Sunday, February 12
Tampa, Fla.
12:00 PM
Mississippi State
2
at
4
South Florida
Freshman Giovanni Oradini continued his excellent play in the Bulldog loss.
No. 16 MSU Falls In Road Battle Against USF
February 12, 2017 | Men's Tennis
TAMPA, Fla. – The 16th-ranked Mississippi State men's tennis team (4-1) couldn't hold off South Florida (2-3) on Sunday as the Bulls defeated the Bulldogs, 4-2, to hand MSU its first loss of the season.
The defeat was only the second time State has lost to USF in the head-to-head series. Sunday's match capped MSU's road weekend in Florida as the Bulldogs split matches with Miami and USF.
"I'm very proud of the way our team fought today in a very hostile environment," head coach Matt Roberts said. "We continue to work so well together in these adverse situations and that is something special to have as a team."
The day began with the Bulldogs starting in a hole on doubles, but MSU would right the ship to take two of three matches to claim the doubles point. USF downed Nuno Borges and Strahinja Rakic, 6-3, for its one doubles win, before the Bulldog tandem of No. 44 Niclas Braun and Trevor Foshey earned MSU's first win, 6-4. In the three spot, Mate Cutura and Giovanni Oradini would fight back to clinch the point, after winning in a tiebreaker, 7-6(1).
In singles action USF would respond by winning five of the first six sets to start out. The Bulls claimed their first point of the afternoon with the 6-4, 6-4 defeat of Simon Baudry to even the score at 1-1. The match's momentum would swing back to MSU thereafter, following No. 3 Borges, Rakic and Oradini second set wins.
Despite losing his opening set to Pierre Luquet, 2-6, Oradini stormed back to take the next two, 6-3, 6-0, as MSU retook the lead at 2-1. The win for Oradini capped a perfect 4-0 weekend for the freshman in doubles (2-0) and singles (2-0).
On court four, Braun would mount multiple comebacks against No. 71 Peter Bertran but was ultimately defeated in a pair of hard-fought sets, 7-5, 7-6(4). With the decision the momentum would again swing, this time in favor of USF.
With all three remaining matches in third sets, Rakic and Cutura would be the final two to fall as the pair gave valiant efforts but could not overcome their USF opponents. Rakic fell 6-2, 4-6, 6-3, to No. 81 Alberto Barroso-Campos, while Cutura lost 2-6, 6-4, 6-4, to Justin Roberts. On court one, No. 3 Borges held a lead in the third set with Sasha Gozun before his match was suspended at 3-6, 6-3, 6-5.
"USF played great and I have to give credit to their level of singles play on their home courts," Roberts said. "We will learn from our slow starts in singles, but once again we are competing well together and love being in tough situations."
Up Next
The Bulldogs will now prepare for the ITA National Team Indoor Championships next weekend in Charlottesville, Va., on Feb. 17-19.
Additional Notes
Social Media
For more information on the Mississippi State men's tennis program, follow "HailStateMT" on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
South Florida 4, No. 16 Mississippi State 2
Tampa, Fla. – USF Varsity Tennis Courts – Feb. 12, 2017
Doubles
1. No. 44 Niclas Braun/Trevor Foshey (MSU) def. Sasha Gozun/Alberto Barroso (USF) 6-4
2. Peter Bertran/Justin Roberts (USF) def. Nuno Borges/Strahinja Rakic (MSU) 6-3
3. Mate Cutura/Giovanni Oradini (MSU) def. Nils Heimer/Vadym Kalyuzhnyy (USF) 7-6(1)
Order of finish: 2, 1, 3
Singles
1. No. 3 Nuno Borges (MSU) vs. Sasha Gozun (USF) 3-6, 6-3, 6-5, suspended
2. Justin Roberts (USF) def. Mate Cutura (MSU) 2-6, 6-4, 6-4*
3. No. 81 Alberto Barroso-Campos (USF) def. Strahinja Rakic (MSU) 6-2, 4-6, 6-3
4. No. 71 Peter Bertran (USF) def. Niclas Braun (MSU) 7-5, 7-6(4)
5. Giovanni Oradini (MSU) def. Pierre Luquet (USF) 2-6, 6-3, 6-0
6. Vadym Kalyuzhnyy (USF) def. Simon Baudry (MSU) 6-4, 6-4
Order of finish: 6, 5, 4, 3, 2
* - Match-clinching victory
The defeat was only the second time State has lost to USF in the head-to-head series. Sunday's match capped MSU's road weekend in Florida as the Bulldogs split matches with Miami and USF.
"I'm very proud of the way our team fought today in a very hostile environment," head coach Matt Roberts said. "We continue to work so well together in these adverse situations and that is something special to have as a team."
The day began with the Bulldogs starting in a hole on doubles, but MSU would right the ship to take two of three matches to claim the doubles point. USF downed Nuno Borges and Strahinja Rakic, 6-3, for its one doubles win, before the Bulldog tandem of No. 44 Niclas Braun and Trevor Foshey earned MSU's first win, 6-4. In the three spot, Mate Cutura and Giovanni Oradini would fight back to clinch the point, after winning in a tiebreaker, 7-6(1).
In singles action USF would respond by winning five of the first six sets to start out. The Bulls claimed their first point of the afternoon with the 6-4, 6-4 defeat of Simon Baudry to even the score at 1-1. The match's momentum would swing back to MSU thereafter, following No. 3 Borges, Rakic and Oradini second set wins.
Despite losing his opening set to Pierre Luquet, 2-6, Oradini stormed back to take the next two, 6-3, 6-0, as MSU retook the lead at 2-1. The win for Oradini capped a perfect 4-0 weekend for the freshman in doubles (2-0) and singles (2-0).
On court four, Braun would mount multiple comebacks against No. 71 Peter Bertran but was ultimately defeated in a pair of hard-fought sets, 7-5, 7-6(4). With the decision the momentum would again swing, this time in favor of USF.
With all three remaining matches in third sets, Rakic and Cutura would be the final two to fall as the pair gave valiant efforts but could not overcome their USF opponents. Rakic fell 6-2, 4-6, 6-3, to No. 81 Alberto Barroso-Campos, while Cutura lost 2-6, 6-4, 6-4, to Justin Roberts. On court one, No. 3 Borges held a lead in the third set with Sasha Gozun before his match was suspended at 3-6, 6-3, 6-5.
"USF played great and I have to give credit to their level of singles play on their home courts," Roberts said. "We will learn from our slow starts in singles, but once again we are competing well together and love being in tough situations."
Up Next
The Bulldogs will now prepare for the ITA National Team Indoor Championships next weekend in Charlottesville, Va., on Feb. 17-19.
Additional Notes
- MSU's all-time series lead over USF was narrowed to 3-2 after Sunday's loss
- The win for USF was its first against MSU since 1988
- State has only lost one doubles point this season, while winning four
- Two Bulldogs are still undefeated in dual-match singles play, Nuno Borges (4-0) and Giovanni Oradini (3-0)
Social Media
For more information on the Mississippi State men's tennis program, follow "HailStateMT" on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
South Florida 4, No. 16 Mississippi State 2
Tampa, Fla. – USF Varsity Tennis Courts – Feb. 12, 2017
Doubles
1. No. 44 Niclas Braun/Trevor Foshey (MSU) def. Sasha Gozun/Alberto Barroso (USF) 6-4
2. Peter Bertran/Justin Roberts (USF) def. Nuno Borges/Strahinja Rakic (MSU) 6-3
3. Mate Cutura/Giovanni Oradini (MSU) def. Nils Heimer/Vadym Kalyuzhnyy (USF) 7-6(1)
Order of finish: 2, 1, 3
Singles
1. No. 3 Nuno Borges (MSU) vs. Sasha Gozun (USF) 3-6, 6-3, 6-5, suspended
2. Justin Roberts (USF) def. Mate Cutura (MSU) 2-6, 6-4, 6-4*
3. No. 81 Alberto Barroso-Campos (USF) def. Strahinja Rakic (MSU) 6-2, 4-6, 6-3
4. No. 71 Peter Bertran (USF) def. Niclas Braun (MSU) 7-5, 7-6(4)
5. Giovanni Oradini (MSU) def. Pierre Luquet (USF) 2-6, 6-3, 6-0
6. Vadym Kalyuzhnyy (USF) def. Simon Baudry (MSU) 6-4, 6-4
Order of finish: 6, 5, 4, 3, 2
* - Match-clinching victory
Players Mentioned
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
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