By Dylan Vazzano, TTU Sports Information
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – Following a near month-long layoff after its opening day doubleheader, the Tennessee Tech tennis team is finally back in action for another twin bill, as the Golden Eagles head to No. 19 Mississippi State for a Sunday double dip with the Bulldogs. The first affair in Starkville is slated for a 10 a.m. CT start, while the second contest is scheduled to begin at 2 p.m. CT.
Originally scheduled to face the 19th-ranked Bulldogs on Jan. 14, Tech's Sunday tangle with Mississippi State will be live streamed. Click here to watch. Live stats will also be available. Click here to view.
A look at Tech
TTU's doubleheader in Starkville will mark the second top 20 squad the Golden Eagles have locked up with this year after the purple and gold fell in both matches of a twin bill to No. 10 Wake Forest on Jan. 9 in Tech's only tilts this spring. The Golden Eagles were upended 7-0 in the first affair and 4-0 in the second clash.
Tech enters the 2022 campaign after another championship-driven campaign in 2021 that saw the purple and gold capture the OVC regular-season crown. TTU's 5-0 league ledger pushed the Golden Eagles to their eighth regular-season crown in the last 10 full seasons.
Tech carried over its spring success into a strong 2021 that featured four different Golden Eagles with double-digit singles victories. Evzen Holis led the charge with a 13-4 solo record, while Mika Berghaus registered a 10-3 record and Elias Grubert and Rafael Tosetto each tallied 10-4 marks.
As far as doubles play is concerned, the Tech tandem of Berghaus and Grubert entered the spring with a preseason No. 38 national ranking, the only OVC duo to be ranked in the nation's top 60.
A look at No. 19 Mississippi State
The Bulldogs have been a bit busier than the Golden Eagles with six matches under their spring belt, posting a 5-1 record with the club's only loss coming to No. 11 Kentucky on Jan. 30. Mississippi State has secured wins over Middle Tennessee, UAB, Arkansas, Memphis and North Alabama.
Floridan Broska, MSU's top-ranked singles player who possesses a No. 22 national ranking as well, has put together a perfect 6-0 singles mark throughout the early stages of the squad's campaign. The club's No. 2 performer, Nemanja Malsevic has been nearly as impressive with a 5-1 ledger, with all six clashes occurring out of the No. 2 spot in the Bulldog lineup.
From a doubles perspective, Broska and Gregor Ramskogler have appeared in all six matches out of the No. 1 tandem position and have posted a 4-2 mark this season.
Inside the series
Mississippi State leads the all-time series 5-1. The Golden Eagles captured the first ever meeting in the set with a 5-4 triumph in Starkville on May 4, 1971, but the Bulldogs have seized the last five matchups.
The two clubs last met twice in Jan., 2020 with Mississippi State claiming the first get-together 4-2 and the second clash 5-2.
Photo by Thomas Corhern
