Mississippi State
Middle Tennessee
MSU Finds Swagger During Doubleheader Sweep
January 22, 2023 | Men's Tennis
STARKVILLE – Mississippi State men's tennis closed out its four-match homestand with a pair of wins during a doubleheader on Sunday.
The Bulldogs rallied back to beat a solid Middle Tennessee State squad 5-2 in the opener inside the Rula Tennis Pavilion and then finished the day off with a 6-1 victory over Tennessee State to improve to 4-0.
"Today is a great example to them for what we can do as a team," said MSU head coach Matt Roberts. "It was just awesome for them to go through that. We got a little more swagger to our group going through that (Middle Tennessee) match today because that was our first tough test."
MSU dropped the doubles point to the Blue Raiders (2-1) but were able to get back on track by claiming the first three singles matches. Benito Sanchez Martinez rallied for a 6-4, 6-2 straight-set victory over Marcel Kamrowski followed by Gregor Ramskogler's 6-0, 2-6, 6-2 victory against Pavel Motl.
After winning his first set 6-4, Carles Hernandez provided the Bulldogs with even more momentum by outlasting 60th-ranked Oskar Brostrom Poulsen in a second-set tiebreaker 7-6(7) for his second ranked singles win of the year.
"I was feeling some pressure because (Brostrom Poulsen) started playing pretty good," Hernandez said. "I had a couple of easy mistakes at the start of the tiebreaker. But after saving three set points, I knew he was feeling tired as well. So when I got my first set point, I wanted to make him feel the pressure of all the fans that are here. I made everybody be a part of the point and we took it on the first opportunity."
The win was especially special for Hernandez, who had his parents in the stands all the way from Crevillent, Spain.
Mississippi State clinched the match as Nemanja Malesevic earned a 6-4, 4-6, 6-1 victory over Stijn Slump to extend the Bulldogs' winning streak to five against MTSU. No. 107 Petar Jovanovic closed out the match by downing 109th-ranked Francisco Rocha 6-7(6), 6-4, 1-0 (4-1 def. [mc]).
"It was nearly 2 ½ hours before (Middle Tennessee) got their second point," Roberts said. "That just shows how resilient our guys are."
The Bulldogs were able to earn the doubles point in their second match of the day against Tennessee State (1-3).
The team of Ewen Lumsden and Michal Novansky started things off with a 6-2 win over Nicholas Adamec and Taj Hibbert before the duo of Ramskogler and Sanchez Martinez clinched with their 6-1 victory against Pierre Copin and Nil Moinet.
For Ramskogler, it was his 54th career dual-match doubles win. That victory tied him with Kristian Broems (1993-96) and Nuno Borges (2016-19) for the fourth-most in school history.
In singles, it was Sanchez Martinez who was once again the first to finish. The freshman from Germany topped Diego Britt-Alvarez in straight sets 6-2, 6-0. Lumsden followed closely thereafter with his 6-1, 6-1 win over Moinet.
Jovanovic, playing in the No. 1 position for the first time in his career, clinched the match for Mississippi State. The 6-foot-4 freshman prevailed 6-1, 6-3 over Daniel Caraballo for his seventh consecutive singles victory dating back to the fall.
"I feel very confident playing behind my crowd," Jovanovic said. "They really pump me up during matches. It's really a pleasure to play No. 1 like I did in my second match. I did really good and played a good match. My first match was also good and I'm happy with my game."
Novansky remains unbeaten through his first two collegiate singles matches. The newly enrolled freshman downed Hibbert 7-5, 6-3 before Ramskogler closed out the evening with a 6-2, 7-5 victory against Adamec.
MSU must now travel for the first time this season as they head to ITA Kickoff Weekend in Gainesville, Florida. The Bulldogs are slated to meet SMU on Friday at 10Â a.m. CT and take on either Florida or South Florida on Saturday.
Mississippi State 5, Middle Tennessee 2
Rula Tennis Pavilion | Starkville, Miss.
Jan. 22, 2023
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Doubles
1. No. 42 Carles Hernandez/Nemanja Malesevic (MSU) vs. No. 26 Oskar Brostrom Poulsen/Francisco Rocha (MTSU) 5-5, unfinished
2. Pavel Motl/Stijn Slump (MTSU) def. Ewen Lumsden/Michal Novansky (MSU) 6-4
3. Ondrej Horak/Marcel Kamrowski (MTSU) def. Petar Jovanovic/Gregor Ramskogler (MSU) 6-4
Order of finish: (3,2)
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 Singles
1. Nemanja Malesevic (MSU) def. Stijn Slump (MTSU) 6-4, 4-6, 6-1
2. No. 107 Petar Jovanovic (MSU) def. No. 109 Francisco Rocha (MTSU) 6-7(6), 6-4, 1-0 (4-1Â def [mc])
3. Carles Hernandez (MSU) def. No. 60 Oskar Brostrom Poulsen (MTSU) 6-4, 7-6(7)
4. Ondrej Horak (MTSU) def. Ewen Lumsden (MSU) 6-3, 3-6, 6-2
5. Benito Sanchez Martinez (MSU) def. Marcel Kamrowski (MTSU) 6-4, 6-2
6. Gregor Ramskogler (MSU) def. Pavel Motl (MTSU) 6-0, 2-6, 6-2
Order of finish: (5,6,3,4,1,2)
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Mississippi State 6, Tennessee State 1
Rula Tennis Pavilion | Starkville, Miss.
Jan. 22, 2023
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Doubles
1. No. 42 Carles Hernandez/Nemanja Malesevic (MSU) vs. Diego Britt-Alvarez/Daniel Caraballo (TSU) 4-3, unfinished
2. Ewen Lumsden/Michal Novansky (MSU) def. Nicholas Adamec/Taj Hibbert (TSU) 6-2
3. Gregor Ramskogler/Benito Sanchez Martinez (MSU) def. Pierre Copin/Nil Moinet (TSU) 6-1
Order of finish: (2,3)
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Singles
1. No. 107 Petar Jovanovic (MSU) def. Daniel Caraballo (TSU) 6-1, 6-3
2. Ewen Lumsden (MSU) def. Nil Moinet (TSU) 6-1, 6-1
3. Benito Sanchez Martinez (MSU) def. Diego Britt-Alvarez (TSU) 6-2, 6-0
4. Gregor Ramskogler (MSU) def. Nicholas Adamec (TSU) 6-2, 7-5
5. Michal Novansky (MSU) def. Taj Hibbert (TSU) 7-5, 6-3
6. Pierre Copin (TSU) def. Patrick Lazo (MSU) 6-2, 6-4
Order of finish: (3,2,1,6,5,4)
For more information on the Bulldog men's tennis program, visit HailState.com or search for "HailStateMT" on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
Players Mentioned
