BRYAN-COLLEGE STATION – The No. 9 Texas A&M men's tennis team took down the No. 6 Mississippi State Bulldogs in a 4-3 nailbiter on Friday at the Mitchell Tennis Center.
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With the score knotted at 3-3, the last match standing was at court 2 with Aggie junior Kholo Montsi in a tense battle with State's Petar Jovanovic, who entered the day ranked No. 6 nationally.
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The players split the first two sets with Jovanovic striking first with 6-3 set victory, but Montsi countered with a hard-fought 7-5 win in the second. In the third set, the pair were tied at 2-2 before Montsi broke the Bulldog's serve in the midst of a three-game serve to take a 5-2 lead. After Jovanovic held serve, Montsi served out the match at 6-3, clinching the match in the process.
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"We knew the match was going to be close and I'm proud of our guys for the way they fought," Aggie head coach Steve Denton said. "Mississippi State is a heck of a team. They are a tough-minded team and we knew they were going to go away. Kholo played lights-out there in the third set. I think he hit three or four winners in the final game which is unbelievable to be able to do that under that sort of pressure."
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Montsi's match was the clincher due to the resilient play of the Aggies in the doubles. The Aggies struck first at court 3 as freshman Markus Molder and junior Lathan Skrobarcek cruised to a 6-3 win. At court 2, however, the Aggie duo of Montsi and sophomore Alex Frusina found themselves down 5-1 before righting the ship by taking the next five games to force a tiebreaker. Once in the tiebreaker, the Maroon & White duo clinched the all-important doubles point, 7-4.
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Other Aggies contributing singles wins were Skrobarcek and senior Togan Tokac. Skrobarcek shook off a second-set loss to win a three-set battle over Bryan Hernandez Cortes, 6-4, 2-6, 6-2, while Tokac powered his way to victory over Michal Novansky, 6-4, 7-5.
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With the win, the Aggies improved to 13-7 overall and 6-3 in SEC play, while the Bulldogs fell to 15-3 overall and 6-2 vs. conference foes.
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#9 Texas A&M 4, #6 Mississippi State Men 3
Mar 20, 2026 at College Station, Texas
(Mitchell Tennis Center)
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Singles competition
1. #35 Be Sanchez Martinez (MSST) def. #30 Theo Papamalamis (TAMU) 6-2, 7-6 (7-4)
2. #51 Kholo Montsi (TAMU) def. #6 Petar Jovanovic (MSST) 3-6, 7-5, 6-3
3. #68 Niccolo Baroni (MSST) def. #68 Alex Frusina (TAMU) 7-5, 4-3, retired
4. #62 Ma Martinez Serrano (MSST) def. Markus Molder (TAMU) 7-6 (7-3), 6-2
5. Togan Tokac (TAMU) def. #123 Raphael Vaksmann (MSST) 6-4, 7-5
6. Lathan Skrobarcek (TAMU) def. #97 Br Hernandez Cortes (MSST) 6-4, 2-6, 6-2
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Doubles competition
1. #13 Theo Papamalamis/Togan Tokac (TAMU) vs. #4 Petar Jovanovic/Be Sanchez Martinez (MSST) 5-6, unfinished
2. #40 Alex Frusina/Kholo Montsi (TAMU) def. Ma Martinez Serrano/Michal Novansky (MSST) 7-6 (7-4)
3. Lathan Skrobarcek/Markus Molder (TAMU) def. #47 Ro Ferrer Guimaraes/Br Hernandez Cortes (MSST) 6-3
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Match Notes:
Order of finish: Doubles (3,2); Singles (3,6,4,5,1,2)
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FOLLOW THE AGGIES
Visit 12thman.com for more information on Texas A&M men's tennis. Fans can keep up to date with the A&M men's tennis team on Facebook, Instagram/Threads and X by following @AggieMTEN.
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With the score knotted at 3-3, the last match standing was at court 2 with Aggie junior Kholo Montsi in a tense battle with State's Petar Jovanovic, who entered the day ranked No. 6 nationally.
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The players split the first two sets with Jovanovic striking first with 6-3 set victory, but Montsi countered with a hard-fought 7-5 win in the second. In the third set, the pair were tied at 2-2 before Montsi broke the Bulldog's serve in the midst of a three-game serve to take a 5-2 lead. After Jovanovic held serve, Montsi served out the match at 6-3, clinching the match in the process.
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"We knew the match was going to be close and I'm proud of our guys for the way they fought," Aggie head coach Steve Denton said. "Mississippi State is a heck of a team. They are a tough-minded team and we knew they were going to go away. Kholo played lights-out there in the third set. I think he hit three or four winners in the final game which is unbelievable to be able to do that under that sort of pressure."
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Montsi's match was the clincher due to the resilient play of the Aggies in the doubles. The Aggies struck first at court 3 as freshman Markus Molder and junior Lathan Skrobarcek cruised to a 6-3 win. At court 2, however, the Aggie duo of Montsi and sophomore Alex Frusina found themselves down 5-1 before righting the ship by taking the next five games to force a tiebreaker. Once in the tiebreaker, the Maroon & White duo clinched the all-important doubles point, 7-4.
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Other Aggies contributing singles wins were Skrobarcek and senior Togan Tokac. Skrobarcek shook off a second-set loss to win a three-set battle over Bryan Hernandez Cortes, 6-4, 2-6, 6-2, while Tokac powered his way to victory over Michal Novansky, 6-4, 7-5.
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With the win, the Aggies improved to 13-7 overall and 6-3 in SEC play, while the Bulldogs fell to 15-3 overall and 6-2 vs. conference foes.
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#9 Texas A&M 4, #6 Mississippi State Men 3
Mar 20, 2026 at College Station, Texas
(Mitchell Tennis Center)
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Singles competition
1. #35 Be Sanchez Martinez (MSST) def. #30 Theo Papamalamis (TAMU) 6-2, 7-6 (7-4)
2. #51 Kholo Montsi (TAMU) def. #6 Petar Jovanovic (MSST) 3-6, 7-5, 6-3
3. #68 Niccolo Baroni (MSST) def. #68 Alex Frusina (TAMU) 7-5, 4-3, retired
4. #62 Ma Martinez Serrano (MSST) def. Markus Molder (TAMU) 7-6 (7-3), 6-2
5. Togan Tokac (TAMU) def. #123 Raphael Vaksmann (MSST) 6-4, 7-5
6. Lathan Skrobarcek (TAMU) def. #97 Br Hernandez Cortes (MSST) 6-4, 2-6, 6-2
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Doubles competition
1. #13 Theo Papamalamis/Togan Tokac (TAMU) vs. #4 Petar Jovanovic/Be Sanchez Martinez (MSST) 5-6, unfinished
2. #40 Alex Frusina/Kholo Montsi (TAMU) def. Ma Martinez Serrano/Michal Novansky (MSST) 7-6 (7-4)
3. Lathan Skrobarcek/Markus Molder (TAMU) def. #47 Ro Ferrer Guimaraes/Br Hernandez Cortes (MSST) 6-3
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Match Notes:
Order of finish: Doubles (3,2); Singles (3,6,4,5,1,2)
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FOLLOW THE AGGIES
Visit 12thman.com for more information on Texas A&M men's tennis. Fans can keep up to date with the A&M men's tennis team on Facebook, Instagram/Threads and X by following @AggieMTEN.
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