WEST POINT — Momentum hasn’t slowed for Matt Roberts and the Mississippi State men’s tennis program.
A month after a season-ending loss to No. 2 TCU in the Sweet 16, Roberts has quickly turned his attention to next season.
“As soon as the NCAA Tournament was over, all of our guys went back home and got ready for club matches and tournaments,” Roberts told The Dispatch during this week’s Hail State Happy Hours event at Anthony’s in West Point. “They all hit the ground running and we just got right into recruiting.
“(Assistant coach) Jake (Jacoby) went to Europe for three weeks and did some in-home visits. We did a really good job getting on top of a couple of guys from Serbia and Bosnia…Just getting out there and getting Mississippi State in front of these guys.”
Followers of college tennis have seen a lot of Mississippi State’s program under Roberts, who is entering his 10th year as head coach.
The Bulldogs have advanced to the Sweet 16 in three of the past four NCAA Tournaments. The Bulldogs hosted a regional at the AJ Pitts Tennis Centre this spring, beating Alabama State and Middle Tennessee State, before falling at No. 2 TCU, 4-1.
“The takeaways (from the year) were how much fun we had and how we improved as a team,” Roberts said. “Our biggest emphasis is our culture. We helped each other become better versions of ourselves on and off the court. As a group we did a really good job doing that. Our fan support and our crowds are growing, so it is really exciting seeing more people come out to our matches.”
Following the season, Roberts was named the Intercollegiate Tennis Association’s South Region Coach of the Year (his fourth time earning that recognition) and MSU was rated the top tennis program in the ITA South Region.
Still, Roberts believes there is another level the program can reach under his watch.
“I think we have another jump next year,” Roberts said. “We don’t lose too much. We have two guys coming in that can play one or two and another coming in that can play middle in the lineup. We have a really deep team, culturally probably the best I have ever had. I think if we can stay healthy, keep improving and keep the culture moving in the right direction we can be in the race to win an SEC championship overall or tournament and host a Super Regional.”
The Bulldogs return their top-three singles players next year, in Nemanja Malesevic, Petar Jovanovic and Carles Hernandez.
Roberts has also added Dusan Milanovic, a Presbyterian College transfer, who won the 2023 Big South Player of the Year award, from the transfer portal, as well as four-star recruit Marshall Landry (North Carolina) in this year’s class.
With that talent, Roberts believes MSU can be a perennial contender in the near future.
“That’s the potential,” Roberts said. “From there the goal is to keep recruiting the guys that want to fit in with us and help us stay there.”
Justin Frommer is the Mississippi State sports reporter for The Dispatch.
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