No. 15 Bulldog Tennis Set To Host No. 39 Arkansas Wednesday

Wednesday, April 7

Starkville

12:00 PM

Mississippi State

Arkansas

Photo by: Mississippi State Athletics

No. 15 Bulldog Tennis Set To Host No. 39 Arkansas Wednesday

April 06, 2021 | Men's Tennis

Live Video/Stats

By: Graham Murphree, Graduate Assistant/Communications

STARKVILLE – After a dominating singles performance on Sunday, the 15th-ranked Mississippi State men's tennis team makes a quick turnaround to battle No. 39 Arkansas Wednesday. Match time between the Bulldogs (13-7, 3-6 SEC) and Razorbacks (9-10, 3-6 SEC) is slated for 12 p.m. at MSU's A.J. Pitts Tennis Centre. The contest, which will be MSU's final regular season affair at home, was postponed earlier this season due to weather.

2021 MSU Tennis COVID/Attendance Protocols
In conjunction with current COVID protocols established by the most recent Governor's Executive Order, fans may attend Wednesday'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 15th nationally as a team by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association in the latest poll (March 30). In the ITA national singles rankings, State is led by veteran Florian Broska at No. 45 in the country. Up next with his highest ranking of his young Bulldog career, Davide Tortora comes in at No. 49. Following right behind is senior and two-time All-American Giovanni Oradini at No. 51 nationally in singles. Rounding at the rankings, true freshman Nemanja Malesevic leads the next generation of Bulldogs at No. 71 in the country. In doubles, the Bulldogs' top duo of Broska and Gregor Ramskogler check in as the nation's 52^nd-ranked tandem.

Know The Foe: Arkansas
Arkansas will enter Wednesday's match with a 9-10 overall mark, while holding a 3-6 league record. In their most recent outing, the Razorbacks posted a huge upset, downing No. 3 Tennessee in a tight 4-3 affair in Fayetteville this past Sunday.

The Razorbacks are currently ranked 39th nationally as a team in the March 30 poll. In doubles, they are led at the top of their lineup by the duo of Enrique Paya and Hunter Harrison, who are ranked No. 38 in the country as a duo. Junior Alex Reco mans the No. 1 position in the Razorbacks' singles lineup.

MSU currently holds a 31-7 record against the Razorbacks all-time (since 1969). The Bulldogs have won the last 12 meetings between the teams, a streak that started in 2009.

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 13-7 overall, 3-6 in the SEC.
MSU is currently ranked 15th nationally as a team by the ITA in the latest poll (March 30).
Six of seven of State's losses this season have all come to current Top 11 teams – No. 1 Florida, No. 3 Tennessee, No. 6 Texas A&M, No. 8 TCU, No. 9 Ole Miss and No. 11 Georgia.
Under head coach Matt Roberts, MSU is 128-46 overall in his seven seasons at the helm of the Bulldogs.
Roberts is 75-13 at home, 12-3 in 2021.
True freshman Nemanja Malesevic leads the Maroon and White in overall (31) and dual match (21) wins in 2020-21.
Davide Tortora leads the Bulldogs with the highest win percentage in singles dual matches (7-1, .875). He is 11-3 when including doubles.
True freshman Carles Hernandez sits at 13-6 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…
In their most recent outing this past Sunday, the Bulldogs dropped doubles but swept all six singles positions to take down visiting Auburn 6-1 on Senior Day. Registering points for the Bulldogs were Giovanni Oradini, Florian Broska, Nemanja Malesevic, Alberto Colas, Carles Hernandez and Gregor Ramskogler. Oradini's victory moved him into a tie for ninth place all-time at State for singles wins with 89.

Next Up For MSU…
Following Wednesday's affair with Arkansas, the Bulldogs will make their final push of the 2021 regular season with a pair of road contests this weekend. MSU will travel to Vanderbilt this Friday, April 9, for a 2 p.m. CT showdown before heading to Lexington, Ky., to meet No. 22 Kentucky this Sunday, April 11, in a 12 p.m. CT battle with the Wildcats.

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