Mississippi State
Tennessee Tech
No. 21 MSU Wraps Up Undefeated Opening Weekend
January 12, 2020 | Men's Tennis
by Graham Murphree, Student Assistant/Communications
STARKVILLE – What started as a cold morning soon turned into a hot day for the Mississippi State men's tennis team. The Bulldogs once again fought off Tennessee Tech and cruised over UAB in dominant fashion to complete an undefeated opening weekend of 2020.
No. 21 MSU (4-0) ousted Tennessee Tech (0-2) as well as UAB (0-1) to conclude its opening weekend at State's A.J. Pitts Tennis Centre Sunday. With the victories, the Bulldogs extended the programs' home winning streak in regular season matches to 27.
"Tennessee Tech pushed us and made us feel uncomfortable in some spots and is exactly what we needed this time of year," MSU head coach Matt Roberts said. "I was really proud of our guys of how they played better as the weekend went on and built some confidence. They all continued to develop and work on their games whether they were down a set or up in their matches. I thought they did a great job of developing as the week went on. We improved in all areas this weekend, including making our lineup adjustments. This time of year it is important to see everyone on your roster compete and look at numerous doubles combinations. This weekend gave us a lot of answers moving forward."
"UAB has some really great players at the top of their lineup, so I thought Gio and Flo did a great job of dealing with those two guys. They are very good players. I think UAB and Tennessee Tech both have a great season ahead of them."
The Bulldogs will have a week of rest, recovery, and practice before jumping back into action Sunday, Jan. 19, traveling to battle Florida State in Tallahassee, Florida.
Tennessee Tech's pair of Riku Kubota and Lucca Silva opening Sunday's first match by downing Bulldogs Giovanni Oradini and Davide Tortora 6-2 at No. 2 doubles. Bulldogs Florian Broska and Nicolas Ocana then evened things up by ousting Evzen Holis and Carlos Vincente 6-3 on court 1. The doubles point came down to court 3 where State's Alberto Colas and Gregor Ramskogler bested Marc Mila and Rafael Tosetto to claim the match 6-3.
The Bulldogs carried the energy from doubles into singles. State's 15th ranked senior Oradini finished first, cruising past Tosetto 6-3, 6-1 at the top spot in the lineup. Right behind him would be Broska on court two as he rolled past the Golden Eagle Vicente 6-0, 6-4.
Like they did on Saturday, Tennessee Tech cut the State lead to 3-2 again with two consecutive wins. Elias Grubert fought past MSU's 101st-ranked Tortora 6-2, 7-6(6) on court 4. TTU's Kubota followed with a three-set victory over Bulldog true freshman Jonas Hartenstein 6-1, 4-6, 6-0 at No. 5.
With the match's outcome still very much in the balance with the final two contests of the day in third sets, State dug deep to pull out both affairs for the victory. The 2019 ITA Southern Regional Champion Ramskogler cruised in his third set to defeat Holis 6-4, 4-6, 6-1 at No. 3 and clinch the match. MSU freshman Isaac Becroft then finished off a three-set triumph of his own, fending off Silva 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 on court 6.
In the second match of the day, the Bulldogs showed dominance in their play by sweeping visiting UAB in perfect 7-0 fashion.
In doubles, the No. 2 tandem of Oradini and Stedman Strickland ousted the Blazer tandem of Parker El Safadi and Nikolai Manchev 6-1. On court three, the Bulldog duo of Colas and Ramskogler downed UAb's Parker Bradbary and Daniel Janko by the same score to clinch the doubles point. At the time of winning the doubles point, Broska and Ocana were tied at 3-3 against Michal Lusovsky and Roman Postolka at No. 1 when play was suspended.
In singles, the Bulldogs would claim five first sets to take a commanding advantage in the match and go on to the victory.
Getting things rolling would be Tortora, who rebounded from his earlier loss in the day to dominate Janko 6-1, 6-1 on court 4. Court six would finish next with Ocana sailing past UAB's El Safadi 6-4, 6-0. The sophomore Ramskogler then finished off a 6-2, 6-2 decision over Manchev at No. 3 to clinch the match for the Bulldogs.
The three remaining matches were also completed with MSU claiming wins in all.
In a tough marathon match on court two, the junior Broska fought back to prevail 4-6, 6-2, 1-0(6) over Blazer Michal Lusovsky, a late surge in the tiebreaker making the difference. After finding his rhythm, the MSU rookie Colas would battle to win 6-3, 6-4 over Pasini on court five. The last to finish would be MSU's senior All-American Oradini on court 1, pulling out a tough 6-2, 7-6(2) decision over UAB's Postolka.
No. 21 Mississippi State 5, Tennessee Tech 2
January 12, 2020
A.J. Pitts Tennis Centre – Starkville, Miss.
Doubles
1. Florian Broska/Nicolas Ocana (MSU) def. Evzen Holis/Carlos Vincente (TTU) 6-3
2. Riku Kubota/Lucca Silva (TTU) def. Giovanni Oradini/Davide Tortora (MSU) 6-2
3. Alberto Colas/Gregor Ramskogler (MSU) def. Marc Mila/Rafael Tosetto (TTU) 6-3
Order of finish: 2,1,3
Singles
1. #15 Giovanni Oradini (MSU) def. Rafael Tosetto (TTU) 6-3, 6-1
2. Florian Broska (MSU) def. Carlos Vicente (TTU) 6-0, 6-4
3. Gregor Ramskogler (MSU) def. Evzen Holis (TTU) 6-4, 4-6, 6-1
4. Elias Grubert (TTU) def. #101 Davide Tortora (MSU) 6-2, 7-6(6)
5. Riku Kubota (TTU) def. Jonas Hartenstein (MSU) 6-1, 4-6, 6-0
6. Isaac Becroft (MSU) def. Lucca Silva (TTU) 6-4, 3-6, 6-4
Order of finish: 1,2,4,5,3,6
No. 21 Mississippi State 7, UAB 0
January 12, 2020
A.J. Pitts Tennis Centre – Starkville, Miss.
Doubles
1. Florian Broska/Nicolas Ocana vs. Michal Lusovsky/Roman Postolka (UAB) 3-3 (susp.)
2. Giovanni Oradini/Stedman Strickland def. Parker El Safadi/Nikolai Manchev (UAB) 6-1
3. Alberto Colas/Gregor Ramskogler (MSU) def. Parker Bradbary/Daniel Janko (UAB) 6-1
Order of finish: 2,3
Singles
1. #15 Giovanni Oradini (MSU) def. Roman Postolka (UAB) 6-2, 7-6(2)
2. Florian Broska (MSU) def. Michal Lusovsky (UAB) 4-6, 6-2, 1-0(6)
3. Gregor Ramskogler (MSU) def. Nikolai Manchev (UAB) 6-2, 6-2
4. #101 Davide Tortora (MSU) def. Daniel Janko (UAB) 6-1, 6-1
5. Alberto Colas (MSU) def. Giovani Pasini (UAB) 6-3, 6-4
6. Nicolas Ocana (MSU) def. Tom El Safadi (UAB) 6-4, 6-0
Order of finish: 4,6,3,2,5,1
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Players Mentioned
