The Mississippi State men’s tennis team opened its regular season with a 6-1 loss at No. 2 Baylor on Saturday. The Bulldogs lost five of six singles matches and lost the doubles point 2-1.
Baylor, which boasts four top 100 players and two in the top five, won four of its five singles victories in straight sets.
Senior all-American Romain Ambert, ranked fourth nationally and playing the No. 1 spot for State, dropped a 6-2, 6-1 decision to third-ranked Benedikt Dorsch. At No. 5, MSU’s Florent Girod took the first set before falling to 79th ranked Ivan Lovrak 4-6, 6-1, 6-1.
In doubles, Baylor garnered wins at the No. 1 and No. 3 positions 8-5 and 8-1, respectively. State’s Luiz Carvalho and Jose-Carlos Pinto defeated Baylor’s Jason Gould and Matija Zgaga at the No. 2 spot 8-6.
“Baylor is a very, very good team. They are ranked No. 2 for a reason,” MSU head coach Sylvain Guichard said. “We never like losing, but I’m not overly disappointed with our effort today because we didn’t beat ourselves. Baylor was just too good for us, but we worked hard this week and gave a solid effort today.”
Bulldog freshman Romain Provenzano provided one of State’s few bright spots Saturday. Playing at the No. 6 position in his first dual match ever, Provenzano defeated Baylor’s Adrian Szatmary in straight sets 6-3, 6-3.
“We lost in doubles to a very good team, so I was motivated in singles,” Provenzano said.
Baylor now leads the all-time series with State 4-1, with every meeting coming in the last five years. The Bulldogs now prepare to face No. 6 Mississippi at the River Hills Cup in Jackson on Jan. 29.
“I hate to say it, but Mississippi is just as good or better than Baylor,” Guichard said.