Mississippi State
TCU
MSU Men’s Tennis Drops Gritty 4-1 Battle Against No. 3 TCU
February 05, 2021 | Men's Tennis
STARKVILLE – The Mississippi State men's tennis team (5-1) produced a tough battle on all nine courts throughout Friday evening before ultimately falling in a 4-1 decision to visiting No. 3 TCU (5-0) at the Rula Tennis Pavilion.
With the win, TCU now leads the series with the Bulldogs 5-3 and has claimed the last three meetings between the programs.
"We are building and there were some great takeaways from the match today," MSU head coach Matt Roberts said. "Give credit to TCU for playing a compete match at every spot and flipping some courts in the first sets. TCU executed and applied a game plan on those courts that made a few of our guys uncomfortable. Our guys are learning from every match and getting better with each week together. I like this group a lot and look forward to competing Sunday against a good Memphis team and Jackson State."
TCU would grab the doubles point to open the contest. On court 1, MSU's 28th-ranked duo of Florian Broska and Nicolas Ocana fell in a 6-2 affair to TCU's Luc Fomba and Alastair Gray. On court 2, the 27th-ranked State duo of Alberto Colas and Gregor Ramskogler would battle hard but was upended by the same 6-2 score by TCU's 24th-ranked Sander Jong and Tadeas Paroulek. At the time of the clinch, play on court 3 was suspended where Bulldogs Nemanja Malesevic and Giovanni Oradini were down a break at 5-4 to Bertus Kruger and Juan Martin.
In singles action, the Bulldogs showed grit and determination early on, but the Horned Frogs were ultimately able to pull out four first sets to set up their victory.
Wrapping up first would be court 5, where MSU true freshman Carles Hernandez was bested by TCU's Kruger in a 6-3, 6-2 decision and TCU led 2-0.
Next up would be State's 87th-ranked Broska on court 2, where the Bulldog veteran ousted the Horned Frogs' 47th-ranked Fomba 6-4, 6-4. With the victory, Broska remained undefeated (6-0) in dual match singles play this spring. The win was also his second in a row over a top 55-ranked foe.
On court 6, TCU's Martin would post a 7-5, 6-3 triumph over the Bulldogs' Ramskogler for a 3-1 team advantage. Wrapping up play and clinching the match would be TCU's 21st-ranked Gray, who edged past State's 36th-ranked Oradini 7-6(2), 6-3 at the top position in the lineup.
The two remaining matches were suspended at that point. The State freshman Malesevic trailed 6-4, 6-7(2), 2-1 to TCU's 113th-ranked Jong in a fierce three-set war on court 3. MSU's Colas was up a set - 6-4, 5-6 – over the Horned Frogs' Thomas Jirousek at No. 4.
Next upon on the slate, the Bulldogs will welcome Memphis and Jackson State to campus Sunday. The bout with Memphis (2-0) is slated for 9 a.m., followed by the JSU (0-1) affair at 3 p.m.
No. 3 TCU 4, Mississippi State 1
February 5, 2021
Starkville, Miss. - Rula Tennis Pavilion
Doubles
1. Luc Fomba/Alastair Gray (TCU) def. #28 Florian Broska/Nicolas Ocana (MSU)) 6-2
2. #24 Sander Jong/Tadeas Paroulek (TCU) def. #47 Alberto Colas/Gregor Ramskogler (MSU) 6-2
3. Bertus Kruger/Juan Martin (TCU) vs. Nemanja Malesevic/Giovanni Oradini (MSU) 5-4 (susp.)
Order of finish: 1,2
Singles
1. #21 Alastair Gray (TCU) def. #36 Giovanni Oradini (MSU) 7-6(3), 6-3
2. #87 Florian Broska (MSU) def. #47 Luc Fomba (TCU) 6-4, 6-4
3. #113 Sander Jong (TCU) vs. Nemanja Malesevic (MSU) 6-4, 6-7(2), 2-1 (susp.)
4. Alberto Colas (MSU) vs. Thomas Jirousek (TCU) 6-4, 5-6 (susp.)
5. Bertus Kruger (TCU) def. Carles Hernandez (MSU) 6-3, 6-2
6. Juan Martin (TCU) def. Gregor Ramskogler (MSU) 7-5, 6-3
Order of finish: 5,2,6
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Players Mentioned
