By Dylan Vazzano, TTU Sports Information
STARKVILLE, Miss. – Two Golden Eagles claimed singles victories, as the Tennessee Tech tennis team held its own in a season-opening 4-2 loss at No. 21 Mississippi State.
Newcomer Evzen Holis and sophomore Elias Grubert gave Tech (0-1) its pair of points, each claiming a win in the middle of the singles lineup. Holis secured a hard-fought three-set nod with a 6-7, 7-5, 7-6 triumph over Alberto C. Sanchez out of the No. 3 slot, while Grubet carded a 6-4, 6-4 win against Jonas Hartenstein out of the No. 4 position.
TTU's top of the order had to contend with a pair of nationally-ranked foes, as No. 15 Giovanni Oradini collected a 6-2, 6-2 victory against Carlos Vicente in the top spot and No. 101 Davide Tortora notched a 6-2, 7-6 nod over Rafael Tosetto in the No. 2 affair.
Marc Mila led Isaac Becroft in the No. 6 clash after the Golden Eagle senior took the first set, 6-4, but the match went unfinished with Becroft leading 2-1 in the second set.
The Bulldogs (2-0) took care of business in the No. 5 matchup, as Nicolas Ocana topped Fanis Kontopoulos with 7-5, 6-1 victory.
MSU jumped out to an early lead in the match after claiming wins in all three doubles duels. The combination of Florian Broska and Nicolas Ocana took down Carlos Vicente and Evzen Holis with a 6-2 triumph in the top spot, while Jonas Hartenstein and Gregor Ramskogler slid past Riku Kubota and Lucca Silva with a 7-6 victory in the No. 2 slot. Isaac Becroft and Stedman Strickland followed suit thanks to a 6-3 nod against Marc Mila and Rafael Tosetto in the No. 3 position.
Tech will concluded its stay in Starkville with a second-straight battle against the Bulldogs Sunday morning. First serve is slated for 11 a.m. CT.
Photo by Thomas Corhern