STARKVILLE – Mississippi State men’s tennis team is gearing up in an attempt to make its 12^th consecutive bid to the NCAA Championship later this season.

 

But before the Bulldogs hit the courts for dual-match play in the spring, they have scheduled a challenging fall slate of five events in an effort to have several players qualify for ITA Fall Nationals in San Diego, California in November.

 

Selected players from MSU will open the fall in Fayetteville, Arkansas for an ITF 15K tournament from Sept. 18-25. From there, the Bulldogs travel to Tulsa, Oklahoma to take part in the ITA All-Americans Oct. 1-9 and then head onto Tuscaloosa, Alabama for ITA Southern Regionals Oct. 13-18.

 

Individual student-athletes will also participate in another ITF 15K event in Tallahassee, Florida from Oct. 23-30 and return to Tuscaloosa on Nov. 4-6 for the Big 12-SEC Challenge.

 

“With most of our lineup having ATP points, we plan to offer them numerous ITF Futures this fall to allow them to increase their rankings,” said Matt Roberts, who is entering his ninth season as head coach. “We’ll combine the ITF Futures with three important college events. Our goal is for the guys to qualify for nationals by doing well in Tulsa at the All-American or our regionals.”

 

State has four players returning from last season including All-SEC selection Nemanja Malesevic, who led the team with an 18-7 singles record last spring and seven victories over ranked opponents. Joining Malesevic are four-year letterwinner Gregor Ramskogler, rising junior Carles Hernandez and redshirt sophomore Seth Richey.

 

Roberts and assistant coach Jake Jacoby will also use the fall as a time to get acquainted with four new Bulldogs that will be joining the roster this month. Mississippi State signed Ewen Lumsden and Patrick Lazo as graduate transfers from Washington and Georgia State respectively.

 

The Bulldogs also brought in freshmen Petar Jovanovic from Montenegro and Benito Sanchez Martinez of Germany as members of the 2022 signing class.

 

“We’re going to get to know their games in the fall and to put together a plan of what we need to do help them make the jump in their development,” Roberts said. “It’s a pretty exciting group we have coming in. I’m really excited about them and think we’re going to have a close team with really good team chemistry. Everybody is here for the right reasons and wanting to develop into pros.”

 

For more information on the Bulldog men’s tennis program, visit HailState.com or search for “HailStateMT” on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.