Mississippi State
South Alabama
Men’s Tennis Moves To 8-1 With 5-2 Victory Over South Alabama
February 13, 2021 | Men's Tennis
STARKVILLE – It was an afternoon full of emotion and fight on the court as the Mississippi State men's tennis team (8-1) produced a tough battle on all nine courts throughout Saturday, finally claiming a 5-2 victory over visiting South Alabama (1-3) at the Rula Tennis Pavilion.
With the win, State extended its overall record against South Alabama to 16-7 (since 1969). MSU has claimed the last five meetings between the two programs and 12 out of the last 15.
The Bulldogs would start with momentum on their side as the Maroon and White claimed the opening doubles point to get the day started. On court 3, MSU's pair of Florian Broska and Gregor Ramskogler cruised over USA's Jordan Coutinho and Leon Pet'ko 6-1. On court 2, the young Bulldog duo of Nemanja Malesevic and Davide Tortora would outfire the Jaguar tandem of Sebastian Collard and Julien Evrard to claim the match 6-3, clinching the doubles point and winning their fifth match in a row together. At the time of the clinch, play on court 1 was suspended where Bulldogs Alberto Colas and Giovanni Oradini were trailing 5-4, on serve, to USA's 52nd-ranked team of Loic Cloes and Clement Marzol.
In singles action, South Alabama did not back down, taking three of the six first sets to apply some pressure to the Bulldogs. However, State would claim three of the first four matches complete to clinch the victory.
Wrapping up first would be court 3, where the MSU true freshman Malesevic was bested by USA's Marzol in a 6-3, 6-3 decision, tying the match at 1-1.
Extending the Bulldogs lead to 2-1 would be court 6, where Tortora ousted the Jaguars' Coutinho 6-3, 6-3 for his fifth win in a row. Finishing immediately after and pushing the Bulldog lead to 3-1 would be true freshman Carles Hernandez, who fired past USA's Martin Bugaj at the No. 5 position to claim a 6-4, 6-2 victory to improve to 6-2 in his first semester as a Bulldog.
Clinching the match for State would be Colas who battled back from down a set to USA's Collard on court 4 to cruise into the win column with a 3-6, 6-2, 6-1 three-set triumph. The victory extended his team-leading singles win streak to 10 consecutive matches.
On court 1, USA's Evrard would post a 6-1, 4-6, 6-2 upset over the Bulldogs 36th-ranked Oradini for the Jaguars only other point of the afternoon. Wrapping up play would be State's 87th-ranked Broska on court 2, where the Bulldog veteran ousted the Jaguars' Cloes 6-4, 3-6, 6-1 to remain undefeated (8-0) in dual match singles action this year.
Next upon on the slate, the Bulldogs will prepare to open 2021 SEC action, hosting Arkansas this Friday, February 19.
Mississippi State 5, South Alabama 2February 13, 2021
Starkville, Miss. - Rula Tennis Pavilion
Doubles
1. #52 Loic Cloes/Clement Marzol (USA) vs. Alberto Colas/Giovanni Oradini (MSU) 5-4 (susp.)
2. Nemanja Malesevic/Davide Tortora (MSU) def. Sebastian Collard/Julien Evrard (USA) 6-3
3. Florian Broska/Gregor Ramskogler (MSU) def. Jordan Coutinho/Leon Pet'ko (USA) 6-1
Order of finish: 3,2
Singles
1. Julien Evrard (USA) def. #36 Giovanni Oradini (MSU) 6-1, 4-6, 6-2
2. #87 Florian Broska (MSU) def. Loic Cloes (USA) 6-4, 3-6, 6-1
3. Clement Marzol (USA) def. Nemanja Malesevic (MSU) 6-3, 6-3
4. Alberto Colas (MSU) def. Sebastian Collard (USA) 3-6, 6-2, 6-1
5. Carles Hernandez (MSU) def. Martin Bugaj (USA) 6-4, 6-2
6. Davide Tortora (MSU) def. Jordan Coutinho (USA) 6-3, 6-3
Order of finish: 3,6,5,4,1,2
For more information on the Mississippi State men's tennis program, follow "HailStateMT" on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
Players Mentioned
