Mississippi State
South Carolina
No. 24 Bulldog Tennis Upsets No. 14 South Carolina, 4-3; Hosts No. 7 Florida Sunday
March 12, 2021 | Men's Tennis
STARKVILLE – Behind three individual ranked wins, the 24th-ranked Mississippi State men's tennis team notched a 4-3 upset over the No. 14 Gamecocks of South Carolina on a warm and overcast Friday afternoon in Starkville.
With the victory, State improved to 11-4, 2-3 in SEC action while South Carolina dropped to 8-5, 4-3 in the league. The Bulldogs now hold a 23-11 all-time record against South Carolina in the series. State has claimed the last five meetings with the Gamecocks, as well as 11 of the last 12 clashes between the programs.
The Bulldogs will continue their current five-match homestand this Sunday, March 14, hosting No. 7 Florida in a Noon showdown at the A.J. Pitts Tennis Centre. Admission to all MSU home tennis matches is free.
The Bulldogs would post two ranked doubles wins over the Gamecocks to claim the opening point Friday. Court 2 would wrap things up first with the USC tandem of Jake Beasley and Toby Samuel downing the Bulldog duo of Alberto Colas and Giovanni Oradini 6-1. Evening things up for the Bulldogs was court 3, where the State duo of Nemanja Malesevic and Nicolas Ocana breezed past the 59th-ranked Gamecock tandem of Phillip Jordan and Raphael Lambling, also in 6-1 fashion. The crucial opening point would then be decided at the No. 1 position in a tiebreaker, which MSU's Florian Broska and Gregor Ramskogler secured 7-6(2) over USC's 44th-ranked pair of Daniel Rodrigues and Connor Thomson to hand the Maroon and White the early 1-0 advantage.
In singles play, both teams would come out firing, as each team would take three opening sets to start.
Extending the lead to 2-0 for the Bulldogs was court 6, where the veteran Ramskogler would make quick work of USC's Bruno Oliveira, downing the Gamecock 6-1, 6-2. USC would get on board on court 4, where Samuel ousted the Bulldogs' Colas 6-3, 7-5.
Giving the Bulldogs a huge swing of momentum would be Malesevic on court 3. The Bulldog true freshman rallied from dropping the first set 6-1 to collect his first career ranked win, losing only one game the rest of the way in upsetting South Carolina's 81st-ranked Lambling 1-6, 6-0, 6-1. State led 3-1.
Clinching the match for the Bulldogs for the second consecutive match would be true freshman Carles Hernandez. The rookie would show true grit and determination, holding off USC's Beasley in two tight sets 6-4, 7-5 at the No. 5 spot.
The remaining two courts were then played out, with both courts going the distance and a super tiebreaker determining the outcome in each.
Finishing first was court 2, where the 118th-ranked Gamecock Thomson upended MSU's 36th-ranked Oradini 7-5, 3-6, 1-0(7). Wrapping up play was court 1, where USC's 32nd-ranked Rodrigues came back to down MSU's 87th-ranked Broska 4-6, 7-6(5), 1-0(5).
No. 24 Mississippi State 4, No. 14 South Carolina 3
March 12, 2021
Starkville, Miss. – A.J. Pitts Tennis Centre
Doubles
1. Florian Broska/Gregor Ramskogler (MSU) def. t#44 Daniel Rodrigues/Connor Thomson (USC) 7-6(2)
2. Jake Beasley/Toby Samuel (USC) def. Alberto Colas/Giovanni Oradini (MSU) 6-1
3. Nemanja Malesevic/Nicolas Ocana (MSU) def. #59 Phillip Jordan/Raphael Lambling (USC) 6-1
Order of finish: 2,3,1
Singles
1. #32 Daniel Rodrigues (USC) def. #87 Florian Broska (MSU) 4-6, 6-7(5), 1-0(5)
2. #118 Connor Thomson (USC) def. #36 Giovanni Oradini (MSU) 7-5, 3-6, 1-0(7)
3. Nemanja Malesevic (MSU) def. #81 Raphael Lambling (USC) 1-6, 6-0, 6-1
4. Toby Samuel (USC) def. Alberto Colas (MSU) 6-3, 7-5
5. Carles Hernandez (MSU) def. Jake Beasley (USC) 6-4, 7-5
6. Gregor Ramskogler (MSU) def. Bruno Oliveira (USC) 6-1, 6-2
Order of finish: 6,4,3,5,2,1
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Players Mentioned
