Mississippi State Men’s Tennis Wins Fourth Straight After Sweeping Auburn at ITA Kickoff Weekend

Mississippi State’s men’s tennis team earned its fourth consecutive victory despite losing the doubles point Saturday in Starkville. The Bulldogs upset Auburn 4-2 at the ITA Kickoff Weekend to advance to the ITA Indoor National Championship, according to athletic officials.

State opened doubles play strongly, with Niccolo Baroni and Mario Martinez Serrano winning 6-2 over Auburn’s Nicholas Heng and Joseph Phillips. However, Auburn responded, with the No. 2 duo of Petar Jovanovic and Benito Sanchez Martinez forcing a tiebreak before falling 7-3 in the breaker, giving the Tigers the doubles point.

The Bulldogs quickly turned their focus to singles, where they excelled. Martinez Serrano and Baroni each won in straight sets, giving Mississippi State an early lead. Jovanovic then defeated Auburn’s Billy Blaydes 6-4, 6-4, to extend the advantage. Auburn kept the match alive with a win from Manel Lazaro over Bryan Hernandez Cortes, but freshman Raphael Vaksmann sealed the victory for Mississippi State with a three-set win over Alan Bojarski.

The win marks the first time this season that Mississippi State swept singles and highlights the team’s resilience after dropping the doubles point in all four matches this season. Head coach Matt Roberts secured his 217th career win, putting him three wins shy of the all-time coaching record, according to school officials.

Additional notes include Benito Sanchez Martinez earning his second consecutive ranked singles win and Vaksmann remaining undefeated in dual matches. The Bulldogs (6-0) will next face Memphis at 1 p.m. Feb. 1, according to the schedule.

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