Mississippi State
Ole Miss
No. 11 MSU Drops 5-2 Decision At No. 9 Ole Miss Sunday Afternoon
March 28, 2021 | Men's Tennis
OXFORD, MS – Despite a gritty doubles point and some close first sets in singles, the 11th-ranked Mississippi State men's tennis team ultimately fell 5-2 to No. 9 Ole Miss in an afternoon affair at UM's Palmer/Salloum Tennis Center Sunday.
With the setback, State fell to 12-6, 2-5 SEC on the season while Ole Miss improved to 8-7, 5-3 in SEC play. The Rebel victory broke a three-match Bulldog winning streak in the series.
The Bulldogs would drop a close double point early on to start the afternoon. Court 2 would finish first, where the Rebel duo of Brady Draheim and Simon Junk upended State's duo of Nemanja Malesevic and Davide Tortora 6-2. Clinching the doubles point for the Rebels would be court 1, where the No. 1 nationally-ranked Rebel tandem of Finn Reynolds and Tim Sandkaulen held off MSU's No. 37 duo of Florian Broska and Gregor Ramskogler 6-4. At the time of clinch, the Bulldog pair of Giovanni Oradini and Stedman Strickland were leading UM's tandem of Jakob Cadonau and Jan Soren Hain 5-4 on court 3.
Expecting nothing less than a big fight the rest of the way between the two rivals, the Bulldogs and Rebels would split the opening singles sets at three apiece. UM would end up taking the first three matches complete to clinch the win.
Court 3 would conclude first where 36th-ranked Rebel Nikola Slavic downed the 56th-ranked Bulldog Malesevic 6-2, 6-2. Finishing soon after was court 1, where Ole Miss' No. 65 Sandkaulen downed MSU's No. 43 Broska 6-3, 6-3 to extend the Rebel lead to 3-0. Clinching the match for the Rebels was the 12th-ranked Reynolds, who bested MSU's 47th-ranked Oradini 6-2, 6-4 at the No. 2 position.
The remaining three courts were then played out, with State claiming two of the three contests.
Putting the Bulldogs on the board was court 6 where Tortora, ranked 62nd nationally, battled to dig out a 6-3, 4-6, 1-0(6) victory over UM's Junk. Up next would be court 4, where Rebel John Hallquist Lithen edged MSU's Colas in two tiebreaks to claim the match 3-6, 7-6(5), 1-0(6). Wrapping up play on the day was court 5, where Bulldog true freshman Carles Hernandez would grind out a 6-2, 7-6(5) victory over Rebel Lukas Engelhardt.
Next upon on the slate, the Bulldogs prepare to hit the road to face 32nd-ranked Alabama this Friday, April 2, in Tuscaloosa. Match time is slated for 6 p.m.
No. 9 Ole Miss 5, No. 11 Mississippi State 2
March 28, 2021
Oxford, Miss. – Palmer/Salloum Tennis Center
Doubles
1. #1 Finn Reynolds/Tim Sandkaulen (UM) def. #37 Florian Broska/Gregor Ramskogler (MSU) 6-4
2. Brady Draheim/Simon Junk (UM) def. Nemanja Malesevic/Davide Tortora (MSU) 6-2
3. Giovanni Oradini/Stedman Strickland (MSU) vs. Jakob Cadonau/Jan Soren Hain (UM) 5-4 (susp.)
Order of finish: 2,1
Singles
1. #65 Tim Sandkaulen (UM) def. #43 Florian Broska (MSU) 6-3, 6-3
2. #12 Finn Reynolds (UM) def. #47 Giovanni Oradini (MSU) 6-2, 6-4
3. #36 Nikola Slavic (UM) def. #56 Nemanja Malesevic (MSU) 6-2, 6-2
4. John Hallquist Lithen (UM) def. Alberto Colas (MSU) 3-6, 7-6(5), 1-0(6)
5. Carles Hernandez (MSU) def. Lukas Engelhardt (UM) 6-2, 7-6(5)
6. #62 Davide Tortora (MSU) def. Simon Junk (UM) 6-3, 4-6, 1-0(6)
Order of finish: 3,1,2,6,4,5
Players Mentioned
