No. 20 Bulldog Tennis Set To Host UAB Saturday

Saturday, March 20

Starkville

11:00 AM

Mississippi State

UAB

Photo by: Mississippi State Athletics

No. 20 Bulldog Tennis Set To Host UAB Saturday

March 19, 2021 | Men's Tennis

Live Video/Stats Match Day Program

By: Graham Murphree, Graduate Assistant/Communications

STARKVILLE – After a six-match swing to open the 2021 SEC schedule, the 20th-ranked Mississippi State men's tennis team is set for its final non-conference match up of the regular season against UAB on Saturday. Match time between the Bulldogs (11-5) and Blazers (4-6) is slated for 11 a.m. at MSU's A.J. Pitts Tennis Centre. Admission is free to all MSU home matches.

2021 MSU Tennis COVID/Attendance Protocols
In conjunction with current COVID protocols established by the most recent Governor's Executive Order, fans may attend Saturday's match at the A.J. Pitts Tennis Centre, with seating allowed in designated areas only. Continuing MSU and SEC COVID protocols, face coverings over the nose and mouth shall be required as a condition of all guest during ingress, egress, and movement throughout the stadium, as well as any time guests are unable to maintain the recommended physical distance from others who are not in their same household or when actively eating or drinking. For all COVID/attendance protocols for 2021 MSU Tennis home matches, please visit www.HailState.com/gameday.

Live Video/Stats
Fans can follow home men's tennis action live all season long at HailState.com/livemt.

MSU In The Oracle ITA Rankings…
The Bulldogs are currently ranked 20th nationally (up four spots) as a team by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association in this week's latest poll (March 17). 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 earning the nation's No. 28 spot. Rounding out the rankings is the duo of Alberto Colas and Gregor Ramskogler, coming in at 47^th nationally.

Know The Foe: UAB
UAB will enter Saturday's match with a 4-6 overall mark. The Blazers have won two of their last three outings, but dropped a tight 4-3 affair at home against Lipscomb in their most recent outing this past Saturday.
The Bulldogs currently hold a 29-1 all-time record against the Blazers in the series. MSU is currently on a 21-match win streak against UAB, with the last outcome being a 7-0 State victory in Starkville on January 12, 2020.

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 sit at 11-5 overall, 2-5 in the SEC.
MSU is currently ranked 20th nationally as a team by the ITA in this week's poll.
This week's ranking marks the Bulldogs' first in the Top 20 this season.
State's five losses this season have all come to current Top 20 teams – No. 2 Florida, No. 5 Tennessee, No. 6 TCU, No. 10 Texas A&M and No. 17 Georgia.
Under head coach Matt Roberts, MSU is 126-44 overall in his seven seasons at the helm of the Bulldogs.
Roberts is 73-13 at home, 10-3 in 2021.
True freshman Nemanja Malesevic leads the Maroon and White in overall wins (27) in 2020-21
Malesevic, Florian Broska and Alberto Colas are tied for MSU's lead in total dual match victories (17) thus far this spring.
True freshman Carles Hernandez sits at 10-5 in singles this season and has clinched MSU's last two victories – 4-3 wins over LSU and South Carolina.

Last Time Out…
In their most recent outings this past weekend, the Bulldogs split a pair of home matches, upsetting No. 14 South Carolina 4-3 on Friday before dropping a 7-0 affair to No. 7 Florida Sunday.

Next Up For MSU…
Following Saturday's affair with UAB, the Bulldogs jump back into conference play next week, hitting the road to face 18^th-ranked rival Ole Miss at 1 p.m. CT next Sunday, March 28, in Oxford.

For more information on the Mississippi State men's tennis program, follow "HailStateMT" on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.