Sunday, April 17
Starkville
12 p.m.
Mississippi State
1
vs
6
Kentucky
Photo by: Kevin Snyder/MSU Athletics
Men's Tennis Falls In Regular Season Finale
April 17, 2022 | Men's Tennis
STARKVILLE – Mississippi State men's tennis fell 6-1 in its regular season finale to No. 10 Kentucky inside the Rula Tennis Pavilion on Easter.
Davide Tortora claimed the lone victory for the 35th-ranked Bulldogs, who head into the SEC Championships as the No. 8 seed.
"We didn't compete well in a couple of spots and that hurt us," said head coach Matt Roberts. "I thought in two and three doubles, we didn't believe in ourselves. When two of your three doubles and two of your six in singles aren't competing well, you're not going to beat a top 16 team in the country."
Tortora's victory was a hard-fought three-setter. JJ Mercer won the first set 6-3 before Tortora took a second-set tiebreaker 7-6(5) and also a super tiebreaker 10-7 for his third singles victory in the past four matches.
No. 27 Florian Broska was the lone MSU player honored on senior day and had a solid showing against reigning ITA National Player of the Year Liam Draxl. Draxl, ranked 21st nationally, claimed the first set 7-5 before Broska bounced back with a 6-4 win in the second but fell 6-3 in the third.
Draxl's victory evened things with Broska, who won the previous matchup in straight sets as part of the ITA Kickoff in Starkville on Jan. 30.
Carles Hernandez and Gregor Ramskogler also forced three sets in singles. Hernandez took the first set against Francois Musitelli 6-2 but was unable to sustain that momentum, losing each of the next two sets 6-1.
Ramskogler saw his four-match singles winning streak snapped by No. 69 Millen Hurrion. Ramskogler won the first set 7-5 and lost the second by the same score. He fell 10-2 in a third set super tiebreaker.
No. 74 Nemanja Malesevic and Alberto Colas also fell to ranked foes. Malesevic was downed by the Wildcats' 13th-ranked Gabriel Diallo 6-2, 7-6(4) while No. 117 Joshua Lapadat defeated Alberto Colas 6-1, 6-3.
"I love where 'Flo' is at and he's building," Roberts said. "(Malesevic) made a good push and Ram (Ramskogler) and 'Dade' (Tortora) fought hard. So there are a few positives. I'm excited to see where 'Flo' is going to take his tennis in the next month."
UK (19-6, 10-2 SEC) also claimed the doubles point. The 87th-ranked duo of Diallo and Lapadat took down Colas and Tortora 6-1 while Draxl and Alexandre LeBlanc beat Hernandez and Malesevic 6-1.
The 46th-ranked Bulldog tandem of Broska and Ramskogler were leading Hurrion and Musitelli 4-3 when the doubles point was clinched.
Mississippi State finished the regular season 14-11 overall and 4-8 in conference play. The Bulldogs will take on ninth-seeded LSU at the SEC Championship on Thursday at 2 p.m. CT in Athens, Ga.
MSU edged the Tigers 4-3 in Baton Rouge on March 11.
No. 10 Kentucky 6, No. 35 Mississippi State 1
Rula Tennis Pavilion | Starkville, Miss.
April 17, 2022
Doubles
1. #46 Florian Broska/Gregor Ramskogler (MSU) vs. Millen Hurrion/Francois Musitelli (UK) 4-3, unfinished
2. #87 Gabriel Diallo/Joshua Lapadat (UK) def. Alberto Colas/Davide Tortora (MSU) 6-1
3. Liam Draxl/Alexandre LeBlanc (UK) def. Carles Hernandez/Nemanja Malesevic (MSU) 6-1
Order of finish: (2,3)
Singles
1. #21 Liam Draxl (UK) def. #27 Florian Broska (MSU) 7-5, 4-6, 6-3
2. #13 Gabriel Diallo (UK) def. #74 Nemanja Malesevic (MSU) 6-2, 7-6(4)
3. #69 Millen Hurrion (UK) def. Gregor Ramskogler (MSU) 5-7, 7-5, 1-0 [10-2]
4. Francois Musitelli (UK) def. Carles Hernandez (MSU) 2-6, 6-1, 6-1
5. #117 Joshua Lapadat (UK) def. Alberto Colas (MSU) 6-1, 6-3
6. Davide Tortora (MSU) def. JJ Mercer (UK) 3-6, 7-6(5), 1-0 [10-7]
Order of finish: (5,2,4,3,6,1)
For more information on the Bulldog men's tennis program, visit HailState.com or search for "HailStateMT" on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
Davide Tortora claimed the lone victory for the 35th-ranked Bulldogs, who head into the SEC Championships as the No. 8 seed.
"We didn't compete well in a couple of spots and that hurt us," said head coach Matt Roberts. "I thought in two and three doubles, we didn't believe in ourselves. When two of your three doubles and two of your six in singles aren't competing well, you're not going to beat a top 16 team in the country."
Tortora's victory was a hard-fought three-setter. JJ Mercer won the first set 6-3 before Tortora took a second-set tiebreaker 7-6(5) and also a super tiebreaker 10-7 for his third singles victory in the past four matches.
No. 27 Florian Broska was the lone MSU player honored on senior day and had a solid showing against reigning ITA National Player of the Year Liam Draxl. Draxl, ranked 21st nationally, claimed the first set 7-5 before Broska bounced back with a 6-4 win in the second but fell 6-3 in the third.
Draxl's victory evened things with Broska, who won the previous matchup in straight sets as part of the ITA Kickoff in Starkville on Jan. 30.
Carles Hernandez and Gregor Ramskogler also forced three sets in singles. Hernandez took the first set against Francois Musitelli 6-2 but was unable to sustain that momentum, losing each of the next two sets 6-1.
Ramskogler saw his four-match singles winning streak snapped by No. 69 Millen Hurrion. Ramskogler won the first set 7-5 and lost the second by the same score. He fell 10-2 in a third set super tiebreaker.
No. 74 Nemanja Malesevic and Alberto Colas also fell to ranked foes. Malesevic was downed by the Wildcats' 13th-ranked Gabriel Diallo 6-2, 7-6(4) while No. 117 Joshua Lapadat defeated Alberto Colas 6-1, 6-3.
"I love where 'Flo' is at and he's building," Roberts said. "(Malesevic) made a good push and Ram (Ramskogler) and 'Dade' (Tortora) fought hard. So there are a few positives. I'm excited to see where 'Flo' is going to take his tennis in the next month."
UK (19-6, 10-2 SEC) also claimed the doubles point. The 87th-ranked duo of Diallo and Lapadat took down Colas and Tortora 6-1 while Draxl and Alexandre LeBlanc beat Hernandez and Malesevic 6-1.
The 46th-ranked Bulldog tandem of Broska and Ramskogler were leading Hurrion and Musitelli 4-3 when the doubles point was clinched.
Mississippi State finished the regular season 14-11 overall and 4-8 in conference play. The Bulldogs will take on ninth-seeded LSU at the SEC Championship on Thursday at 2 p.m. CT in Athens, Ga.
MSU edged the Tigers 4-3 in Baton Rouge on March 11.
No. 10 Kentucky 6, No. 35 Mississippi State 1
Rula Tennis Pavilion | Starkville, Miss.
April 17, 2022
Doubles
1. #46 Florian Broska/Gregor Ramskogler (MSU) vs. Millen Hurrion/Francois Musitelli (UK) 4-3, unfinished
2. #87 Gabriel Diallo/Joshua Lapadat (UK) def. Alberto Colas/Davide Tortora (MSU) 6-1
3. Liam Draxl/Alexandre LeBlanc (UK) def. Carles Hernandez/Nemanja Malesevic (MSU) 6-1
Order of finish: (2,3)
Singles
1. #21 Liam Draxl (UK) def. #27 Florian Broska (MSU) 7-5, 4-6, 6-3
2. #13 Gabriel Diallo (UK) def. #74 Nemanja Malesevic (MSU) 6-2, 7-6(4)
3. #69 Millen Hurrion (UK) def. Gregor Ramskogler (MSU) 5-7, 7-5, 1-0 [10-2]
4. Francois Musitelli (UK) def. Carles Hernandez (MSU) 2-6, 6-1, 6-1
5. #117 Joshua Lapadat (UK) def. Alberto Colas (MSU) 6-1, 6-3
6. Davide Tortora (MSU) def. JJ Mercer (UK) 3-6, 7-6(5), 1-0 [10-7]
Order of finish: (5,2,4,3,6,1)
For more information on the Bulldog men's tennis program, visit HailState.com or search for "HailStateMT" on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
Players Mentioned
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
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/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
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