Mississippi State
Oklahoma
MSU Men’s Tennis Blanks No. 22 Oklahoma To Close 2020 ITA Kickoff Weekend
January 26, 2020 | Men's Tennis
by Graham Murphree, Student Assistant/Communications
STARKVILLE – What started out as a cloudy morning quickly turned into sunshine at the A.J. Pitts Tennis Centre as the Mississippi State men's tennis team shut out No. 22 Oklahoma, 4-0, to conclude the Bulldogs' play in the 2020 ITA Kickoff Weekend.
MSU improved to 5-2 overall with the victory while Oklahoma fell to 3-3. State now leads the series 3-2 and Sunday's contest was the first-ever meeting between the teams in Starkville.
State rolled off to a quick lead in doubles as the court one duo of Florian Broska and Nicolas Ocana notched a 6-4 victory over Stefano Tsortiotis and Jake Van Emburgh. The Sooners would then even things, claiming court three with Alex Martinez and Max Stewart winning 6-4 over Bulldogs Alberto Colas and Gregor Ramskogler.
Court two would then come down to the wire. The State duo of Giovanni Oradini and Stedman Strickland battled back from love-40 down, trailing 6-5 in the match, to come back to tie it all at 6-6 with four first serves from Strickland and a couple of touch volleys by Oradini. The Bulldog duo would dominate in the tiebreak to defeat OU's Mason Beiler and Justin Schlageter 7-6(3) for the opening point.
"This week was really good for our team.", said Mississippi State head coach Matt Roberts, "We built confidence in every spot, as well as trust in each other in how we can compete. Everyone competed so well today at every spot and that was our goal. It's great for our team moving forward that we know - if we just keep competing - even if we are not having our best day, good things are going to happen."
The Bulldogs continued the momentum into singles, claiming four first sets.
After taking down the nation's 12th-ranked player Saturday, Broska looked to continue his dominant fire power as he faced Oklahoma's No. 50 Mason Beiler. The Bulldog did just that, making quick work of the Sooner in a comfortable 6-2, 6-1 victory at No. 2 singles for a 2-0 MSU lead.
Up next in the win column for the Bulldogs would be the true freshman Colas as he dominated 116th-ranked Sooner Jochen Bertsch 6-2, 6-0 at No. 5. It was the first ranked win of the young Bulldog's career.
State's final victory came from none other than the 15th-ranked Oradini. The senior All-American would battle shot for shot against OU's Van Emburgh at No. 1, winning the last three games of the match to defeat the Sooner 7-5, 6-3 and clinch the match for the Bulldogs.
"Giovanni (Oradini) did a great job staying focused and locked in on his court," Roberts said. "He made a great push in the second set. When the pressure was on him, he did a great job sticking to the game plan and making that last push."
"Everyone had a goal to work together and be consistent." Oradini said. "We all did a good job with all nine courts. Our team did a good job staying there and being tough every point and playing the best way we can. We controlled what we could control. The results carried out, so it was a positive day for us and this is just the beginning. We are building now, so it's a positive day."
At the time of Oradini's clincher, the remaining three matches were suspended. On court 3, Ramskogler trailed Oklahoma's Mark Mandlik 2-6, 6-3, 2-1. At No. 4, the 101st-ranked freshman Tortora led the Sooners' Martinez 6-2, 1-6, 3-2. And at the No. 6 spot, Bulldog rookie Isaac Becroft trailed OU's Schlageter early in the third set 6-4, 3-6, 1-0.
Next Up For MSU…
The Bulldogs will hit the road to the Sunshine state to face South Florida on Friday, Jan. 31, in Tampa at 12:30 p.m. CT, before meeting Miami on Sunday, Feb. 2, at 11 a.m. CT.
Mississippi State 4, No. 22 Oklahoma 0
ITA Kickoff Weekend
January 26, 2020
Starkville, Miss. - A.J. Pitts Tennis Centre
Doubles
1. Florian Broska/Nicolas Ocana (MSU) def. Stefano Tsorotiotis/Jake Van Emburgh (OU) 6-4
2. #Giovanni Oradini/Stedman Strickland (MSU) def. Mason Beiler/Justin Schlageter (OU) 7-6(3)
3. Alex Martinez/Max Stewart (OU) def. Alberto Colas/Gregor Ramskogler (MSU) 6-4
Order of finish: 1,3,2
Singles
1. #15 Giovanni Oradini (MSU) def. Jake Van Emburgh (OU) 7-5, 6-3
2. Florian Broska (MSU) def. #50 Mason Beiler (OU) 6-2, 6-1
3. Mark Mandlik (OU) vs. Gregor Ramskogler (MSU) 6-2, 3-6, 2-1 (susp.)
4. #101 Davide Tortora (MSU) vs. Alex Martinez (OU) 6-2, 1-6, 3-2 (susp.)
5. Alberto Colas (MSU) def. #116 Jochen Bertsch (OU) 6-2, 6-0
6. Justin Schlageter (OU) vs. Isaac Becroft (MSU) 6-4, 3-6, 1-0 (susp.)
Order of finish: 2,5,1
For more information on the Mississippi State men's tennis program, follow "HailStateMT" on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
Players Mentioned
