Mississippi State
Texas A&M
No. 16 MSU Falls To No. 8 Texas A&M In NCAA Round of 16
May 17, 2021 | Men's Tennis
ORLANDO, Fla. – Despite making a late comeback bid, the 16th-ranked Mississippi State men's tennis squad fell to No. 8 Texas A&M 4-0 Monday night in the NCAA Team Championship Round of 16 at the USTA National Campus to conclude team competition for the 2021 season.
The Bulldogs finished their successful campaign 18-10, advancing to the NCAA Team Championship Round of 16 for the 15th time in MSU's 25 all-time appearances (including four of the last five). State is now 31-25 all-time in NCAA Team Championship action.
The opening doubles point Monday night would be a typical aggressive SEC battle with the Aggies securing the first two courts for the early 1-0 lead.
Court 3 would finish first, where the Bulldog duo of Nicolas Ocana and Giovanni Oradini were edged by A&M's 86th-ranked team of Hady Habib and Noah Schachter 6-3. A&M then claimed the opening point with a win on court 2 where the 65th-ranked tandem of Pierce Rollins and Valentin Vacherot downed MSU's Nemanja Malesevic and Davide Tortora 6-3. At the time of the clinch, the Aggies' eighth-ranked duo of Juan Carlos Aguilar and Bjorn Thomson led MSU's 15th-ranked tandem of Florian Broska and Gregor Ramskogler 5-3.
A&M rode that momentum into singles, establishing several early breaks to take the opening set on all six courts. The Bulldogs would make a big push late into match – splitting sets on two courts and a game away from doing so on a third as well - before ultimately dropping decisions on the first three courts to conclude the match.
Court 2 would wrap up first, where TAMU's third-ranked Habib downed MSU's 48th-ranked Broska by a 6-4, 6-1 margin. Following right behind was the No. 6 position, where Aggie Raphael Perot downed MSU's Ramskogler 6-0, 6-1 to push the Aggie lead to 3-0. A&M would clinch the match with a victory on court 4, where the 100th-ranked Schachter downed State's 121st-ranked Alberto Colas 6-2, 7-6(3).
At the time of clinch, the Bulldogs had just split sets on two courts, and were a game away from a third one as well. On court 1, MSU's 20th-ranked Oradini trailed 3-6, 6-1, 2-0 to A&M's fifth-ranked Vacherot. At No. 3, MSU's 53rd-ranked Malesevic led 3-6, 6-3, 3-2 and a service break over the Aggies' 30th-ranked Aguilar. On court five, Bulldog Carles Hernandez was up 5-2 in the second set after dropping the first 6-3 to TAMU's Guido Marson.
"Hats off to A&M for playing some great tennis, some clutch tennis," MSU head coach Matt Roberts said. "They just came out firing on all three courts in doubles, so that put us in a little bit of a hole. Same in singles on the first two courts – they served really well. But we didn't give up. If we can get that third set going at No. 4, I have a lot of faith in my guys, being down 3-0. We just don't give up. That's Mississippi State tennis."
"We have things moving in the right direction," Roberts continued. "We're hungry. Hopefully we're back here next year and hungry to do more. Really proud of these guys. Happy where we are as a team and as a program."
No. 8 Texas A&M 4, No. 16 Mississippi State 0
2021 NCAA Championship – Round Of 16
May 17, 2021
Orlando, Fla. – USTA National Campus
Doubles
1. #8 Juan Carlos Aguilar/Bjorn Thomson (TAMU) vs. #15 Florian Broska/Gregor Ramskogler (MSU) 5-3 (susp.)
2. #65 Pierce Rollins/Valentin Vacherot (TAMU) def. Nemanja Malesevic/Davide Tortora (MSU) 6-3
3. #86 Hady Habib/Noah Schachter (TAMU) def. Nicolas Ocana/Giovanni Oradini (MSU) 6-3
Order of finish: 3,2
Singles
1. #5 Valentin Vacherot (TAMU) vs. #20 Giovanni Oradini (MSU) 6-3, 1-6, 2-0 (susp.)
2. #3 Hady Habib (TAMU) def. #48 Florian Broska (MSU) 6-4, 6-1
3. #53 Nemanja Malesevic (MSU) vs. #30 Juan Carlos Aguilar (TAMU) 3-6, 6-3, 3-2 (susp.)
4. #100 Noah Schachter (TAMU) def. #121 Alberto Colas (MSU) 6-2, 7-6(3)
5. #122 Pierce Rollins (TAMU) vs. Carles Hernandez (MSU) 6-3, 2-5 (susp.)
6. Raphael Perot (TAMU) def. Gregor Ramskogler (MSU) 6-0, 6-1
Order of finish: 2,6,4
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