Tulane University
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Mississippi State
Men's Tennis Notches Upset Road Win at No. 20 Mississippi State, 4-0
Feb 7, 2020 | Men's Tennis
The win was the Green Wave's first over the Bulldogs in the post-Katrina era, with the last coming in 2004 in Montgomery, Alabama. It was also the Wave's first road win over a ranked foe since topping 19th-ranked Florida State in Tallahassee at last year's ITA Kickoff event.
"It was really a special effort by the guys to come up here into their place and come out a win," head coach and director of tennis Mark Booras said. "Luis (Erlenbusch) was the story of the day. After losing the first set, he turned it around, took it to his opponent and got a clinching victory for us. Last week, he was in position where he didn't get that clinch, so it shows what kind of heart and focus he has. I'm proud of him and all of the guys."
Tulane (4-3) fought through a tough doubles point to bounce back from lost match points on all three courts, as Luis Erlenbusch and Dane Esses closed out a 7-6(3) victory on court two. Akos Kotorman and Hamish Stewart also found themselves in a tiebreaker on court one against Mississippi State's (6-3) 27th-ranked duo of Florian Broska and Nicolas Ocana, but held on for the 7-6(0) win to clinch the doubles point.
I was really pleased with the way we started doubles," Booras said. "I thought we were very resilient. Even though we were up on all three courts, serving for the match and then got broke, they bounced back. That's what I'm most proud of."
The Green Wave kept their feet on the gas pedal heading into singles, winning the first set on four courts. Ranked 64th nationally, Hamish Stewart pushed Tulane's advantage to 2-0 with a dominant, 6-2, 6-1, win over 61st-ranked Florian Broska. Esses pushed the Bulldogs to the brink, closing out Davide Tortora, 7-6(5), 6-2, at the No. 4 spot in the lineup, but they would not go down easily.
Mississippi State was able to split sets on courts one and five, respectively, but Erlenbusch emerged on court three by doing the same. Despite dropping the first frame, 7-5, he controlled the match in the second and third sets, 6-1, 6-2, to put the match away and clinch the upset for the Green Wave.
Tulane makes a quick turnaround to face Texas Tech on Saturday at 1 p.m., in Starkville.
Tulane 4, #20 Mississippi State 0
Singles competition
1. #27 Giovanni Oradini (MS) vs. #49 Ewan Moore (TU) 3-6, 7-6 (7-4), 1-2, unfinished
2. #64 Hamish Stewart (TU) def. #61 Florian Broska (MS) 6-2, 6-1
3. Luis Erlenbusch (TU) def. Gregor Ramskogler (MS) 5-7, 6-1, 6-2
4. Dane Esses (TU) def. Davide Tortora (MS) 7-6 (7-5), 6-2
5. Alberto Colas (MS) vs. Tim Ruetzel (TU) 7-5, 2-6, 2-3, unfinished
6. Isaac Becroft (MS) vs. Akos Kotorman (TU) 6-7 (3-7), 6-2, 1-0, unfinished
Doubles competition
1. Akos Kotorman/Hamish Stewart (TU) def. #27 Florian Broska/Nicolas Ocana (MS) 7-6 (7-0)
2. Luis Erlenbusch/Dane Esses (TU) def. Giovanni Oradini/Stedman Strickland (MS) 7-6 (7-3)
3. Alberto Colas/Gregor Ramskogler (MS) vs. Benji Jacobson/Ewan Moore (TU) 6-6 (1-3), unfinished
Order of finish: Doubles (2,1); Singles (2,4,3)
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