BATON ROUGE, La. — The Mississippi State men’s tennis team defeated LSU 6-1 Sunday at the LSU Tennis Complex, marking the Bulldogs’ third top-10 victory this season. The win improves Mississippi State’s record to 16-3 overall and 7-2 in Southeastern Conference play.
LSU took an early lead in doubles with a 6-2 win on court one. However, Mississippi State responded with victories on courts two and three, with the duo of Mario Martinez Serrano and Michal Novansky securing a 6-3 win to even the doubles point. Niccolo Baroni and Bryan Hernandez Cortes then clinched the point for the Bulldogs with another 6-3 victory.
In singles, Mississippi State quickly extended its lead. Raphael Vaksmann earned a 6-4, 6-1 win on court five, making it 2-0. Petar Jovanovic followed with a 7-6 (2), 6-3 victory over LSU’s Erik Arutiunian on court two, then Mario Martinez Serrano secured the match for Mississippi State with a 3-6, 6-4, 6-2 win on court four. LSU’s lone point came from court three, where Olaf Pieczkowski defeated Benito Sanchez Martinez in three sets.
The Bulldogs continued to dominate, with Bryan Hernandez Cortes winning in three sets on court six, 6-1, 6-7 (5), 7-6 (3). The final score was 6-1 in favor of Mississippi State.
Mississippi State will host Ole Miss on March 27 at 5 p.m. CT. LSU falls to 20-4 overall and 6-3 in SEC play with the loss.
