Mississippi State was in the unenviable position of needing to win on all four remaining courts in order to extend its magical season. And the No. 12 seed Bulldogs very nearly pulled it off.
Friday’s NCAA quarterfinal in Waco, Texas, ultimately came down to freshman Niccolo Baroni at No. 3 singles, facing Max Basing of No. 4 seed Stanford. Baroni had taken the first set and dropped the second, then was one game away from clinching the match for MSU with a 5-4 lead in the decisive third. But Basing battled back and ultimately forced a tiebreak, which the Cardinal player won 7-5 to end the Bulldogs’ season in crushing fashion.
MSU finished 25-6 overall, tied for the most wins in program history.
Despite a victory at the top spot from their top-ranked doubles team of juniors Petar Jovanovic and Benito Sanchez Martinez, the Bulldogs dropped the doubles point for just the fourth time all year. Senior Dusan Milanovic and junior Michal Novansky fell 6-4 at No. 3, and Baroni and junior Mario Martinez Serrano could not pull out a tiebreak at the No. 2 spot.
Stanford (26-5) won the first two completed singles matches, as MSU freshman Bryan Hernandez Cortes fell 6-3, 6-4 at No. 5 and Milanovic lost 6-4, 7-5 at No. 4. The remaining matches all went three sets, and Jovanovic got the comeback started at No. 2 with a 2-6, 6-3, 6-3 victory. Martinez Serrano was next to finish, winning 6-4, 2-6, 6-4 at No. 6. Sanchez Martinez then rallied from a set down to win 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 at the No. 1 spot.
That left the match on the shoulders of Baroni, who earned the clinching point in each of the Bulldogs’ first two NCAA Tournament wins. But this time, he came up just short.
Milanovic is MSU’s lone senior, so if Jovanovic, Sanchez Martinez and other key players return, the Bulldogs could be set up for another deep postseason run in 2026.
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