The 17th-ranked Mississippi State men’s tennis team emphatically dispatched Northern Illinois and Chattanooga on Sunday to open the 2024 season, earning 7-0 victories against both the Huskies and Mocs.
The Bulldogs’ new top doubles team of Petar Jovanovic and Benito Sanchez Martinez started things off against Northern Illinois with a 6-1 win, and the No. 3 pairing of Nemanja Malesevic and freshman Marshall Landry secured the doubles point for MSU with a 6-3 triumph.
Malesevic, Carles Hernandez and Roberto Ferrer Guimaraes quickly disposed of their singles opponents to clinch the match for the Bulldogs. Radomir Tomic closed out his match in straight sets after dropping three straight potential clinching games, Dusan Milanovic needed a decisive third set but won it 6-0, and Jovanovic won a pair of tight sets to finish the shutout.
“Today was a very good match for us to practice on focusing and having discipline from the first point until the end,” MSU head coach Matt Roberts said. “The guys did a good job of not relaxing and staying locked in.”
The Bulldogs did not drop a set against Chattanooga, with Hernandez, Sanchez, Tomic and Landry losing a combined total of 13 games in their singles victories. Malesevic needed a first-set tiebreak before shutting out his opponent in the second, and Milanovic won both of his sets 7-5.
MSU (2-0) returns to action Friday with home matches against Florida State and Tennessee State.
“We were pretty solid on all courts today,” Malesevic said. “We needed these two matches to get going and get organized at our place and feel the nerves. We talked with the coaches and still have a few things to work on as we get ready to attack this week.”
Bulldog women beat Middle Tennessee and Jacksonville State to christen Hooshyar era
MSU gave new head coach Chris Hooshyar his first two wins Saturday with a 4-2 victory over Middle Tennessee and a 4-1 triumph over Jacksonville State.
Against the Blue Raiders, the No. 3 doubles team of Dharani Niroshan and Alessia Tagliente picked up a 6-4 win, and the No. 2 pairing of Chloé Cirotte and Jayna Clemens won 7-5 to secure the opening point. Cirotte and Alexandra Mikhailuk each won their singles matches handily, and Clemens, after needing a first-set tiebreak, dominated the second set to clinch the match.
“It was a lot of fun to get out there,” Hooshyar said. “What surprised me the most today was how many people showed up. It’s a true testament to the Starkville and Mississippi State community. I couldn’t be more grateful. The girls needed it too because they were nervous in the doubles in the first match.”
The Bulldogs dropped the doubles point against the Gamecocks despite a win at No. 1 from Mikhailuk and Maria Rizzolo, but proceeded to sweep the singles. Rizzolo, Cirotte, Tagliente and Mikhailuk all won in straight sets, dropping an average of four games each.
MSU (2-0) hosts Samford and Alcorn State on Saturday.
“In the second match in doubles we weren’t sharp,” Hooshyar said. “The singles were the best part of the day; it was awesome. The thing that I have enjoyed the most was being a team together and having a little more confidence in ourselves. Today we exposed our weaknesses but have seen what we do well.”
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