No. 22 Bulldogs Sweep Sunday Doubleheader

Sunday, February 27

Starkville

12 p.m.

Mississippi State

Jackson State

Gregor Ramskogler Jacksonville State 2-27-22

Photo by: Laura Parsley/MSU Athletics

No. 22 Bulldogs Sweep Sunday Doubleheader

February 27, 2022 | Men's Tennis

Photo Gallery

By: Logan Lowery, Assistant Director/Communications

STARKVILLE – Mississippi State's 22^nd-ranked men's tennis team closed out the non-conference portion of its schedule with a doubleheader sweep of Jackson State and Jacksonville State on Sunday inside the Rula Tennis Pavilion.

The Bulldogs claimed a 6-1 decision against Jackson State in the afternoon and closed things out with a 4-0 shutout of Jacksonville State to improve to 9-3 on the year.

"Today was definitely good for our confidence," said redshirt freshman Seth Richey. "We'd definitely love to go into SEC play feeling good as a team and feeling close. Today made us closer. We've faced some adversity and we're still fighting. I feel like we're ready for SEC play."

MSU had three singles competitors – Bautista Vilicich, Gregor Ramskogler and Alberto Colas - pick up a pair of wins during the sweep.

Vilicich defeated Jackson State's Raul Centeno 6-1, 6-2 then clinched the match against Jacksonville State with his 6-1, 6-3 victory against Vanja Dobrnjac. Ramskogler earned a 6-1, 6-2 win against the Tigers' Juan Soria and a 6-3, 6-0 victory versus Vicente Arbelaez of the Gamecocks.

Colas earned the first singles point in both matches. He shutout Jackson State's Agustin Agosto 6-0, 6-0 and also made quick work of Aljaz Kaplja of Jacksonville State 6-2, 6-2.

"I've been having good weeks of practice and it's like they say 'hard work pays off',' Colas said. "I think that's what happened today. I was happy and motivated to be here and played that way. I had a good day."

No. 74 Nemanja Malesevic also earned a win in the top position against Jackson State's Francisco Vargas 7-5, 6-4 and Davide Tortora took care of Hiromu Ikeda of the Tigers 6-1, 6-3.

The nation's 55^th-ranked doubles team of Malesevic and Tortora also enjoyed success. They earned a win over Agosto and Ikeda 6-3 and also blanked Dobrnjac and Maj Tomac 6-0.

Colas and Vilicich secured the doubles point against the Gamecocks with their 6-1 victory against Thomas Norwood and Alex Vishnevskiy.

Also earning a 7-5 doubles win earlier in the day against the Jackson State tandem of Vargas and Richy Gamo were Richey and Vilicich. For Richey, it was his first collegiate victory as a Bulldog.

"It feels good and my hard work is starting to pay off," Richey said. "I'm seeing results in myself and also this team."

MSU will now turn its attention to Southeastern Conference play and opens up with a pair of top 15 opponents. The Bulldogs host top-ranked Tennessee on Friday at 3 p.m. followed by No. 15 Georgia on Sunday at 1 p.m. at the A.J. Pitts Tennis Centre.

"The weather looks really good this week and we get to get back outside to A.J. Pitts and grind a lot," said head coach Matt Roberts. "We're ready to rock and roll."

No. 22 Mississippi State 6, Jackson State 1
Starkville, Miss. | Rula Tennis Pavilion
Feb. 27, 2022

Doubles
1. Raul Centeno/Juan Soria (JSU) def. Florian Broska/Gregor Ramskogler (MSU) 7-6 (8-6)
2. #55 Nemanja Malesevic/Davide Tortora (MSU) def. Agustin Agosto/Hiromu Ikeda (JSU) 6-3
3. Seth Richey/Bautista Vilicich (MSU) def. Richy Gamo/Francisco Vargas (JSU) 7-5
Order of finish: (2,3,1)

Singles
1. #74 Nemanja Malesevic (MSU) def. Francisco Vargas (JSU) 7-5, 6-4
2. Bautista Vilicich (MSU) def. Raul Centeno (JSU) 6-1, 6-2
3. Gregor Ramskogler (MSU) def. Juan Soria (JSU) 6-1, 6-2
4. Alberto Colas (MSU) def. Agustin Agosto (JSU) 6-0, 6-0
5. Davide Tortora (MSU) def. Hiromu Ikeda (JSU) 6-1, 6-3
6. Richy Gamo (JSU) def. Seth Richey (MSU) 7-5, 5-7, 1-0 (10-5)
Order of finish: (4,2,3,5,1,6)

#22 Mississippi State 4, Jacksonville State 0
Starkville, Miss. | Rula Tennis Pavilion
Feb. 27, 2022

Singles
1. #39 Florian Broska (MSU) vs. Joaquin Vallejo (JaxSt) 6-3, 5-3, unfinished
2. #74 Nemanja Malesevic (MSU) vs. Thomas Norwood (JaxSt) 6-4, 3-2, unfinished
3. Bautista Vilicich (MSU) def. Vanja Dobrnjac (JaxSt) 6-1, 6-3
4. Gregor Ramskogler (MSU) def. Vicente Arbelaez (JaxSt) 6-3, 6-0
5. Alberto Colas (MSU) def. Aljaz Kaplja (JaxSt) 6-2, 6-2
6. Davide Tortora (MSU) vs. Jordi Blanchar (JaxSt) 6-2, 4-5, unfinished
Order of finish: (2,3)

Doubles
1. Florian Broska/Gregor Ramskogler (MSU) vs. Aljaz Kaplja/Joaquin Vallejo (JaxSt) 4-1, unfinished
2. #55 Nemanja Malesevic/Davide Tortora (MSU) def. Vanja Dobrnjac/Maj Tomac (JaxSt) 6-0
3. Alberto Colas/Bautista Vilicich (MSU) def. Thomas Norwood/Alex Vishnevskiy (JaxSt) 6-1 Order of finish: (5,4,3)

For more information on the Bulldog men's tennis program, visit HailState.com or search for "HailStateMT" on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.