STARKVILLE, Miss. – The LSU Men’s Tennis team faced another setback on February 27, 2025, suffering a defeat against No. 19 Mississippi State with a score of 6-1. This match marked the Tigers' third consecutive loss within the Southeastern Conference (SEC), leaving them struggling at 0-3.
Mississippi State (12-2, 2-1 SEC) solidified their position early by claiming the doubles point. The team showcased their dominance with strong performances, particularly from No. 10 Petar Jovanovic and Benito Sanchez Martinez, who defeated the LSU duo of No. 27 Aleksi Lofman and Julien Penzlin with relative ease, finishing the match at 6-2. Shortly thereafter, the Bulldogs secured their first point when No. 29 Niccolo Baroni and Mario Martinez Serrano bested Andrej Loncarevic and Sasa Markovic, clinching the doubles point with a 6-3 victory.
With the doubles matches done, the singles competition commenced. The first set to conclude was the No. 1 court, where No. 67 Petar Jovanovic delivered a strong performance, taking down LSU sophomore Sasa Markovic decisively with scores of 6-1, 6-0. With this victory, Mississippi State extended their lead to 2-0 early on.
Despite the disappointment of losing his doubles match, LSU's Julien Penzlin rallied to secure the lone point for the Tigers at the No. 3 court. Penzlin's resilience was on full display as he dominated Dusan Milanovic, winning comfortably with scores of 6-2, 6-2. This victory marked Penzlin’s ninth win on the season and his eighteenth overall, reinforcing his status as one of LSU's standout performers.
Mississippi State continued to demonstrate their power across the other singles matches. No. 85 Mario Martinez Serrano quickly earned another point for the Bulldogs, defeating Andrej Loncarevic with scores of 6-2, 6-4, thereby extending the team’s lead to 3-1.
At the No. 2 court, the match was clinched by No. 65 Benito Sanchez Martinez, who defeated LSU's Alessio Vasquez with scores of 6-1, 7-5, sealing the win for the Bulldogs. Meanwhile, the remaining matches fought through to tie-break situations. On the No. 6 court, Roberto Ferrer Guimaraes faced LSU's Brock Anderson, where Ferrer managed to stage a comeback after losing the first set. Anderson took the opening set 6-1, but Ferrer fought back, winning the next two sets, including the decider through a exciting 10-point tie-break at 10-7.
The final singles match saw Aleksi Lofman go head-to-head with No. 115 Niccolo Baroni. Lofman started strong, winning the first set 7-6 after edging past Baroni in the tie-break. Baroni responded to even the score at one set apiece, clinching the second set 7-5. The showdown concluded with Baroni prevailing 10-7 during the match tie-break, which allowed Mississippi State to secure their fifth point with the match ending at 6-1.
The defeat leaves LSU with a record of 8-6 overall and 0-3 within the SEC, as the team grapples with finding their form. Their next opportunity to turn things around will be against Ole Miss on March 1, 2025, at the Palmer/Salloum Tennis Facility in Oxford, Mississippi. The Tigers will seek to learn from their recent experiences and come out strong against their rivals.
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Final Team Scores:
- #19 Mississippi State 6, LSU 1
Singles Competition:
- #67 Petar Jovanovic (MSU) def. Sasa Markovic (LSU) 6-1, 6-0
- #65 B. Sanchez Martinez (MSU) def. Alessio Vasquez (LSU) 6-1, 7-5
- #125 Julien Penzlin (LSU) def. Dusan Milanovic (MSU) 6-2, 6-2
- #115 Niccolo Baroni (MSU) def. Aleksi Lofman (LSU) 6-7 (3-7), 7-5, 10-7
- #85 M. Martinez Serrano (MSU) def. Andrej Loncarevic (LSU) 6-3, 6-4
- R. Ferrer Guimaraes (MSU) def. Brock Anderson (LSU) 1-6, 6-4, 10-5
Doubles Competition:
- #10 Petar Jovanovic/B. Sanchez Martinez (MSU) def. #27 Aleksi Lofman/Julien Penzlin (LSU) 6-2
- #29 Niccolo Baroni/M. Martinez Serrano (MSU) def. Andrej Loncarevic/Sasa Markovic (LSU) 6-3
- Dusan Milanovic/Michal Novansky (MSU) vs. Brock Anderson/Alessio Vasquez (LSU) 2-5, unfinished