Men's Tennis Falls to No. 24 Mississippi State, 5-2

Sunday, February 21

New Orleans

1 PM

Tulane University

Mississippi State

Photo by: Parker Waters

Men's Tennis Falls to No. 24 Mississippi State, 5-2

Feb 21, 2021 | Men's Tennis

Box Score

NEW ORLEANS - The Tulane men's tennis team had its three-match winning streak snapped in a 5-2 setback against 24th-ranked Mississippi State, 5-2, on Sunday afternoon at the City Park Tennis Center.

The defeat marks Tulane's (6-3) second this spring to Mississippi State (9-1) who won by the same score in Starkville, Miss., on Jan. 31.

The afternoon began with a tightly contested race for the doubles point, as the Bulldogs earned a 6-3 victory on court three. The Green Wave countered when Ewan Moore and Hamish Stewart closed out court one, 6-3, to improve their record to 8-1 atop the lineup.

All attention turned to the deciding match on court two, where Akos Kotorman and Billy Suarez earned an early break to take a 3-2 lead. Mississippi State punched back to win the next three games and reach match point, but the Wave held on to tie it up, 5-5.

After both sides split the next two games, the Bulldogs jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the tiebreaker and held on by a 7-4 count to clinch the doubles point. It marked the first time this spring Tulane did not claim the first team point of the match this season.

Mississippi State earned a straight-set victory on court four to extend its advantage to 2-0, but the 40th-ranked Stewart cut the margin in half with a 7-5, 6-3 upset win over 36th-ranked Giovanni Oradini on court one. The win was Stewart's third in a row and second over a ranked opponent in 2021.

The Green Wave were able to win four first sets, but the Bulldogs claimed five second sets to reclaim control. Mississippi State was able to come back from a lost first set on court three to win in three frames, before clinching in straight sets on court four.

🎥: Coach Booras reflects on today's match against Mississippi State pic.twitter.com/GKHubLen3O
— Tulane Men's Tennis (@GreenWaveMTenn) February 21, 2021

Tulane put one more tally on the scoreboard when freshman Rafael de Alba finished off a 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 win on court six. He improves to 5-1 on the season and has won five straight decisions.

Tulane remains at home to host No. 7 Texas on Saturday, February 27. First serve is set for noon at the City Park Tennis Center.

#24 Mississippi State 5, Tulane 2
Singles competition
1. #40 Hamish Stewart (TLN) def. #36 Giovanni Oradini (MS) 7-5, 6-3
2. #87 Florian Broska (MS) def. #53 Ewan Moore (TLN) 1-6, 7-6 (7-2), 6-4
3. Nemanja Malesevic (MS) def. Luis Erlenbusch (TLN) 3-6, 6-3, 6-0
4. Alberto Colas (MS) def. Billy Suarez (TLN) 6-0, 6-2
5. Carles Hernandez (MS) def. Fynn Kuenkler (TLN) 7-6 (7-4), 6-3
6. Rafael de Alba (TLN) def. Gregor Ramskogler (MS) 6-2, 3-6, 6-3

Doubles competition
1. Hamish Stewart/Ewan Moore (TLN) def. Giovanni Oradini/Alberto Colas (MS) 6-3
2. Florian Broska/Gregor Ramskogler (MS) def. Akos Kotorman/Billy Suarez (TLN) 7-6 (7-4)
3. Nemanja Malesevic/Nicolas Ocana (MS) def. Fynn Kuenkler/Luis Erlenbusch (TLN) 6-3

Order of finish: Doubles (3,1,2*); Singles (4,1,3,5*,6,2)

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