University of Tennessee Athletics
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#12 Mississippi State
Vols Fall to Bulldogs, 4-2
April 01, 2018 | Men's Tennis
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KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- No. 19 Tennessee came up short in a top 20 matchup on Sunday, losing to 12th ranked Mississippi State 4-2 at Goodfriend Tennis Center.
The Vols (17-6, 6-3 SEC) jumped ahead 1-0 by picking up a dramatic doubles win, as the 15th ranked pairing of Preston Touliatos and Luis Valero clinched the point by defeating #58 Nuno Borges and Strahinja Rakic in a tiebreaker, 7-4.
The Bulldogs (14-1, 8-0 SEC) would then answer in singles with wins on Court's 3, 4 and 1 to take a 3-1 match lead. On Court 1, the matchup between No. 16 Timo Stodder and No. 3 Nuno Borges went back and forth deep into the third set, with Borges coming out on top, 6-4.
Sophomore Luca Wiedenmann earned a clutch three-set victory of his own on Court 6 to improve to 11-2 in dual match play and 3-0 in the SEC this season.
On Court 2, Luis Valero took 13th ranked Giovanni Oradini to a third set, but was unable to close out the match as Oradini claimed a 6-3 set win and clinched the Bulldog victory.
Following the match, head coach Chris Woodruff felt that a lack of effort did not hinder UT throughout the day, but a lack of consistency from doubles to singles play prevented the Vols from coming away with the win.
"I saw a lot of fight in most spots," Woodruff said. "The biggest thing for me is getting these guys to understand that they are a good team, and then most importantly is for them to figure out how they can play a complete match. It's April, and if I'm honest, we are yet to play a complete dual match. When we start doing that, we're gonna be pretty good."
UP NEXT: The Vols travel to Tuscaloosa for a matchup with No. 47 Alabama next Sunday at 1 p.m.
#12 Mississippi State 4, #19 Tennessee 2
Singles
1. #3 Nuno Borges (MSU) def. #16 Timo Stodder (UT) 7-6 (1), 5-7, 6-4
2. #13 Giovanni Oradini (MSU) def. Luis Valero (UT) 4-6, 7-5, 6-3
3. #86 Strahinja Rakic (MSU) def. Adam Walton (UT) 6-3, 6-3
4. Niclas Braun (MSU) def. Preston Touliatos (UT) 6-3, 6-1
5. Scott Jones (UT) vs. Florian Broska (MSU) 5-7, 7-6 (2), 5-3, unfinished
6. Luca Wiedenmann (UT) def. Trevor Foshey (MSU) 3-6, 6-3, 6-4
Doubles
1. #15 Touliatos/Valero (UT) def. #58 Borges/Rakic (MSU) 7-6 (4)
2. #30 Braun/Oradini (MSU) def. Stodder/Walton (UT) 6-4
3. Rogers/Muamba (UT) def. #65 Broska/Foshey (MSU) 6-4
Order of Finish: Doubles (2,3,1); Singles (3,4,1,6,2)
Players Mentioned
