Men's Tennis Falls to Mississippi State in Late-Night Thriller, 4-3

Friday, February 23

New Orleans

1 PM

Tulane University

#39 Mississippi State

Photo by: Parker Waters

Men's Tennis Falls to Mississippi State in Late-Night Thriller, 4-3

Feb 23, 2018 | Men's Tennis

NEW ORLEANS - On a day that included weather delays and eventually a venue change, the Tulane men's tennis team dropped a heartbreaking, 4-3 decision to Mississippi State late Friday evening.

Initially scheduled for a 1 p.m. (CT) start, rain pushed back the start to after 3:30 local time when doubles play got underway. Constantin Schmitz and Ewan Moore built an early 5-2 lead at the No. 1 position in the lineup, while Hamish Stewart and Tim Ruetzel held a 4-3 edge at the No. 3 spot despite a 6-1 defeat on court two. Wet court conditions then forced the match into a significant delay for over four hours, forcing the remainder of competition indoors.

The final two doubles contests resumed at 8 o'clock at the Hilton RiverCentre, where Schmitz and Moore closed out a 6-4 victory, while the No. 3 match was deadlocked at six-all. Mississippi State would win the tiebreaker, 10-8, to earn the doubles point and take a 1-0 lead into singles.

With limited courts available, the first four matches got underway, as the Bulldogs earned a straight set win on court one to push their lead to 2-0 in the overall match.

Tulane cut the deficit in half when Stewart scored an impressive, 6-1, 7-5 upset over 70th-ranked Strahinja Rakic on court three despite trailing, 5-2, in the second set before winning the final five games. Stewart improves to 5-2 this spring and has won four straight.

The Green Wave drew even with the Bulldogs, 2-2, when Moore finished off an upset of his own over 20th-ranked Giovanni Oradini on court two. Moore won the first set, 6-4, and despite falling behind, 4-3, in the second frame, fought back to win the final three games and close out.

Mississippi State regained the lead when a comeback attempt by Luis Erlenbusch on court four fell short in a three-set battle, but Tyler Schick leveled the scoreboard, 3-3, with a 6-2, 7-6(6) triumph on court five for his fourth straight win, improving his dual singles ledger to 5-1 on the season.

The focus turned to court six where Ruetzel dropped the first set, 6-4, and despite holding a 6-5 lead in the second frame, could not hold on before falling, 7-6(6), as the Bulldogs clinched the match just before the clock struck midnight in New Orleans.

Tulane remains at home to host 21st-ranked Texas Tech on Sunday, February 25. First serve is scheduled for 1 p.m., at the City Park Pepsi Tennis Center.

#39 Mississippi State 4, #30 Tulane 3

Singles competition
1. #4 Nuno Borges (MISSST) def. #24 Constantin Schmitz (TLN) 6-0, 6-3
2. Ewan Moore (TLN) def. #20 Giovanni Oradini (MISSST) 6-4, 6-4
3. Hamish Stewart (TLN) def. #70 Strahinja Rakic (MISSST) 6-1, 7-5
4. Niclas Braun (MISSST) def. Luis Erlenbusch (TLN) 6-4, 5-7, 6-4
5. #95 Tyler Schick (TLN) def. Florian Broska (MISSST) 6-2, 7-6 (8-6)
6. Trevor Foshey (MISSST) def. Tim Ruetzel (TLN) 6-4, 7-6 (8-6)

Doubles competition
1. Constantin Schmitz/Ewan Moore (TLN) def. Nuno Borges/Strahinja Rakic (MISSST) 6-4
2. Niclas Braun/Giovanni Oradini (MISSST) def. #50 Tyler Schick/Luis Erlenbusch (TLN) 6-1
3. #51 Trevor Foshey/Florian Broska (MISSST) def. Hamish Stewart/Tim Ruetzel (TLN) 7-6 (10-8)

Match Notes:
Mississippi State 6-2; National ranking #39
Tulane 4-3; National ranking #30
Order of finish: Doubles (2,1,3); Singles (1,3,2,4,5,6)