Seven Wins On Day 1 Of MSU Bulldog Invitational

Friday, October 1

Starkville

Mississippi State

MSU Bulldog Invitational

Photo by: Chamberlain Smith/MSU Athletics

Seven Wins On Day 1 Of MSU Bulldog Invitational

October 01, 2021 | Men's Tennis

By: Logan Lowery, Assistant Coordinator/Communications

STARKVILLE – Mississippi State men's tennis will not begin officially competing collectively as a team until January.

But if Friday's match results were any indication, head coach Matt Roberts will be a happy man whenever they do. Roberts' squad posted seven wins on the first day of the MSU Bulldog Invitational matched up against players from Tulane.

"Everybody on all five courts problem solved," Roberts said. "I thought they had good energy on doubles. I try to tell them that they're machines, mental warriors and remind them that they're the man. Once they start feeding their positive dog, good things are going to happen. It was a great start, and we'll get back to work tomorrow."

MSU's players went 2-1 in doubles play on the day and followed up with a 5-1 showing in singles action.

The Bulldogs' sixth-ranked doubles team of Florian Broska and Gregor Ramskogler fell behind early on in their first action together this fall. But the tandem quickly found their groove and fought back for a 6-4 victory against Benji Jacobson and Billy Suarez.

"We started off kind of rusty and weren't as clean as we could have been," Ramskogler said. "But it definitely got better, and we just tried to stay on top in the points, come up clutch and we were able to."

State's other doubles duo that found success on Friday were Nemanja Malesevic and Davide Tortora. They had little difficulty dispatching Alex Bancila and Charlie Barry, 6-2.

Broska and Malesevic – the Bulldogs highest-ranked singles competitors at No. 27 and 36 respectively – each dropped their first sets but managed to battle back to finish in the win column.

Broska lost his first set to Suarez 7-6(8) in a tiebreaker but swept the next two sets 6-4, 6-3. Malesevic fell behind Flynn Kuenkler 6-4 after the first set but rallied to close out the match 6-2, 6-4.

"I'm just happy for all of the guys because we went down a few breaks very early," Ramskogler said. "We talked before the match that we wanted to work on our problem-solving ability. I definitely feel like we took a step forward with that today."

Tortora – ranked 54^th as a singles competitor - also needed three sets to defeat Luka Petrovic. Tortora won the first set 6-3 but dropped the second in a tiebreaker 7-6(3). The junior from Italy, however, bounced back for a 6-2 victory in the final set.

Ramskogler and Carles Hernandez each won their singles matches in straight sets. Ramskogler took both of his 6-4 over Bancila while Hernandez claimed victory 6-4, 6-3 against Rafael de Alba.

The Bulldogs only suffered two blemishes on the day. Hernandez and doubles partner Seth Richey fell 6-4 to Kuenkler and Luc Hoeijmans. Richey – who was making his collegiate debut after redshirting last season – lost in singles action to Jacobson 7-6(6), 6-3.

Mississippi State returns to the A.J. Pitts Tennis Centre on Saturday at 2 p.m. to take on players from Michigan. The Bulldogs will close out the event on Sunday against Alabama's contingent at 1 p.m.

"Playing in front of a crowd just gives you that extra boost of momentum," Ramskogler said. "It makes you try just that little bit harder. I thank everybody for coming out and hope we have a great crowd for Saturday and Sunday as well."

MSU Bulldog Invitational Day 1
Oct. 1, 2021
Doubles
Broska/Ramskogler (MSU) def. Jacobson/Suarez (TU) 6-4
Malesevic/Tortora (MSU) def. Bancila/Barry (TU) 6-2
Luc Hoeijmans/Kuenkler (TU) def. Hernandez/Richey (MSU) 6-4

Singles
Florian Broska (MSU) def. Billy Suarez (TU) 6-7(8), 6-4, 6-3
Nemanja Malesevic (MSU) def. Flynn Kuenkler (TU) 4-6, 6-2, 6-4
Carles Hernandez (MSU) def. Rafael de Alba (TU) 6-4, 6-3
Gregor Ramskogler (MSU) def. Alex Bancila (TU) 6-4, 6-4
Davide Tortora (MSU) def. Luka Petrovic (TU) 6-3, 6-7(3), 6-2
Benji Jacobson (TU) def. Seth Richey (MSU) 7-6(6), 6-3

For more information on the Bulldog men's tennis program, visit HailState.com or search for "HailStateMT" on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.