University of Tennessee Athletics
Friday, March 6
Starkville, MS
4:00 p.m. ET
University of Tennessee
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Mississippi State
Vols Fall To No. 5 Bulldogs, 7-0
March 06, 2026 | Men's Tennis
Tennessee men's tennis dropped the first contest in its two-match road trip against No. 5 Mississippi State, 7-0, on Friday night at the A.J. Pitts Tennis Centre in Starkville.
Doubles started with the Bulldogs gaining an early lead on courts one and two, leading 4-1 on both. The Vols answered with their own quick lead on court three with the tandem of Shion Itsusaki and Ethan Muza pushing the score to 3-1 in the opening sets against the Bulldog duo, No. 38 Bryan Hernandez Cortes and Roberto Ferrer Guimaraes. Tennessee couldn't find a way back into it, dropping the matches on court one and two, 6-1. As a result, MSU captured the doubles point to take a 1-0 lead into singles.
Court three went unfinished, with Itsusaki and Muza holding a 4-2 edge over the Bulldog duo at the time it was halted.
Singles was a closer competition, with UT taking the first set on courts three, five and six, and MSU claiming them on one, two and four. The match between the Big Orange's Jan Kobierski and State's No. 125 Niccolo Baroni needed an extra frame to settle the first set, with it finishing 7-5 in favor of MSU.
Mississippi State struck first with a win to grow its lead to two, when No. 55 Benito Sanchez Martinez defeated No. 78 Jose Garcia at No. 1 singles. The Bulldogs fed off that momentum to force third sets on courts three, five and six. Mississippi State closed out the win with two singles triumphs to make it a 4-0 victory.
The remaining matches were played out, resulting in the Bulldogs tacking on three more points to finish the contest.
UP NEXT
The Volunteers will finish their road trip by heading down to Baton Rouge to play No. 6 LSU on Sunday at 11 a.m. CT.
RESULTS
Doubles
Singles
Order of Finish: 1,2,3,4,6,5
Doubles started with the Bulldogs gaining an early lead on courts one and two, leading 4-1 on both. The Vols answered with their own quick lead on court three with the tandem of Shion Itsusaki and Ethan Muza pushing the score to 3-1 in the opening sets against the Bulldog duo, No. 38 Bryan Hernandez Cortes and Roberto Ferrer Guimaraes. Tennessee couldn't find a way back into it, dropping the matches on court one and two, 6-1. As a result, MSU captured the doubles point to take a 1-0 lead into singles.
Court three went unfinished, with Itsusaki and Muza holding a 4-2 edge over the Bulldog duo at the time it was halted.
Singles was a closer competition, with UT taking the first set on courts three, five and six, and MSU claiming them on one, two and four. The match between the Big Orange's Jan Kobierski and State's No. 125 Niccolo Baroni needed an extra frame to settle the first set, with it finishing 7-5 in favor of MSU.
Mississippi State struck first with a win to grow its lead to two, when No. 55 Benito Sanchez Martinez defeated No. 78 Jose Garcia at No. 1 singles. The Bulldogs fed off that momentum to force third sets on courts three, five and six. Mississippi State closed out the win with two singles triumphs to make it a 4-0 victory.
The remaining matches were played out, resulting in the Bulldogs tacking on three more points to finish the contest.
UP NEXT
The Volunteers will finish their road trip by heading down to Baton Rouge to play No. 6 LSU on Sunday at 11 a.m. CT.
RESULTS
Doubles
- #5 Benito Sanchez Martinez/Petar Jovanovic (MSU) def. Dragos Cazacu/Piotr Siekanowicz (UT), 6-1
- #72 Michal Novansky/Mario Martinez Serrano (MSU) def. Woodson McMillin/Alejandro Moreno (UT), 6-1
- Shion Itsusaki/Ethan Muza (UT) vs. #38 Bryan Hernandez Cortes/Roberto Ferrer Guimaraes (MSU), 4-2 unf.
Singles
- #55 Benito Sanchez Martinez (MSU) def. #78 Jose Garcia (UT), 6-1, 6-2
- #8 Petar Jovanovic (MSU) def. #88 Alejandro Moreno (UT), 6-1, 7-6 (7-3)
- #39 Mario Martinez Serrano (MSU) def. Dragos Cazacu (UT), 3-6, 6-2, 6-3
- #125 Niccolo Baroni (MSU) def. Jan Kobierski (UT), 7-5, 6-4
- Raphael Vaksmann (MSU) def. Boruch Skierkier (UT), 2-6, 6-2, 6-4
- Roberto Ferrer Guimaraes (MSU) def. Ethan Muza (UT), 2-6, 6-4, 6-2
Order of Finish: 1,2,3,4,6,5
Team Stats
#1 Doubles Match
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#2 Doubles Match
#3 Doubles Match
Order of Finish:
2,1
#1 Singles Match
12
12
Be Sanchez Martinez / 0 (55/-) [MSST]
66
#2 Singles Match
12
16
Petar Jovanovic / 0 (8/-) [MSST]
67
#3 Singles Match
123
623
Ma Martinez Serrano / 0 (39/-) [MSST]
366
#4 Singles Match
12
54
Niccolo Baroni / 0 (125/-) [MSST]
76
#5 Singles Match
123
624
Raphael Vaksmann / 0 [MSST]
266
#6 Singles Match
123
642
Ro Ferrer Guimaraes / 0 [MSST]
266
Order of Finish:
1,2,3,4,6,5
Players Mentioned
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
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