni then closed it out at No. 3, winning each of his two sets 6-4.

Sanchez Martinez won in three sets at No. 1 singles for good measure in a battle of top-100 individuals. Roberts is the third coach in program history to reach 200 wins, following Andy Jackson and Tom Sawyer.

MSU (13-3, 3-2 Southeastern Conference) is back in action Thursday at Vanderbilt.

“I’m just happy to have the culture we have and get to work with these amazing guys every day,” Roberts said. “It’s nice to hear that I’ve got 200 wins, but it either means I’ve been here a long time or I’m getting old, or maybe both. I am just happy to have this job and build with the coaches that we have. We love coming to work every day with these guys. I love traveling with them, competing with them and training with them. When you have that, it’s priceless.”

Bulldog women come up short against two SEC foes

MSU was on the comeback trail Friday night against rival Ole Miss, needing to win the two remaining matches for the victory. But with freshman Gianna Oboniye one game away from a win at No. 1 singles, Oboniye was disqualified, handing the win to the Rebels, 4-2.

The Bulldogs had lost the doubles point despite a tiebreak win at No. 3 from sophomores Jayna Clemens and Chiara Di Genova. Oboniye and sophomore Athina Pitta lost 6-2 at the No. 1 position, and freshman Emma Cohen and senior Alessia Tagliente lost in a tiebreak at No. 2.

Tagliente won just one game in her match at No. 2 singles, losing 6-0, 6-1, and Pitta also fell in straight sets at No. 4. But Di Genova and freshman Carolina Troiano kept MSU alive with straight-set wins at No. 6 and No. 3, respectively, with the last two matches going to a third set. Oboniye was leading 5-4 in that final set at the time of her disqualification. Clemens, at No. 5, was trailing 4-3 in the third set when her match was abandoned.

“We made a promise to each other that, regardless of how we play, our attitudes will never be a question because of how much we love this logo and how much we love this brand,” Bulldogs head coach Chris Hooshyar said. “We promised each other that we would step on the court and fight for our school, program and university, and I couldn’t be more proud of them today. It was a very good battle. Ole Miss are a tough team.”

On Sunday, MSU fell 4-2 at home to No. 8 LSU, although Oboniye and Pitta defeated the 11th-ranked doubles team in the country 6-4 at the No. 1 spot. The Bulldogs came up short in the doubles point, though. They earned two points in singles when Oboniye’s opponent at No. 1 retired after just three games and on Di Genova’s dominant win at No. 5. Clemens was also in good shape at No. 4 when the Tigers clinched the victory.

Later that day, MSU remained undefeated in non-conference action with a 4-0 win over Eastern Kentucky. After two easy wins in doubles for the Bulldogs, Clemens and Di Genova each breezed through her singles match to put MSU on the brink of victory. Troiano, playing at the No. 1 singles position, rallied back from a set down to clinch the match.

The Bulldogs (10-5, 0-5 SEC) have three more matches at home in the coming week against Florida, No. 11 Auburn and Mississippi Valley State.

“All in all, I feel like we’re moving in the right direction,” Hooshyar said. “We’re full of freshmen and sophomores, and we’re competing against some of the best players in the country, which I want it no other way.”