Colorado University Athletics
MEN?S TENNIS FALLS TO NO. 27 MISSISSIPPI STATE
MONTGOMERY, Ala. ? The Colorado men’s tennis team ran into a tough 27th ranked Mississippi State team today, falling 4-0 in the first round of the 16-team Big 10 Tires Blue-Gray National Collegiate Classic.
CU drops to 5-6 overall while the Bulldogs improve to 6-2 having won their last six in a row. The match was the first-ever meeting between the schools in men’s tennis.
The Bulldogs gained the opening point, but not without a stiff challenge from the Buffaloes. Colorado took the first match at No. 3 as Marek Dvorak and Chad Tsuda teamed for an 8-4 win.
At No. 1, the teams traded several service breaks before MSU’s pair of Luiz Carvalho and Jose-Carlos Pinto finally finished off an 8-6 victory over Marcos Digliodo and Evan Dixon. In the deciding match, MSU’s 49th-ranked team of Romain Ambert and Florent Girod rolled to an early 6-0 lead, but CU’s duo of Peter Bjork and Marko Bundalo got the score back to 6-4. Ambert and Girod then claimed the final two games of the match to give the Bulldogs the first point of the day.
In singles play, State won the first three matches in straight sets to clinch the team triumph. MSU also held the advantage in the other three contests when play was suspended at that point.
Putting the Bulldogs up 2-0 was Carvalho, who won his sixth match in a row with a 6-2, 6-2 victory over Bjork at the No. 3 position. State went up 3-0 with a 6-3, 6-3 win from Ambert, ranked 13th nationally, over Digliodo at the top spot.
The victory-clincher against CU would be provided by senior Max Fomine, who downed Marek Dvorak 6-2, 6-4 at No. 4. Pinto, Girod and Romain Provenzano all held one-set leads in their respective matches when play was suspended.
Colorado plays North Carolina State (4-7) on Friday.
#27 MISSISSIPPI STATE 4, COLORADO 0
Mississippi State (6-2, Colorado (5-6)
Lagoon Park Tennis Center, Montgomery, Ala.
Doubles
1) Luiz Carvalho/Jose-Carlos Pinto (MSU) def. Marcos Digliodo/Evan Dixon 8-6
2) #49 Romain Ambert/Florent Girod (MSU) def. Peter Bjork/Marko Bundalo 8-4
3) Marek Dvorak/Chad Tsuda (CU) def. Matt Armstrong/Max Fomine 8-4
Singles
1) #13 Ambert (MSU) def. Digliodo 6-3, 6-3
2) Pinto (MSU) vs. Bundalo 6-2, 1-2, susp.
3) Carvalho (MSU) def. Bjork 6-2, 6-2
4) Fomine (MSU) def. Dvorak 6-2, 6-4
5) Girod (MSU) vs. Tsuda 6-4, 4-2, susp.
6) Provenzano (MSU) vs. Dixon 7-6(2), 5-3, susp.