UGA Men’s Tennis: Georgia Beats Mississippi State for Sixth-Straight Win
ATHENS — With the match tied at 2-2, the No. 10-ranked Georgia men’s tennis team tallied a pair of victories at the No. 1 and 2 singles positions to defeat the 41st-ranked Mississippi State Bulldogs, 5-2, Sunday at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex.
Georgia, now 9-2 overall and 3-0 in the SEC, has won six matches in a row, including four-consecutive victories against ranked opponents. The Bulldogs won Sunday’s contest against Mississippi State without usual No. 2 singles player Philip Henning, who was held out of singles.
The Bulldogs from Athens now hit the road to battle No. 6 Florida and No. 29 South Carolina this weekend.
“Our guys showed tremendous toughness, and I can’t say enough about them,” head coach Manuel Diaz said. “Their energy out there is like the old Georgia teams. When we found ourselves in trouble, we really stepped it up and raised our game in an incredible way. We just fought tremendously well, and that’s something to be proud of. We’re showing tremendous growth as players, and these guys have improved and feel comfortable in the difficult moments of these matches. They’re able to raise their games, as we saw today. These [next] two opponents will be as good as anybody we’ve played all year, and we’re looking forward to the challenge.”
In doubles, Georgia’s 26th-ranked duo of Blake Croyder and Henning gained early momentum. They went up a break 2-0 and held on for the 6-4 win against Giovanni Oradini and Stedman Strickland. It marked the Georgia tandem’s seventh-straight victory of the season.
The Bulldogs had work to do on the remaining two courts, with contests at one and three in back-and-forth battles.
On court one, the 15th-ranked duo of Trent Bryde and Tyler Zink went up a break 2-1, before facing a Mississippi State comeback. Up 6-5 and with MSU serving at deuce point, Bryde and Zink finally clinched the match to give Georgia a 1-0 lead.
As the action turned to singles, the lineup was altered with everyone moving up a spot due to Henning’s absence.
Croyder, who played at No. 3 for just the second time this season, won his 17th-straight singles match in dual competition with a 6-1, 6-2 triumph against Gregor Ramskogler.
Georgia found itself up 2-0, but was a long way from winning the match. All the remaining courts were tight, as one, two and four went to three sets, while Georgia took losses at the bottom two spots.
With the match tied at 2-2, the home team turned on the pressure at the top two singles positions. At No. 2, Zink rebounded from a first-set loss to win 6-1 in the second. He then won three of the last four games in the third set to defeat 89th-ranked Florian Broska, 5-7, 6-1, 6-4.
At No. 1, Bryde responded from his second-set loss to clinch the match with a 6-3, 2-6, 6-2 triumph against No. 43-ranked Giovanni Oradini.
Grevelius then put the final score at 5-2 in Georgia’s favor, as he took down Davide Tortora, 2-6, 6-4, 7-6 (7-4).
Tennis Match Results
Mississippi State vs. Georgia
March 08, 2020 at Athens, Ga.
(Dan Magill Tennis Complex)
#10 Georgia 5, #41 Mississippi State 2
Singles
1. #12 Trent Bryde (UGA) def. #43 Giovanni Oradini (MS) 6-3, 2-6, 6-2
2. #80 Tyler Zink (UGA) def. #89 Florian Broska (MS) 5-7, 6-1, 6-4
3. #88 Blake Croyder (UGA) def. Gregor Ramskogler (MS) 6-1, 6-2
4. Erik Grevelius (UGA) def. Davide Tortora (MS) 2-6, 6-4, 7-6 (7-4)
5. Alberto Colas (MS) def. Baptiste Anselmo (UGA) 7-6 (7-4), 6-0
6. Isaac Becroft (MS) def. Robert Loeb (UGA) 6-4, 7-5
Doubles
1. #15 Trent Bryde/Tyler Zink (UGA) def. #43 Florian Broska/Nicolas Ocana (MS) 7-5
2. #26 Philip Henning/Blake Croyder (UGA) def. Giovanni Oradini/Stedman Strickland (MS) 6-4
3. Robert Loeb/Erik Grevelius (UGA) vs. #75 Gregor Ramskogler/Alberto Colas (MS) 6-6 (2-1), unfinished
Match Notes:
Mississippi State 9-6, 1-2; National ranking #41
Georgia 9-2, 3-0; National ranking #10
Order of finish:
Doubles (2,1); Singles (3,5,6,2,1,4)
Official: Karen Badger-Mabry T-3:00 A-859