Friday, February 26
Knoxville, Tenn.
12:00 PM
Mississippi State
at
Tennessee
Photo by: Mississippi State Athletics
No. 22 Bulldogs Set For Top 25 Battle At No. 3 Tennessee Friday
February 25, 2021 | Men's Tennis
STARKVILLE – Riding a four-match win streak, the 22nd-ranked Mississippi State men's tennis team is set to open the always-taxing SEC slate Friday afternoon, traveling to Knoxville, Tennessee, to challenge No. 3 Tennessee.
The Bulldogs (9-1, 0-0 SEC) will meet the Volunteers (12-1, 1-0 SEC) at 12 p.m. CT Friday at UT's Goodfriend Tennis Center.
Live Video/Stats
Both live video and live scoring will be available for Friday's contest courtesy of Tennessee.
MSU In The Oracle ITA Rankings…
The Bulldogs are currently ranked 22nd nationally as a team by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association in this week's latest poll (February 24). In the ITA national singles rankings, State is led by senior and two-time All-American Giovanni Oradini at No. 36 in the country. Following right behind is veteran Florian Broska at No. 87 nationally in singles. In doubles, the Bulldogs have two duos currently ranked with Broska and freshman Nicolas Ocana holding the nation's No. 28 spot. Rounding out the rankings is the duo of Alberto Colas and Gregor Ramskogler, coming in at 47th nationally.
Know The Foe: Tennessee
No. 3 Tennessee will enter Friday's match with a 12-1 mark after defeating No. 12 Georgia 4-2 on the road last Friday to open its 2021 SEC schedule. The Vols have six wins over Top 20 teams thus far this season and their only setback came to current national No. 1, North Carolina. UT is led at the top of their lineup by 24th-ranked senior Adam Walton. Junior Pat Harper comes in at No. 124 in the country.
Tennessee currently holds a 35-22 all-time record against the Bulldogs (since 1971). In the teams' last matchup, the Bulldogs dropped a tough contest on the road last season in Knoxville, with the Volunteers coming out on top 6-1. Prior to that affair, State had posted six straight wins over the Volunteers in the series.
Need To Know…
In its only match last weekend, State posted a hard-fought 5-2 win on the road at Tulane. After claiming a tight doubles point, extending the Bulldogs lead to 2-1 would be court 4, where MSU's Colas cruised comfortably over Tulane's Billy Suarez 6-0, 6-2. Extending the Bulldog lead to 3-1 - in a huge momentum swing in the match - would be Malesevic, who rallied from a set down to defeat the Green Wave's Luis Erlenbusch 3-6, 6-3, 6-0 at No. 3. Clinching the match for State would be Hernandez who took down TU's Fynn Kuenkler 7-6(4), 6-3 after a critical first set at No. 5. Broska added the final point of the day for MSU in a three-set comeback victory on court 2.
Next Up For MSU…
Following Friday's affair at Tennessee, the Bulldogs will close out this weekend's SEC road trip with a date with No. 12 Georgia Sunday in Athens, Georgia, at UGA's Dan Magill Tennis Complex. Match time is slated for 12 p.m. CT. Live video and stats will be available for the match via Georgia.
For more information on the Mississippi State men's tennis program, follow "HailStateMT" on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
The Bulldogs (9-1, 0-0 SEC) will meet the Volunteers (12-1, 1-0 SEC) at 12 p.m. CT Friday at UT's Goodfriend Tennis Center.
Live Video/Stats
Both live video and live scoring will be available for Friday's contest courtesy of Tennessee.
MSU In The Oracle ITA Rankings…
The Bulldogs are currently ranked 22nd nationally as a team by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association in this week's latest poll (February 24). In the ITA national singles rankings, State is led by senior and two-time All-American Giovanni Oradini at No. 36 in the country. Following right behind is veteran Florian Broska at No. 87 nationally in singles. In doubles, the Bulldogs have two duos currently ranked with Broska and freshman Nicolas Ocana holding the nation's No. 28 spot. Rounding out the rankings is the duo of Alberto Colas and Gregor Ramskogler, coming in at 47th nationally.
Know The Foe: Tennessee
No. 3 Tennessee will enter Friday's match with a 12-1 mark after defeating No. 12 Georgia 4-2 on the road last Friday to open its 2021 SEC schedule. The Vols have six wins over Top 20 teams thus far this season and their only setback came to current national No. 1, North Carolina. UT is led at the top of their lineup by 24th-ranked senior Adam Walton. Junior Pat Harper comes in at No. 124 in the country.
Tennessee currently holds a 35-22 all-time record against the Bulldogs (since 1971). In the teams' last matchup, the Bulldogs dropped a tough contest on the road last season in Knoxville, with the Volunteers coming out on top 6-1. Prior to that affair, State had posted six straight wins over the Volunteers in the series.
Need To Know…
- Mississippi State is playing its 98th season of men's tennis, with Matt Roberts in his seventh season at the helm.
- The Bulldogs enter SEC play at 9-1 overall after earning a tough 5-2 victory at Tulane this past Sunday.
- MSU is currently ranked 22nd nationally as a team by the ITA in this week's poll.
- Under head coach Matt Roberts, MSU is 124-40 overall in his seven seasons at the helm of the Bulldogs.
- Roberts is 71-11 at home, 8-1 in 2021.
- Leading the Maroon and White with an 11-match win streak, MSU's Alberto Colas was named Co-SEC Newcomer of the Week this week.
- Florian Broska is currently on a nine-match win streak and, since late October, has won 12 of his last 14 singles matches, eight of them in straight sets. In his last five outings, Broska has claimed three ranked victories.
- True freshman Nemanja Malesevic leads the team in total victories (23) thus far in 2020-21.
- Rookie Carles Hernandez is 7-2 in singles thus far as a Bulldog.
- As a team, State is an impressive 62-20 (46-11 singles, 16-9 doubles) in all dual matches it has played in 2021.
In its only match last weekend, State posted a hard-fought 5-2 win on the road at Tulane. After claiming a tight doubles point, extending the Bulldogs lead to 2-1 would be court 4, where MSU's Colas cruised comfortably over Tulane's Billy Suarez 6-0, 6-2. Extending the Bulldog lead to 3-1 - in a huge momentum swing in the match - would be Malesevic, who rallied from a set down to defeat the Green Wave's Luis Erlenbusch 3-6, 6-3, 6-0 at No. 3. Clinching the match for State would be Hernandez who took down TU's Fynn Kuenkler 7-6(4), 6-3 after a critical first set at No. 5. Broska added the final point of the day for MSU in a three-set comeback victory on court 2.
Next Up For MSU…
Following Friday's affair at Tennessee, the Bulldogs will close out this weekend's SEC road trip with a date with No. 12 Georgia Sunday in Athens, Georgia, at UGA's Dan Magill Tennis Complex. Match time is slated for 12 p.m. CT. Live video and stats will be available for the match via Georgia.
For more information on the Mississippi State men's tennis program, follow "HailStateMT" on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
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