No. 17 Bulldogs Begin SEC Tourney Title Defense Against No. 18 Alabama Late Tuesday

Tuesday, April 20

Fayetteville, Ark.

6:00 PM

Mississippi State

Alabama

Photo by: Mississippi State Athletics

No. 17 Bulldogs Begin SEC Tourney Title Defense Against No. 18 Alabama Late Tuesday

April 19, 2021 | Men's Tennis

Tournament Central (Live Video/Stats)

By: Graham Murphree, Graduate Assistant/Communications

STARKVILLE – With the regular season in the books, the 17^th-ranked Mississippi State men's tennis team (15-8) is set to begin defense of its 2018 and 2019 SEC Championship titles on Tuesday night as the No. 9 seed in the tournament. The Bulldogs will take on 18^th-ranked and eighth-seeded Alabama (14-10) at 6 p.m. CT at Arkansas' George M. Billingsley Tennis Center.

Live Video/Stats
Live video, live stats, and any updates regarding the 2021 tournament can be found at Tournament Central, courtesy of Arkansas.

MSU In The Oracle ITA Rankings…
The Bulldogs are currently ranked 17th nationally as a team by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association in the latest poll (Apr. 14). In the ITA national singles rankings, State is led by two-time All-American Giovanni Oradini at No. 33 in the country. Up next is veteran Florian Broska at No. 41 in the country. Following right behind, true freshman Nemanja Malesevic leads the next generation of Bulldogs at No. 65 in the country. Rounding out the singles rankings, Davide Tortora checks in at No. 70 in the country. In doubles, the Bulldogs' top duo of Broska and Gregor Ramskogler check in as the nation's 24^th-ranked tandem, the highest of the duo's career.

Know The Foe: Alabama
Alabama enters the 2021 SEC Championships after ending the regular season with a 14-10 overall mark. In their last two contests, Alabama dropped a 4-1 decision to LSU on Apr. 15 and 4-0 setback to No. 8 Texas A&M on Apr. 17, both on the road.

Edson Ortiz leads the Tide in the latest rankings, coming in at as the nation's 47^th-ranked player. Up next, Zhe Zhou is at No. 69 in the country, while Patrick Kaukovalta rounds out 'Bama's rankings as the No. 83 player in the country.

Earlier this season, MSU dropped a close 5-2 affair to Alabama in Tuscaloosa in the teams' only meeting this season.

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 15-8 overall.
MSU is currently ranked 17th nationally as a team by the ITA in the latest poll (Apr. 14).
State's 2019 SEC Championship title was the program's third, the others coming in 2018 and 1996 (the latter in Fayetteville, Arkansas).
MSU has advanced to the SEC semifinals each of the last four seasons it has been held (no tournament last year due to COVID-19), winning the crown in both 2018 and 2019.
As a program, MSU is 33-28 in the SEC Championship since it went to dual match format in 1990. The Bulldogs are 11-3 in the tournament under Roberts. MSU and Alabama have split the only two previous meetings they have had in the event (2000 & 2003).
True freshman Nemanja Malesevic leads the Maroon and White in overall wins (34) in 2020-21.
Malesevic and Florian Broska are tied for the team lead in overall dual match wins (24) this spring.
Davide Tortora leads the Bulldogs with the highest win percentage in singles dual matches (7-1, .722). He is 11-5 when including doubles.
True freshman Carles Hernandez sits at 13-7 in singles this season and has clinched three SEC wins for State – 4-3 wins over No. 38 LSU and No. 14 South Carolina, and MSU's 6-1 triumph over Auburn.

Last Time Out…
MSU closed out the regular season with a pair of matches on the road, splitting the two decisions. The Bulldogs downed Vanderbilt 5-2, then dropped a 4-0 decision at No. 17 Kentucky.

Next Up For MSU…
Should the Bulldogs advance, they will take on the Florida Gators – seeded and ranked No. 1 - in the SEC Championship quarterfinals at 6 p.m. CT Wednesday.

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