STARKVILLE – Mississippi State men’s tennis saw four Bulldogs earn All-SEC recognition, led by senior Benito Sanchez Martinez, who was named SEC Player of the Year and First Team All-SEC. Petar Jovanovic also received First Team All-SEC honors, while Niccolo Baroni and Mario Martinez Serrano were named to the Second Team All-SEC, the conference announced Thursday.
Sanchez Martinez became just the third player in Mississippi State history to be named SEC Player of the Year and the first since Nuno Borges’ three-peat from 2017-19. He also earned a spot on the SEC Championship All-Tournament Team, cementing his season as one of the best in school history.
Both Sanchez Martinez and Jovanovic posted stellar seasons in singles and doubles. Sanchez Martinez, who was ranked as high as No. 5 nationally in singles, posted an 18-4 dual singles record, including a current nine-match win streak, all against ranked opponents. In doubles, he and Jovanovic formed one of the nation’s top pairings, holding the No. 1 ITA ranking for 13 weeks and currently sitting at No. 8. The duo went 6-3 in SEC doubles play.
Jovanovic provided consistency at the No. 2 singles position, finishing 15-4 in dual matches and 8-2 in SEC play He totaled 29 singles victories, including 13 ranked wins, and added 15 doubles victories with 10 ranked wins. He also posted a 6-3 record at the No. 1 doubles position in SEC play.
Baroni earned Second Team All-SEC honors for the second consecutive season. The sophomore posted a 13-2 dual singles record, including an 8-2 mark in SEC play.
Martinez Serrano also received Second Team All-SEC recognition after a strong season in both singles and doubles. He compiled a 16-6 dual singles record and an 18-7 overall dual mark along with a 10-6 record in conference and postseason play.
In other conference awards, LSU’s Olaf Pieczkowski was named SEC Freshman of the Year, Will Jansen of Georgia earned Newcomer of the Year honors, and UGA’s Bruce Berque was named SEC Coach of the Year. The awards were selected by the league’s head coaches.
First Team All-SEC
Jakub Vrba, Arkansas
Hamza Nasridinov, Auburn
Eli Stephenson, Kentucky
Olaf Pieczkowski, LSU
Petar Jovanovic, Mississippi State
Benito Sanchez Martinez, Mississippi State
Luis Alvarez, Oklahoma
Lucas da Silva, South Carolina
Sebastian Gorzny, Texas
Kholo Montsi, Texas A&M
Theo Papamalamis, Texas A&M
Togan Tokac, Texas A&M
Second Team All-SEC
Arda Azkara, Georgia
Will Jansen, Georgia
Nicolas Arseneault, Kentucky
Pablo Martinez Gomez, Vanderbilt
Erik Arutiunian, LSU
Andrej Loncarevic, LSU
Stefano D’Agostino, Ole Miss
Niccolo Baroni, Mississippi State
Mario Martinez Serrano, Mississippi State
Oscar Lacides, Oklahoma
Paul Barbier Gazeu, South Carolina
Sebastian Eriksson, Texas
Kalin Ivanovski, Texas
Philip Poe is sports editor.
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