Mississippi State
Arkansas
No. 41 MSU Opens SEC Play With Gutsy 5-2 Victory Over Arkansas
February 28, 2020 | Men's Tennis
by Graham Murphree, Student Assistant/Communications
STARKVILLE - The 41st-ranked Mississippi State men's tennis team pulled out a hard-fought win over the Razorbacks of Arkansas in a 5-2 decision at the A.J. Pitts Tennis Centre Friday afternoon to begin SEC play.
With the victory, State (9-4, 1-0 SEC) claimed its 12th victory in a row against Arkansas (4-5, 0-1) and extended its win streak in SEC home matches to 16, a string dating back to the 2017 campaign.
"I was really pleased with how we problem-solved in doubles today to start the match." MSU head coach Matt Roberts said. "We didn't hit the panic button, we stayed tough and we kept working together. That was huge for the match today."
The Bulldogs charged back in doubles after Arkansas mounted 3-0 leads at the top two positions. But the first victory came on court three with Alberto Colas and Gregor Ramskogler defeating Josh Dominguez Alonso and Melvin Manuel 6-4, pushing their win streak to five straight. Court two then clinched the doubles point when Giovanni Oradini and Stedman Strickland overcame their early 3-0 deficit to oust UA's Alex Reco and Nico Rousset, also by a 6-4 margin.
"Really proud of Stedman…he was really building his confidence," Roberts said. "Him taking the deuce deciding point and getting that break…that was huge for him. And Giovanni got more active at the net - more poaching on Stedman's serve - that really helped us at two."
At the time of the clinch, the No. 34 duo of Florian Broska and Nicolas Ocana had battled back from 3-0 down, trailing just 4-3 to Enrique Paya and Maxim Verboven at No. 1.
The Bulldogs would get off to a rolling start in singles, claiming the first set on four of the six courts. But the Razorbacks would make a charge as four matches went to third sets to ultimately decide the match.
The All-American senior and 39th-ranked Oradini quickly put the Bulldogs up 2-0 in the match when he cruised to a 6-1, 6-1 triumph over UA's Verboven at the top position.
A good bit later in the match, court six finished next with Arkansas' Paya holding off MSU's Ocana 7-6(5), 6-4. MSU led 2-1.
With the match still very much in the balance, the Bulldogs would then claim the next two courts – both in three-set affairs - to clinch the match.
The sophomore Ramskogler battled his way to a 6-1, 3-6, 6-4 victory over UA's Alonso at the No. 3 spot to push the Bulldogs to a 3-1 lead. The reigning SEC Player of the Week claimed a critical deciding point serving at 4-4 in the third set. He then went on to break Alonso for a pivotal victory in the match.
The clinching match then came from the true freshman Colas on court 5. The rookie rallied from a set down to down Arkansas's Manuel 5-7, 6-2, 6-2.
"I was really pleased Giovanni stayed focused and went to work today," Roberts said. "Being a senior, we expect that from him and he did a great job of taking care of business today. Gregor and Alberto each did a great job making a push in the third set. "
After the match clincher, the teams split the remaining two contests. Bulldog true freshman Davide Tortora claimed a marathon victory over Rousset at No. 4 in 6-3, 4-6, 6-3 fashion and State's 73rd-ranked Broska was edged by 111th-ranked Razorback Reco on court 2 in a tough 7-6(2), 4-6, 6-4 decision to close the day.
"We are building, getting better and we are getting closer as a team with all these matches," Roberts concluded. "We are just going to keep building on these moments of adversity. We are excited for these next matches. Tennessee and Georgia are going to be great tests for us on the road and we are ready."
MSU will head to Knoxville, Tennessee, next Friday, March 6, to face the 10th-ranked Tennessee Volunteers at 5 p.m. CT before travelling to Athens, Georgia, on Sunday, March 8, to face No. 35 Georgia at 12 p.m. CT.
No. 41 Mississippi State 5, Arkansas 2
February 29, 2020
A.J. Pitts Tennis Centre – Starkville, Miss.
Doubles
1. #34 Florian Broska/Nicolas Ocana (MSU) vs. Enrique Paya/Maxim Verboven (UA) 3-4, susp.
2. Giovanni Oradini/Stedman Strickland (MSU) def. Alex Reco/Nico Rousset (UA) 6-4
3. Alberto Colas/Gregor Ramskogler (MSU) def. Josh Dominguez Alonso/Melvin Manuel (UA) 6-4
Order of finish: 3,2
Singles
1. #39 Giovanni Oradini (MSU) def. Maxim Verboven (UA) 6-1, 6-1
2. Alex Reco (UA) def. #73 Florian Broska (MSU) 7-6(2), 4-6, 6-4
3. Gregor Ramskogler (MSU) def. Jose Dominguez Alonso (UA) 6-1, 3-6, 6-4
4. Davide Tortora (MSU) def. Nico Rousset (UA) 6-3, 4-6, 6-3
5. Alberto Colas (MSU) def. Melvin Manuel (UA) 5-7, 6-2, 6-2
6. Enrique Paya (UA) def. Nicolas Ocana (MSU) 7-6(5), 6-4
Order of finish: 1,6,3,5,4,2
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Players Mentioned
