Gators Men’s Tennis Falls To No. 19 Mississippi State

The Gators men’s tennis team fell to the No. 19 Mississippi State Bulldogs 4-3 Sunday at Ring Tennis Complex.

https://twitter.com/GatorsMTN/status/1771891065198457310

Doubles

The Gators (9-9, 3-5 SEC) started strong in doubles, as No. 67 Nate Bonetto-Aidan Kim took down No. 37 Petar Jovanovic-Benito Martinez 6-2. However, the Bulldogs fought back, as  Nemanja Malesevic-Michal Novansky defeated Kevin Edengren-Tanapatt Nirundorn 7-5.

Florida then claimed the doubles point when Jeremy Jin-Henry Jefferson beat Carles Hernandez-Dusan Milanovic 7-5.

Gators Take the Doubles point! Jefferson/Jin seal it for UF with a huge break point!

No. 67 Bonetto/Kim (UF) def. No. 37 Jovanovic/Sanchez Martinez (MSU), 6-2
Jefferson/Jin (UF) def. Hernandez/Milanovic (MSU), 7-5
Malesevic/Novansky (MSU) def. Edengren/Nirundorn (UF), 7-5 pic.twitter.com/jH114EfE5z

— Gators Men's Tennis (@GatorsMTN) March 24, 2024

Singles

Mississippi State (13-5, 5-2) quickly evened the score to begin singles, as Martinez defeated Jefferson in straight sets 6-3, 6-2. The Bulldogs then extended the lead 2-1 after Jovanovic beat Kim in straight sets 6-2, 6-2.

The Bulldogs lead was extended to 3-1 after Nemanja Malesevic took down Jin 7-5, 6-3.

But, the Gators fought back. Nirundorn defeated Milanovic in straight sets 7-5, 7-5 to cut the deficit to one. Then, Edengren evened the match after he took down Roberto Guimaraes 6-3, 3-6, 6-4.

T wins a crucial point for the Gators!

Nirundorn (UF) def. Milanovic (MSU) 7-5, 7-5

MSU leads 3-2. pic.twitter.com/beRF0Ff2q8

— Gators Men's Tennis (@GatorsMTN) March 24, 2024

But Mississippi State claimed the match after Bonetto lost a close match to Carlos Hernandez. After winning the first set 6-3, Bonetto fell in the second set 6-2. Hernandez then won the tiebreaker 7-2 to secure the third set and the match for the Bulldogs.

Up Next

The Gators will travel to Athens on Sunday for a match against the Georgia Bulldogs. Start time is set for 1 p.m.