Mississippi State Advances to ITA Kickoff Weekend Championship with Win Over Santa Clara
STARKVILLE, Miss. — No. 7 Mississippi State defeated Santa Clara 4-2 Saturday to advance to the ITA Kickoff Weekend championship match. The Bulldogs lost the doubles point for the third consecutive match but rebounded strongly in singles to secure the win, according to the university.
Mississippi State opened with a win on Court 3, where Michal Novansky and Bryan Hernandez Cortes defeated Santa Clara’s Valentin Faure and Ferran Redza 6-0. Santa Clara responded on Court 2, with Tiago Boschmans and Luca Lemaitre winning 6-3 over Mario Martinez Serrano and Niccolo Baroni. The doubles point was decided on Court 1, where Santa Clara’s Luca Bluett and John Kim edged Petar Jovanovic and Benito Sanchez Martinez 6-4, giving the Broncos the early lead.
The Bulldogs quickly turned to singles play, winning four straight matches to clinch the victory. Freshman Raphael Vaksmann, ranked 125th, beat Valentin Faure 6-1, 6-0, to even the match. Soon after, No. 37 Mario Martinez Serrano defeated Lukas Maskow 6-0, 6-2, giving Mississippi State its first lead of the day. Niccolo Baroni then beat John Kim 6-2, 6-1, boosting the Bulldogs’ advantage.
The match was sealed on Court 1, where No. 54 Benito Sanchez Martinez defeated Alex Watanabe Eriksson 6-4, 6-1. The victory marked Mississippi State’s fifth consecutive win and its second straight sweep of singles matches. Head coach Matt Roberts earned his 217th career win, placing him second all-time in program history, just four wins shy of the record.
Mississippi State will face Auburn in the championship match scheduled for Saturday at 11 a.m. CT. The Bulldogs have now improved to 5-0 overall and 0-0 in SEC play, while Santa Clara is 2-1, representing the West Coast Conference.
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