Mississippi State will host No. 37 Vanderbilt in its Southeastern Conference men’s tennis home opener Saturday at noon at the A.J. Pitts Tennis Centre in Starkville, Miss., according to the university’s athletic department.
The Bulldogs are coming off a strong showing at the ITA National Team Indoor Championships, where they defeated No. 23 Florida and No. 4 Stanford, with their only loss to No. 1 Virginia, the department said. Vanderbilt has also performed well this season, with eight wins and losses only to No. 2 Virginia and No. 1 Wake Forest.
Head coach Matt Roberts, in his tenure, has led Mississippi State to an 8-3 record in SEC home league openers. A victory over Vanderbilt would mark his 221st career win, breaking the program’s all-time record, the department noted.
Mississippi State has won seven of its last 10 SEC openers and home league openers. The Bulldogs recently secured their first top-five victory of the season by defeating Stanford, ranked No. 4, at the ITA Indoors. Most of the season has been on the road, with only two home matches before conference play.
The Bulldogs have a balanced singles lineup and two doubles teams ranked by the ITA. Petar Jovanovic leads the singles rankings at No. 10, and he and Benito Sanchez Martinez are ranked No. 4 among doubles teams. Jovanovic and Sanchez Martinez are also returning as ITA Doubles All-Americans, with Jovanovic earning singles honors after reaching the NCAA quarterfinals.
Mississippi State’s all-time record is 1,118-645-8 in its 102nd season. The team has tied its program record with 25 wins last year and set single-season records for dual-match wins by Sanchez Martinez. Jovanovic and Sanchez Martinez are the winningest doubles pair in program history.
In the series, Mississippi State holds a 49-14 advantage over Vanderbilt, with a 19-5 record at home. The Bulldogs have won 10 straight meetings against the Commodores and have never lost an SEC home opener to Vanderbilt under Roberts.
Follow MSU men’s tennis updates on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram via ‘HailStateMT’.
