Mississippi State
Georgia
No. 22 MSU Drops Hard Fought 5-2 Battle At No. 12 Georgia
February 28, 2021 | Men's Tennis
ATHENS, Ga. – The 22nd-ranked Mississippi State men's tennis team fell in a fierce 5-2 battle to No. 12 Georgia in an afternoon affair Sunday at UGA's Dan Magill Tennis Complex.
With the setback, State fell to 9-3, 0-2 in SEC action while Georgia improved to 6-2, 1-2. UGA now holds a 59-10 all-time record against the Bulldogs (since 1969) and has taken the last three meetings between the teams.
Starting the day off, the teams would go to the wire in doubles with Georgia pulling out a tiebreaker to take the early 1-0 lead. On court 3, MSU's pair of Nemanja Malesevic and Nicolas Ocana fell to UGA's Baptiste Anselmo and Erik Grevelius 6-3. The Bulldogs would then even things up on court 1, where Alberto Colas and Giovanni Oradini took down Georgia's Philip Henning and Tyler Zink 7-5. Wrapping up doubles play would be court 2, where the MSU duo of Florian Broska and Gregor Ramskogler dropped their affair to Blake Croyder and Billy Rowe in a 7-6(2) breaker.
In singles play, UGA came out swinging and claimed the first set on five of the six courts to keep its momentum from doubles. But even at 3-1 down, State would fight to the end and nearly rally for the comeback.
Court 6 would finish first with the Bulldogs' Ramskogler leveling the score at 1-1 with a dominant 6-2, 6-1 victory over Georgia's Britton Johnston.
Wrapping up next was court 1, where UGA's 73rd-ranked Zink bested MSU's 36th ranked Oradini 6-3, 6-4. Extending Georgia's lead would be court 2 where the 18th-ranked Henning won – also by a 6-3, 6-4 score - over MSU's 87th-ranked Broska.
The last three matches were all very tight with MSU fighting back in all three second sets after dropping the first in each. But Georgia would ultimately get the clinching point it needed on court 4 where UGA's Rowe fended off MSU's Colas in a second-set tiebreaker to post a 6-3, 7-6(6) triumph.
The last two matches were then played out with the teams splitting the two contests. The MSU true freshman Malesevic would come back from a set down – and 4-2 in the third - to take down UGA's Croyder in 3-6, 6-1, 7-5 fashion. Wrapping up play was the No. 5 spot where UGA's Grevelius edged the Bulldog rookie Hernandez 6-2, 1-6, 7-5.
Next upon on the slate, the Bulldogs will return home to host No. 10 Texas A&M on Friday, March 5, a contest that will begin a five-match homestand for the Bulldogs. Match time is slated for 3 p.m.
No. 12 Georgia 5, No. 22 Mississippi State 2
February 28, 2021
Athens, Georgia – Dan Magill Tennis Complex
Doubles
1. Alberto Colas/Giovanni Oradini (MSU) def. Philip Henning/Tyler Zink (UGA) 7-5
2. Blake Croyder/Billy Rowe (UGA) def. Florian Broska/Gregor Ramskogler (MSU) 7-6(2)
3. Baptiste Anselmo/Erik Grevelius (UGA) def. Nemanja Malesevic/Nicolas Ocana (MSU) 6-3
Order of finish: 3,2,1
Singles
1. #73 Tyler Zink (UGA) def. #36 Giovanni Oradini (MSU) 6-3, 6-4
2. #18 Philip Henning (UGA) def. #87 Florian Broska (MSU) 6-3, 6-4
3. Nemanja Malesevic (MSU) def. Blake Croyder (UGA) 3-6, 6-1, 7-5
4. Billy Rowe (UGA) def. Alberto Colas (MSU) 6-3, 7-6(6)
5. Erik Grevelius (UGA) def. Carles Hernandez (MSU) 6-2, 1-6, 7-5
6. Gregor Ramskogler (MSU) def. Britton Johnston (UGA) 6-2, 6-1
Order of finish: 6,1,2,4,3,5
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Players Mentioned
