The Florida Gators (12-8, 6-4 SEC) rolled into Starkville crackling with momentum following four straight SEC wins. However, the Bulldogs weren’t backing down, either. With back-to-back conference victories of their own and a 14-1 home record — without a loss in Starkville in over two months — Mississippi State (17-4, 9-3) stood its ground against the Gators in Saturday’s showdown.
The Bulldogs continued their dominance at home with an electric crowd in attendance, ultimately taking down the Gators 5-2.
UF’s No. 18 pairing of junior Tanapatt Nirundorn and sophomore Henry Jefferson kicked off the match with energy against MSU juniors Petar Jovanovic and Benito Sanchez Martinez, the No. 4 pair in the nation. MSU’s top five duo was too much for the Gators, as they fell 6-2 and Mississippi State secured an early doubles advantage.
Florida sophomores Adhithya Ganesan and Jeremy Jin played well against the No. 39 pair of freshman Niccolo Baroni and junior Mario Martinez Serrano on court two, but couldn’t stop a late surge from their ranked opponents. The Gators’ 6-4 loss earned the Bulldogs a 1-0 lead entering singles play.
Sophomore Kevin Edengren and freshman Ben Weintraub kept pace with senior Dusan Milanovic and junior Michal Novansky on court three, but didn’t finish their match.
Looking to keep up the pressure, four of the six Bulldogs won their matches in straight sets.
No. 113 Jefferson quickly found himself in trouble and fell in straight sets in a tough match against No. 95 Martinez Serrano on court four. The sophomore’s 6-2, 6-2 loss left the Gators trailing 2-0 early.
Florida freshman Niels Villard continued to prove himself in SEC play with a dominant straight-set win over Mississippi State sophomore Roberto Ferrer Guimaraes on court six. Villard’s 6-2, 6-1 win marked his third straight-set singles win in conference play and spurred life back into the Gators.
Florida senior JanMagnus Johnson quickly fell 6-1 to No. 117 Baroni in set one as Mississippi State surged. The Gator attempted to fight back in set two, but to no avail, as Baroni put the Gators behind 3-1 with a 6-1, 6-4 loss.
However, Edengren closely followed, defeating Milanovic 6-3, 6-3 in an impressive court five win to bring the Gators back within reach, 3-2.
No. 38 Sanchez Martinez pushed No. 124 Ganesan to his limit on court one. Ultimately, the Bulldog was just too much for Ganesan as Sanchez Martinez improved his singles record to 19-4. The junior’s 6-3, 6-2 win clinched the match for Mississippi 4-2, ensuring Florida would leave Starkville, Mississippi, empty handed.
No. 65 Jin was upset on court two in a tough match against Jovanovic, the No. 100 player in the nation. Jin faced a grueling match–the longest of the six, but was unable to force a tiebreaker in set one. He lost 7-5 before the grueling match came to an end in the second set as Jovanovic earned a 6-3 win to end Saturday’s match 5-2.
Florida ends its road stint 3-1 and will now return home to kick off April with a mid-week matchup against Georgia at 5 p.m. on Thursday.
Contact Curan Ahern at cahern@alligator.com and follow him on X at @CuranAhern
Curan is the men's tennis beat reporter and a second-year journalism sports & media major. He enjoys spending his free time with pets, at the beach and fishing.
