It was a warm Friday afternoon when the No.14 Mississippi State University bulldogs men’s tennis team (1-0) took on the University of South Florida.
It was USF’s first match of the season, and they started out fairly strong on court one during doubles play. Head Coach Matt Roberts recalled the match.
“I just think Nick and Foshey just didn’t execute enough to stay up in that match, they just missed to any first serves returns,” Roberts said. “We could have probably played a little bit more to not barroso-campos, but the other guy. At the end of the day its just about making the first two balls in doubles.”
With the score tied at one a piece, and the Bulldogs winning court two 6-2, but losing court one 6-3, it came down to Florian Broska and Giovanni Ordani to win court three. Broska, a freshman from Eitelborn, Germany, describes the tiebreaker as a thriller, and ended with a MSU win of 7-6.
“They were playing insane, like volleys it was crazy they didn’t miss a single ball,” Broska said. “We just loosened up a little bit, we still had the intensity. Then we played out of our mind. We played five points, won them, but sadly didn’t get it.”
Down 1-0 in the match, the Bulldogs got off to a great start winning three singles pairings early on. Broska was one of the players who won both sets pretty decisively 6-2 and 6-0. The win was huge for him and the team, as he was able to support his teammates.
“I guess for everybody it was huge to see, and created the momentum,” Broska said. “Stranjika next to me winning the first set very quick as well, gave us both some kind of momentum, and we build each other up. In the end, it was a very fast win so I was able to support everybody, and obviously a point is a point.”
The support is helpful for the team, especially in matches like today where they were tight and down to the wire. Broska was able to support his teammates as they continued to battle it out with USF.
“I think it’s a big thing, especially when it is very tight like deuce point and who wins the game,” Broska said. “Supporting your teammates is always good, to keep them positive so they have a lot of energy.”
Coming down the stretch was a dead sprint for both teams, USF lead on courts two and three, but the victory by Foshey on six clinched the victory for the Bulldogs. The match today was a way for the team to improve and take pressure off of the doubles point.
“Today was huge for them, because losing a doubles point, and then winning the match five to two is huge because it makes you feel less pressure when you play doubles,” Roberts said. “I think those are the matches that help your mind frame in that area, and don’t put too much pressure on the doubles point.”
Coach Roberts has a lot of respect for the way USF battled his team, and can not wait to see how his No. 14 Bulldogs will play at home against the University of Miami this Sunday at noon.
