Mississippi State
Middle Tennessee
MSU Men’s Tennis Moves To 4-0 With Gritty 4-3 Win Over Blue Raiders
January 29, 2021 | Men's Tennis
STARKVILLE – Mississippi State's men's tennis team took the court against a tough Middle Tennessee squad Friday afternoon for what would be a great match that ended in the Bulldogs' favor in a 4-3 battle to the wire.
With the victory, State (4-0) claimed its third victory in a row over the Blue Raiders (2-2) and has now put up an impressive 18-2 record all-time in the series.
"We fully expected an intense battle out there with Middle Tennessee," said assistant coach Jake Jacoby. "They are an amazingly coached team, with a lot of good leadership on every court in singles and doubles. When they travel, or play at home, they are used to competing against teams in the Power Five, SEC, ACC and all kinds of programs like that. We are not that shocked it was a great battle today, and we are happy to come out on top."
State would drop a close doubles point to open the contest. On court 3, MSU's Giovanni Oradini would take the court for the first time this season with Nemanja Malesevic against Francisco Rocha and Max Rauch, falling 6-0 in the first match complete. On court 2, the 47th-ranked State duo of Alberto Colas and Gregor Ramskogler notched a dominating 6-2 victory over Chris Edge and Tom Moonen to even things. Wrapping up doubles, the 27th-ranked Bulldog duo of Florian Broska and Nicolas Ocana would drop a 6-3 affair to MTSU's Pavel Motl and Stijn Slump at the top spot and the Blue Raiders led 1-0 early on.
The Bulldogs quickly changed gears and asserted themselves on home soil to turn the tide, claiming three of the first four singles matches for a 3-2 advantage.
State's Colas made quick work of Slump, downing the Blue Raider 6-3, 6-1 at No. 3 for his sixth consecutive victory. On court 4, the rookie Malesevic would have a tough time against the MTSU senior Edge, as the experienced Blue Raider would claim that match 6-4, 6-2. Evening the score once again for the Bulldogs would be true freshman Carles Hernandez, as he ousted Blue Raider junior Sean Presson 6-4, 6-2 on court 5 to move to 4-0 as a Bulldog.
The Bulldogs would get their first lead of the day from court 2, where the 87th-ranked Broska would show true grit and determination by downing MTSU's Rocha 6-4, 6-2 to move to 4-0 in dual match singles play this season. Evening the match once again for the Blue Raiders would be Motl, who rallied to best MSU's Ramskogler in a three-set thriller 2-6, 6-2, 6-3 at the No. 5 position.
All eyes then turned to court 1, where the Bulldogs' 36th-ranked senior Oradini was battling hard in his first singles match for MSU since last spring. The veteran Bulldog stayed poised as Middle Tennessee's Moonen would take the Bulldog to two tiebreakers, with Oradini pulling them both out 7-6(2), 7-6(3) to clinch the team win for State.
"It was great to see Gio handle the moment and the pressure of the match well in this first college match of the season," head coach Matt Roberts said.
Next upon on the slate, the Bulldogs will entertain Tulane on Sunday at the Rula Tennis Pavilion at 12 p.m. The Green Wave (3-1) was edged 4-3 in a Friday affair at Alabama. The match will mark the sixth straight season the teams have met.
Mississippi State 4 , Middle Tennessee 3
January 29, 2021
Starkville, Miss. - Rula Tennis Pavilion
Doubles
1. Pavel Motl/Stijn Slump (MTSU) def. #28 Florian Broska/Nicolas Ocana (MSU) 6-3
2. #47 Alberto Colas/Gregor Ramskogler (MSU) def. Chris Edge/Tom Moonen (MTSU) 6-2
3. Max Rauch/Francisco Rocha (MTSU) def. Giovanni Oradini/Nemanja Malesevic (MSU) 6-0
Order of finish: 3,2,1
Singles
1. #36 Giovanni Oradini (MSU) def. Tom Moonen (MTSU) 7-6(2), 7-6(3)
2. #87 Florian Broska (MSU) def. Francisco Rocha (MTSU) 6-4, 6-2
3. Alberto Colas (MSU) def. Stijn Slump (MTSU) 6-3, 6-1
4. Chris Edge (MTSU) def. Nemanja Malesevic (MSU) 6-4, 6-2
5. Carles Hernandez (MSU) def. Sean Presson (MTSU) 6-3, 6-2
6. Pavel Motl (MTSU) def. Gregor Ramskogler (MSU) 2-6, 6-2, 6-3
Order of finish: 3,4,5,2,6,1
For more information on the Mississippi State men's tennis program, follow "HailStateMT" on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
Players Mentioned
