No. 3 Texas knew it would get a fight in its first trip to Starkville, Miss., in three decades. It got six of them, as every singles match went the distance.

Texas freshman Lucas Marionneau delivered the clincher at No. 6 singles as the Longhorns topped the No. 10 Mississippi State Bulldogs 4-3 on Monday morning at the Rula Tennis Pavilion. 

The freshman dropped the opening set to junior Roberto Ferrer Guimaraes but responded with a composed second set to force a decider. In the third, Ferrer Guimaraes surged ahead late, but Marionneau broke back and won the final three games to secure a 3-6, 6-4, 7-5 victory and silence the home crowd.

With the win, Texas improved to 11–3 overall and 2–0 in Southeastern Conference play.

Texas trailed 0-1 entering singles after dropping the doubles point against Mississippi State. Though the Bulldogs took the early edge in the marathon, the Longhorns responded with poise up and down the lineup.

Longhorn senior Sebastian Gorzny, ranked No. 3 nationally, steadied Texas at the top spot. He outlasted then-No. 45-ranked senior Benito Sanchez Martinez in three sets, closing strong in the third to keep the Longhorns within striking distance.

Texas freshman Kalin Ivanovski followed with a ranked win of his own at No. 2, defeating then-No. 6 nationally ranked senior Petar Jovanovic in three sets. Ivanovski jumped out early, regrouped after dropping the second set and controlled the final stretch to hand Texas a 2-1 lead.

Sophomore Oliver Ojakaar added another gritty point at No. 5 singles. After splitting the first two sets, Ojakaar pulled away in the third to move the Longhorns within one game of winning.

Mississippi State refused to fade away — the Bulldogs claimed matches at courts three and four to even the team score at 3-3, sending the decision to Court 6, where Marionneau got the clinching point.

The win marks Texas’ fourth top-10 triumph this month and its first victory in Starkville since the teams met there in 1996. 

Head coach Bruce Berque’s group, fresh off the program’s first ITA National Team Indoor Championship last week, continues to prove it can win tight matches away from Austin. 

After opening SEC play with a 6-1 win at Alabama, the Longhorns showed another layer of resilience with the win on Monday.

Texas travels to Columbia, S.C., later this week, looking to carry its unbeaten SEC start into the heart of conference play.