No. 6 Mississippi State men’s tennis team fell to No. 1 Virginia 4-1 Saturday in the quarterfinals of the 2026 ITA National Indoor Championship at the Styslinger/Altec Tennis Complex in Dallas.
The Bulldogs took an early lead by winning the doubles point with victories on courts one and two. Mario Martinez Serrano and Michal Novansky defeated Mans Dahlberg and Jangjun Kim 6-3 on court two, while Petar Jovanovic and Benito Sanchez Martinez secured a 7-5 win over Stiles Brockett and Dylan Dietrich on court one, clinching the doubles point for Mississippi State.
Virginia responded in singles, winning the first set on every court and securing four straight wins to close out the match. Stiles Brockett defeated Roberto Ferrer Guimaraes 6-1, 6-0 on court five, while Keegan Rice topped Jovanovic 6-3, 7-6(1) on court two. Andres Santamarta Roig claimed Virginia’s third point with a 6-4, 7-5 win over Martinez Serrano on court three. Mans Dahlberg finished the match with a 6-2, 4-6, 6-4 victory over Novansky on court six, clinching the victory for the Cavaliers.
Two matches remained unfinished, including Benito Sanchez Martinez versus Dylan Dietrich on court one and Vaksmann versus Kim on court four. Mississippi State will face Stanford in a consolation match Sunday at 1 p.m.
Mississippi State, with a record of 7-1, and Virginia, at 8-1, met in the quarterfinals. The Bulldogs had previously won the doubles point in back-to-back matches this season. Freshman Raphael Vaksmann remained unbeaten in dual matches to start his collegiate career. Jovanovic and Sanchez Martinez earned their second doubles wins of the season, while Serrano and Novansky started 2-0 as a tandem.
