HUNTSVILLE, ALA. – Jax State men's tennis begins a new season on the road this weekend. The Gamecocks will usher in the Michael Helms era in Huntsville, Ala., with a match against Alabama A&M on Saturday at 1 p.m.
Helms took over the men's program this fall and immediately made an impact with impressive showings at the Mercer Gridiron Classic, ITA Fall Regionals, Samford invitational, and Lipscomb Invitational. Plenty of Gamecocks had a good fall season, but the doubles team of
Alin Fatu and
Marko Milosavljevic may have had the best showings as they qualified to compete as the Conference USA doubles representative at the 2024 ITA Conference Masters Championships after reaching the round of 16 at the ITA Regionals at LSU in October.
With Fatu and Milosavljevic returning for the spring season, the Gamecocks have eight veterans of the program on the squad. The Red-and-White have seniors
Logan Haga and
Charlie Penman, juniors
Lucius Soller,
Matei Palcau, and Fatu, sophomores
Aman Dahiya, Milosavljevic, and
Zach Murphy all returning from last season.
Milosavljevic and Murphy were honored for their play as a doubles pair last year. The duo was named to the CUSA's All-Conference Doubles-Second Team. Milosavljevic and Murphy went 9-9 together, including a victory in the semifinals of the CUSA tournament against Liberty to clinch the doubles point for the Gamecocks on April 20.
Meanwhile, Jax State welcomes Wagner sophomore transfer
David Krasner and freshman
Timo De Visser to the fold for the 2024-25 season.
Alabama A&M is coming off a 6-12 season in 2024, but the Bulldogs went 5-1 in Southwestern Athletic Conference play. The Bulldogs were beaten narrowly by Jackson State in a 4-3 Semifinal match in the SWAC tournament to end their season a year ago.
Alabama A&M returns six players from last season. Two of their returners, Kai Cowcher and Freddie Lawrence, were on the All-Southwestern Athletic Conference Second Team last year. Cowcher was also on the 2024 SWAC Men's Tennis All-Tournament team thanks to his efforts in the conference tournament.
Following the match against Alabama A&M the Gamecocks will host Eastern Kentucky on Feb. 7 for their home opener. The Gamecocks were originally scheduled to take on Gardner-Webb Friday at home, but the threat of inclement weather forced that match to be canceled.
To stay up-to-date with the Gamecocks, follow their Facebook (Jacksonville State Men's Tennis), Instagram (@JaxStateMTEN), and X (@JaxStateMTEN) accounts.
