Mississippi State Opens SEC Road Swing at South Carolina and Florida
Mississippi State’s men’s tennis team, ranked No. 7 nationally, starts a four-match SEC road swing this weekend. The Bulldogs will face No. 14 South Carolina on Friday and then travel to play No. 22 Florida on Sunday.
In the series against South Carolina, Mississippi State holds a 26-14 advantage overall and has a 9-7 record on the road in Columbia. Under head coach Matt Roberts, the Bulldogs are 10-4 against the Gamecocks and aim to extend that streak this weekend. South Carolina enters with a 10-3 record overall and a 3-2 mark in SEC play. The Gamecocks feature three ranked singles players: No. 16 Lucas Andrade da Silva, No. 40 Sean Daryabeigi, and No. 100 Paul Barbier Gazeu. Their doubles team of Barbier Gazeu and Andrade da Silva is ranked No. 10 nationally.
Following Friday’s match, Mississippi State will face Florida in Gainesville. The Bulldogs defeated the Gators 4-1 earlier this season at the ITA National Team Indoor Championships and have won the last four matchups in the series. Florida, with a 7-8 record overall and 1-4 in SEC play, is led by four ranked singles players: No. 31 Pablo Perez Ramos, No. 50 Henry Jefferson, No. 67 Jeremy Jin, and No. 87 Adhithya Ganesan. Their doubles duo of Tanapatt Nirundorn and Jefferson is ranked No. 20 nationally.
Mississippi State has accumulated numerous accolades and milestones this season, including the program’s all-time wins record held by Petar Jovanovic and a series of top rankings in singles and doubles. The Bulldogs have secured their first top-five victory of the season and have four conference wins over ranked opponents. Head coach Matt Roberts, with a record of 225 wins, leads a team that returned eight letterwinners from last year’s NCAA quarterfinal squad. The team is currently 102nd in their 102nd season, with a strong national presence in singles and doubles rankings.
The Bulldogs aim to continue their success on the road, building on their impressive season performance and series history against both South Carolina and Florida. The matches are scheduled for Friday at 4 p.m. in Columbia and Sunday at 11 a.m. in Gainesville, with live streams and stats available online.
Source: Original Article
