After a 7-0 loss at Texas A&M on Friday, Mississippi State came out on top in a back-and-forth match Sunday at LSU, with senior Nemanja Malesevic coming back from a set down to clinch the 4-3 victory for the No. 22 Bulldogs over the No. 19 Tigers.
Malesevic and sophomore Michal Novansky claimed a 6-4 victory at No. 3 doubles against the 10th-ranked Aggies, but that was all MSU could manage. Both of the other doubles matches were close — sophomores Petar Jovanovic and Benito Sanchez Martinez fell 7-5 at No. 1, and senior Carles Hernandez and junior Dusan Milanovic took their match to a tiebreak at No. 2.
In singles, freshman Radomir Tomic shut out his opponent in the first set at No. 6 but dropped each of the next two sets 6-1. Jovanovic also won the first set at No. 2 before squandering the advantage, and Sanchez Martinez took his match to a decisive third set at No. 5. Milanovic, Malesevic and Hernandez all lost in straight sets.
The Bulldogs (10-4, 2-1 Southeastern Conference) dropped the doubles point against LSU despite a 6-3 win from the top pairing of Jovanovic and Sanchez Martinez, and Jovanovic lost the first completed singles match in straight sets at No. 2 to put MSU in a hole. Milanovic claimed a 6-1, 6-4 victory at No. 4 singles, and Hernandez evened the match with a 6-2, 6-4 win at No. 3.
Sanchez Martinez lost two close sets at No. 5 to put the Tigers back on top, but Tomic and Malesevic each pulled out their matches in three sets to deliver the Bulldogs their biggest win of the season.
MSU returns to Starkville this coming week to host Vanderbilt on Friday and No. 5 Kentucky on Sunday.
“I’m very proud of the fight we showed today across the board,” head coach Matt Roberts said after the win over LSU. “After a tough doubles point, we managed to stay resilient and hang around to give ourselves a chance.”
Bulldog women remain winless in conference play
MSU suffered 4-0 losses at home to No. 13 Texas A&M on Friday and LSU on Sunday.
The Bulldogs were unable to claim a set against the Aggies, with juniors Maria Rizzolo and Alessia Tagliente coming up short at No. 3 doubles and freshman Athina Pitta and fifth-year Alexandra Mikhailuk dropping their match at No. 1. Rizzolo, Pitta and Mikhailuk were all quickly dispatched in singles, with Mikhailuk falling to the top-ranked player in the country in Mary Stoiana. Rizzolo’s opponent, Nicole Khirin, was No. 17 in the individual rankings.
Against the Tigers, MSU’s No. 2 doubles team of senior Chloé Cirotte and freshman Jayna Clemens earned a 6-3 triumph, but they were the only bright spot in another defeat for the Bulldogs (9-6, 0-3 SEC). Cirotte and Clemens were both leading their singles matches when LSU clinched the overall victory.
MSU hits the road this week to battle Kentucky on Friday and Vanderbilt on Sunday.
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