Mississippi State
Miami
No. 16 Bulldogs Move Into NCAA Second Round With Energetic 4-1 Victory Over No. 39 Miami
May 08, 2021 | Men's Tennis
ORLANDO, Fla. – Mississippi State's 16th-ranked men's tennis team (17-9) opened the 2021 NCAA Team Championship Saturday in excellent fashion with a convincing 4-1 victory over 39th-ranked Miami (8-11) at the USTA National Campus.
With the win, the Bulldogs advanced to Sunday's NCAA Second Round, where they will meet 10th-ranked and No. 9 national seed UCF at 11 a.m. CT. Live video and live stats will be available for the contest. MSU and UCF have never met in men's tennis action. The Knights advanced to Sunday by downing Monmouth 4-0 in their first round affair on Saturday afternoon.
The victory over the Hurricanes Saturday improved State's all-time record in opening round NCAA matches to 21-4, 15-2 since the tournament expanded to 64 teams in 1999. MSU also extended its lead in the series with the Hurricanes to 10-4 (since 1969) and has now won five-straight against Miami.
The Bulldogs would battle right from the first point against the 'Canes, securing the opening doubles point early on. Court 2 would finish first, where the young Bulldog duo of Nemanja Malesevic and Davide Tortora ousted the Hurricane tandem of Adria Soriano Barrera and Vasser Oren 6-2. Miami would even things on court 1, where the 31st-ranked tandem of Franco Aubone and Benjamin Hannestad upended MSU's 15th-ranked duo of Florian Broska and Gregor Ramskogler 6-4. With the opening point on the line, State's pair of Nicolas Ocana and Giovanni Oradini broke Miami's pair of Bojan Jankulovski and Stefan Milicevic at 5-5 and then served out a 7-5 triumph, putting State up 1-0 early.
The Bulldogs would keep up their energy by claiming four of the six opening sets in singles, ultimately claiming three of the first four courts complete to clinch the team victory.
State extended its lead to 2-0 on court 6, where Ramskogler was first off the court by downing Miami's Aubone in inspired straight-set fashion 6-4, 6-2. Wrapping up next was court 2, where the 48th-ranked Bulldog Broska outworked Miami's Jankulovski in a key second-set tiebreaker to claim a 6-1, 7-6(2) win.
MSU led 3-0 at that point, but Miami did push back a bit in the remaining four matches before the Bulldogs finally got the win they needed.
The 'Canes got their only point of the day at the top position in the lineup, where the 42nd-ranked Sorano Barrera held off MSU's 20th-ranked Oradini in a nip-and-tuck 7-6(4), 7-5 decision.
The final three matches all went to third sets (with the Hurricanes needing all three), but State would claim the first of the those three to clinch the match. That win came at the No. 5 position where true freshman Carles Hernandez provided his sixth match-clinching triumph of the year by rolling past Miami's Oren Vasser in the third set for a 6-3, 3-6, 6-1 victory.
The remaining two matches were then suspended. At the No. 3 spot, MSU's 53rd-ranked Malesevic had just won the second set by saving four match points to even his score at 5-7, 7-6(6) with Miami's Hannestad. On court 4, MSU's 121st-ranked Alberto Colas was even at a set piece and on serve versus Miami's Milicevic at 7-6(2), 3-6, 2-1.
No. 16 Mississippi State 4, No. 39 Miami 1
2021 NCAA Championship – First Round
May 8, 2021
Orlando, Fla. – USTA National Campus
Doubles
1. #31 Franco Aubone/Benjamin Hannestad (UM) def. #15 Florian Broska/Gregor Ramskogler (MSU) 4-6
2. Nemanja Malesevic/Davide Tortora (MSU) def. Adria Soriano Barrera/Vasser Oren (UM) 6-2
3. Nicolas Ocana/Giovanni Oradini (MSU) def. Bojan Jankulovski/Stefan Milicevic (UM) 7-5
Order of finish: 2,1,3
Singles
1. #42 Andria Soriano Barrera (UM) def. #20 Giovanni Oradini (MSU) 7-6(4), 7-5
2. #48 Florian Broska (MSU) def. Bojan Jankulovski (UM) 6-1, 7-6(2)
3. #53 Nemanja Malesevic (MSU) vs. Benjamin Hannestad (UM) 5-7, 7-6(6), 0-0 (susp.)
4. #121 Alberto Colas (MSU) vs. Stefan Milicevic (UM) 7-6(2), 3-6, 2-1 (susp.)
5. Carles Hernandez (MSU) def. Oren Vasser (UM) 6-3, 3-6, 6-1
6. Gregor Ramskogler (MSU) def. Franco Aubone (UM) 6-4, 6-2
Order of finish: 6,2,1,5
Players Mentioned
