BULLDOG BITS
Men’s Tennis
No. 20 Mississippi State returns to action today for a men's tennis doubleheader against Tennessee Tech and UAB.
The Bulldogs open a busy day on campus against the Golden Eagles at 10 a.m. and will close things out by taking on the Blazers at 3 p.m. MSU will look to expand upon its 10-match nonconference winning streak at home.
When the Bulldogs take the courts today it will have been 13 days since they knocked off then 15th-ranked Florida State 4-3 in Tallahassee. Mississippi State clinched the match with four consecutive victories before the Seminoles were able to get on the scoreboard.
Matt Roberts' 9-1 Bulldogs feature a pair of ranked singles competitors in No. 107 Petar Jovanovic and No. 113 Carles Hernandez. Jovanovic is riding a 13-match winning streak that dates back to the fall and leads the team with a 16-2 overall record while Hernandez is 14-3 and tops MSU with three victories over ranked opponents this year.
Hernandez and partner Nemanja Malesevic have also knocked off three ranked foes in doubles and are currently 33rd nationally themselves with a sparkling 10-3 record.
The Bulldogs may have an all-time record fall as well this weekend. Gregor Ramskogler currently has 59 career dual match doubles wins and is one shy of tying the school record held by his former teammate Niclas Braun (2016-19).
Ramskogler has 81 overall doubles victories during his career and is tied with Matt Pledger (1994-97) and Malte Stropp (2010-14) for the fourth-most in Mississippi State annals. With one more win, Ramskogler will enter a third-place tie with Jeremy Bayon (1997-2000).
Tennessee Tech remains winless on the season at 0-7. The Golden Eagles were edged at Furman 4-3 during their last outing on Feb. 19.
The Bulldogs have only met Tennessee Tech twice, sweeping a twin bill at home 6-1 and 4-0 on Feb. 22, 2020.
UAB enters this afternoon's match at 6-2 and riding a sixmatch winning streak. The Blazers won at Wofford 7-0 during their last action on Feb. 19.
MSU owns a 31-1 record all-time against UAB, including a 30-1 mark at home.the Bulldogs have won 23 consecutive matches in the series and claimed a 6-1 victory in Starkville last season.
The Blazers' lone win against Mississippi State came in 1993.
Women’s Basketball
Mississippi State women's basketball's Jessika Carter was chosen one of three finalists for the Gillom Trophy, announced Thursday by the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame.
The Gillom Trophy is awarded annually to Mississippi's best female college basketball player. Angel Baker of Ole Miss and Dominique Davis of Southern Miss are joining Carter as a finalist.
This year's winner will be announced during a luncheon at the Golden Moon Casino at Pearl River Resort in Choctaw on Monday, March 6. Carter will be looking to join a list of Bulldog greats who have won this award since its inception in 2008. In the award's 16th year, a Mississippi State player has won the award nine times.
Carter was selected a finalist for the award for her strong play this season. She is having a career year under first-year head coach Sam Purcell. She is averaging a career-high 14.8 points per game to go along with her 7.6 rebounds per contest. She has blocked 55 shots through 25 games and is just six blocks from setting a new single-season career high. Carter has also established a career mark with 34 assists; her previous high was just 16 during the 2020-21 season while also being just seven steals away from a new career-high with 24.