No. 41 MSU Men’s Tennis Drops SEC Road Opener To No. 19 Tennessee

Friday, March 6

Knoxville, Tenn.

5:00 PM

Mississippi State

Tennessee

The MSU true freshman Colas broke up UT’s shutout attempt as the Bulldog battled back from a set down to defeat Hussey 5-7, 6-3, 1-0(6) at the No. 5 position.

Photo by: Mississippi State Athletics

No. 41 MSU Men’s Tennis Drops SEC Road Opener To No. 19 Tennessee

March 06, 2020 | Men's Tennis

by Graham Murphree, Student Assistant/Communications

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. - The 41^st-ranked Mississippi State men's tennis team fell 6-1 to No. 19 Tennessee in an evening affair Friday at UT's Goodfriend Tennis Center.

State (9-5, 1-1 SEC) fell to Tennessee (12-2, 1-1 SEC) for the first time since 2014, the Bulldogs having taken the last six meetings between the teams prior to Friday's matchup.

In doubles action, Bulldogs Giovanni Oradini and Stedman Strickland dropped a 6-3 affair to Volunteers Pat Harper and Mark Wallner at the No. 2 position. Finishing next would be Martim Prata and Adam Walton as the Volunteer duo defeated the 75^th-ranked MSU pair of Alberto Colas and Gregor Ramskogler 6-4 at No. 3. At the time of the clinch, the No. 43 State duo of Florian Broska and Nicolas Ocana trailed 4-3 to Giles Hussey and Andrew Rogers on court 1.

In singles play, the Volunteers came out strong and claimed the first set on four of the six courts.

Court 2 would finish first with UT's Prata downing No. 89 Broska 6-3, 6-2. Following would be the No. 3 spot where Volunteer Luca Wiedenmann bested State's Ramskogler 6-1, 6-3. Court 4 would clinch the match for Tennessee as Rogers defeated MSU rookie Davide Tortora 6-3, 6-4.

All remaining matches were then played out.

UT's Pat Harper upended State's Ocana 6-3, 6-4 on court 6. The MSU true freshman Colas then broke up UT's shutout attempt as the Bulldog battled back from a set down to defeat Hussey 5-7, 6-3, 1-0(6) at the No. 5 position. Court 1 would wrap up play for the night with Tennessee's 31^st-ranked Walton outlasting MSU's No. 43 Oradini 6-7(5), 6-3, 1-0(4).

Next Up For MSU …
A battle against the No. 10 team in the nation is next on the docket for MSU, as the Bulldogs take on perennial SEC power No. 10 Georgia in Athens, Georgia, Sunday at 12 p.m. CT. State has taken two of the last three meetings with UGA, including the last meeting in Athens in 2018.

No. 19 Tennessee 6, No. 41 Mississippi State 1
March 6, 2020
Goodfriend Tennis Center – Knoxville, Tenn.

Doubles
1. Giles Hussey/Andrew Rogers (UT)vs. #43 Florian Broska/Nicolas Ocana (MSU) 4-3 (susp.)
2. Pat Harper/Mark Wallner (UT) def. Giovanni Oradini/Stedman Strickland (MSU) 6-3
3. Marim Prata/Adam Walton (UT) def. #75 Alberto Colas/Gregor Ramskogler (MSU) 6-4
Order of finish: 2,3

Singles
1. #31 Adam Walton (UT) def. #43 Giovanni Oradini (MSU) 6-7(5), 6-3, 1-0(4)
2. Martim Prata (UT) def. #89 Florian Broska (MSU) 6-3, 6-2
3. Luca Wiedenmann (UT) def. Gregor Ramskogler (MSU) 6-1, 6-3
4. Andrew Rogers (UT) def. Davide Tortora (MSU) 6-3, 6-4
5. Alberto Colas (MSU) def. Giles Hussey (UT) 5-7, 6-3, 1-0(6)
6. Pat Harper (UT) def. Nicolas Ocana (MSU) 6-3, 6-4
Order of finish: 2,3,4,6,5,1

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