By Dylan Vazzano, TTU Sports Information
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – The Tennessee Tech tennis team will seal the deal on its season-opening, eight-match road swing with a Saturday morning meeting at No. 20 Mississippi State. Tech's tangle with its fourth nationally ranked foe over the first eight affairs is set for 10 a.m. CT in Starkville.
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A look at Tennessee Tech
TTU's get-together with the Bulldogs continues an early-season slate that has already featured two matchups against No. 12 Tennessee as well as a battle with No. 19 Wake Forest. Not only have the Golden Eagles (0-7) contend with a slew of "Power 5" opponents and all road contests in the early stages of the spring, but Tech has yet to play a match with a full squad. TTU has been forced to forfeit at least one singles clash in every match so far, which has also included two solo forfeits in each of the last four tilts.
Despite being shorthanded, Tech put together its best showing of the spring in its last test at Furman on Feb. 19. The Golden Eagles picked up a season-high three points thanks to solo nods by Mika Berghaus, Evzen Holis and Elias Grubert. Paulo Ramos Martin is responsible for TTU's other singles triumph this year behind a win at UNC Asheville on Feb. 17.
Grubert and Holis join Jaime Paquet and Pol Masafret as the quartet of Golden Eagles to have picked up a doubles victory this spring.
A look at No. 20 Mississippi State
The Bulldogs (9-1) enter Saturday on a lengthy layoff that saw MSU last hit the courts on Feb. 12 as part of a 4-3 win at No. 15 Florida State. The club's only loss this year was a 4-2 defeat at No. 16 Florida.
Peter Jovanovic comes into Saturday's clash with an undefeated 10-0 mark that has featured two victories out of the No. 1 position and eight wins out of the No. 2 spot. Calres Hernandez has posted an 8-1 record, doing a bulk of the damage toward the top of the lineup that has seen the Crevillent, Spain product produce a 1-0 mark in the No. 2 slot and a 7-1 ledger in the No. 3 position. Nemanja Malesevic has appeared in team-leading eight times in the top singles spot, recording a 4-4 record out of that place.
Malesevic and Hernandez have proven to be the most formidable doubles duo behind a 5-1 account, all out of the No. 1 position.
Inside the series
Mississippi State leads the all-time series 7-1, which includes a doubleheader sweep by the Bulldogs last season in Starkville on Feb. 6. MSU claimed the first meeting of the twin bill 6-1, before beating the Golden Eagles 4-0 in the second affair. Elias Grubert picked up the lone point in the double dip with a victory over Carles Hernandez in the No. 3 get-together.
Tech's lone victory in the set was a 5-4 triumph in Starkville on May 4, 1971 in the first ever meeting in the series.
