Freshman Davide Tortora Wins White Draw Consolation At Duke Bonk Invitational

Sunday, September 22

Cary, N.C.

All Day

Mississippi State

Duke Bonk Invitational

Freshman Davide Tortora wins first collegiate consolation final

Freshman Davide Tortora Wins White Draw Consolation At Duke Bonk Invitational

September 22, 2019 | Men's Tennis

by Graham Murphree, Student Assistant/Communications

Cary, N.C./Milwaukee, Wisc. – True freshman Davide Tortora starred on the final day of play for the Mississippi State men's tennis team at the Duke Bonk Invitational.

September 22 is not only the first day that Tortora won his first finals match as a Bulldog, but it also his birthday. Tortora came through in making the day even more memorable, fighting off William & Mary's Joseph Brailovsky 7-5, 6-4 in the consolation finals of the tournament's White Draw.

"He (Tortora) has learned so much quickly." said Mississippi State head coach Matt Roberts. "He has learned how to take returns early, how and when to move in and out of the court in the rally, how to take time away, where to serve and why, and how to prepare on a more professional level."

In State's only other action in the Duke-hosted event, junior Florian Broska took on Virginia Tech's Michael Shepheard in the fifth-place match in the Blue draw. Broska and Shepheard fought tooth-and-nail in the first, the Hokie finally taking it by a tight 7-6(5) decision. He would go on to claim the second 6-4 and the match.

Nearly 1,000 miles away in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, a veteran and another up-and-coming Bulldog also concluded weekend play in their respective draws at the 44^th Annual Milwaukee Classic.

Senior Giovanni Oradini, seeded second in the event and ranked 24^th nationally, started things off for the Maroon and White as he met the No. 7 seed Mor Bulis of Southern California in the singles quarterfinals. Bulis ended the MSU All-American's great weekend run with a 6-2, 6-4 victory.

In an extra consolation match, State freshman Nicolas Ocana faced Pepperdine's Tim Zeitvogel. The rookie showed determination as he pushed the first frame to 5-all, but ultimately dropped the set 7-5 and the match 7-5, 6-2.

Up Next for MSU…
The Bulldogs now prepare for the ITA All-American Championships (Tulsa, Oklahoma) and the Georgia Tech Invite (Atlanta, Georgia), both to be held during the second week of October.

For more information on the Mississippi State men's tennis program, follow "HailStateMT" on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

MSU at the Duke Bonk Invitational
September 22, 2019 – Cary, North Carolina

SINGLES
White Draw (Consolation)
Finals - Davide Tortora (MSU) [1] def. Joseph Brailovsky (William & Mary) 7-5, 6-4

Blue Draw
Fifth Place Bracket - Michael Shepheard (Virginia Tech) def. Florian Broska (MSU) 7-6(5), 6-4

MSU at the 44^th Milwaukee Tennis Classic
September 20, 2019 – Milwaukee, Wisconsin

SINGLES
Main Draw
Quarterfinals - Mor Bulis (Southern California) [7] def. #24 Giovanni Oradini [2] 6-2, 6-4

Consolation
Tim Zeitvogel (Pepperdine) def. Nicolas Ocana (MSU) 7-5, 6-2

ITA National rankings precede player names; tournament seedings are in brackets