Mississippi State
Kentucky
No. 16 State Drops Regular Season Closer At No. 17 Kentucky
April 11, 2021 | Men's Tennis
LEXINGTON, Ky. – In its second road battle of the weekend, the 16th-ranked Mississippi State men's tennis team fell in a 4-0 decision against No. 17 Kentucky Sunday in an afternoon showdown at UK's Hilary J. Boone Tennis Complex. The contest was moved indoors about halfway through singles due to rain.
With the setback, State fell to 15-8, 5-7 in the SEC, while Kentucky improved to 17-6, 7-5 in league play. The Wildcat victory broke a six-match MSU win streak in the series between the teams.
The Bulldogs would fight neck-and-neck with the Wildcats to open the day, before ultimately dropping a tight doubles point. Court 3 would finish first, where the UK tandem of Alexandre Leblanc and Joshua Lapadat downed MSU's Giovanni Oradini and Nicolas Ocana 6-2. Giving the Wildcats the early 1-0 lead was the 20th-ranked duo of Cesar Bourgois and Gabriel Diallo who edged MSU's 52nd-ranked tandem of Florian Broska and Gregor Ramskogler 7-5 at the top of the lineup. At the time of the clinch, Bulldogs Nemanja Malesevic and Davide Tortora had just started a tiebreaker on court 2 against Kentucky's Liam Draxl and Millen Hurrionon.
Kentucky would capitalize on the momentum from doubles, as the Wildcats claimed five of the six opening sets in singles play. With every court early in the second set, rain would find its way into the area, forcing the matches to be moved inside to UK's four-court indoor facility. The Wildcats would go on to victory in the first three matches to finish and clinch the win.
Wrapping up first would be court 3, where Kentucky's 60th-ranked Hurrion ousted MSU's Alberto Colas 6-2, 7-5 to extend the Wildcat lead to 2-0. Up next would be court 1, where the seventh-ranked Wildcat Draxl would hold off a late charge from MSU's 51st-ranked Oradini 6-3, 7-6(3). Clinching the match for the Wildcats was Bourgois, who went the distance with MSU's 71st-ranked Malesevic at the No. 4 position to post a 4-6, 6-2, 6-4 triumph.
The final three matches of the day were then suspended.
At the No. 2 position, MSU's 45th-ranked Broska had just take the second set from UK's 31st-ranked Diallo with the score sitting at 5-7, 7-5. UK was up a set at the bottom two positions in the lineup, which had each just gotten back underway when play was halted. On court 5, the Wildcats' 97th-ranked Lapaday led Bulldog Carles Hernandez 6-2, 2-2. At No. 6, Kentucky's Alexandre Leblanc was up 6-4, 1-1 against State's 49th-ranked Davide Tortora.
Next upon on the slate, the Bulldogs will begin preparation for the 2021 SEC Tournament Championship, to be held April 19-23 in Fayetteville, Ark. State is the two-time defending champion of the event, having claimed the tournament crown in both 2018 and 2019 (the event was not held in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic).
No. 17 Kentucky 4, No. 16 Mississippi State 0
April 11, 2021
Lexington, Ky. – Hilary J. Boone Tennis Complex
Doubles
1. #20 Cesar Bourgois/Gabriel Diallo (UK) def. #52 Florian Broska/Gregor Ramskogler (MSU) 7-5
2. Nemanja Malesevic/Davide Tortora (MSU) vs. Liam Draxl/Millen Hurrion (UK) 6-6(1-0), susp.
3. Joshua Lapadat/Alexandre Leblanc (UK) def. Nicolas Ocana/Giovanni Oradini (MSU) 6-2
Order of finish: 3,1
Singles
1. #7 Liam Draxl (UK) def. #51 Giovanni Oradini (MSU) 6-3, 7-6(3)
2. #45 Florian Broska (MSU) vs. #31 Gabriel Diallo (UK) 5-7, 7-5, susp.
3. #60 Millen Hurrion (UK) def. Alberto Colas (MSU) 6-2, 7-5
4. Cesar Bourgois (UK) def. #71 Nemanja Malesevic (MSU) 4-6, 6-2, 6-4
5. #97 Joshua Lapadat (UK) vs. Carles Hernandez (MSU) 6-2, 2-2, susp.
6. Alexandre Leblanc (UK) vs. #49 Davide Tortora (MSU) 6-4, 1-1, susp.
Order of finish: 3,1,4
Players Mentioned
