Mississippi State
Three Oaks Shootout
Cutura Paces Bulldogs On Final Day Of Three Oaks Shootout
January 18, 2016 | Men's Tennis
FORT MYERS, Fla. – On the final day of the Three Oaks Shootout, junior Mate Cutura defeated his second ranked opponent of the weekend, knocking off University of South Florida's No. 17 Roberto Cid in straight sets.
The 7-6, 7-6 win on Sunday was in a similar fashion to Cutura's straight-sets win against Texas Christian's No. 24 Guillermo Nunez on Saturday, with the junior downing the Horned Frog 7-6, 6-0.
Along with Cutura's singles win, the Bulldogs earned three more victories against No. 15 USF to edge out the Bulls 4-3 in singles play. However, USF got the best of MSU in doubles play, winning all three matches.
“I'm really proud of our team and how much they have improved over these three days,” MSU coach Matt Roberts said. “They are hungry and are a very coachable group. We're not where we want to be, but we're much improved since the start of this weekend.”
The freshmen trio of Nuno Borges, Strahinja Rakic and Niclas Braun were responsible for three of MSU's singles wins against USF on Sunday. Borges took down Justin Roberts in a thrilling three-set match, 7-6, 2-6, 7-6, while Rakic also won in three sets against Peter Bertran 7-5, 0-6, 6-2. Braun cruised in straight sets, downing Vadym Kalyuzhnyy 7-5, 6-2.
Juniors Rishab Agarwal and Vaughn Hunter fell in singles play to USF's Dominic Cotrone (7-5, 6-1) and Ignacio Gonzalez-Muniz (6-4, 6-2). Freshman Luka Sucevic dropped a 6-3, 6-4 decision to USF's Everth Dzib.
In doubles play, the Maroon and White tandem of Hunter and Cutura lost a hard-fought match to USF's Dominic Cotrone and Justin Roberts, 7-5. The Bulldog duos of Borges and Braun, along with Rakic and Agarwal, each lost to USF tandems, 6-2.
The Bulldogs will return to the state of Florida, kicking off the 2016 dual match campaign with the ITA Kickoff next weekend on Jan. 23-24 in Tampa. State will open up the weekend against LSU on Saturday and close against either Florida State or South Florida on Sunday. The weekend's winner will advance to play in the ITA National Team Indoor Championships, which will be held in Chicago, Ill., on Feb. 14-15.
For more information on the Mississippi State men's tennis program, follow “HailStateMT” on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
Three Oaks Shootout
Jan. 17, 2016 – Three Oaks Tennis Center – Fort Myers, Fla.
Singles –Mate Cutura (MSU) def. No. 17 Roberto Cid 7-6, 7-6; Dominic Cotrone (USF) def. Rishab Agarwal 7-5, 6-1; Nuno Borges (MSU) def. Justin Roberts (USF) 7-6, 2-6, 7-6; Niclas Braun (MSU) def. Vadym Kalyuzhnyy (USF) 7-5, 6-2; Strahinja Rakic (MSU) def. Peter Bertran 7-5, 0-6, 6-2; Ignacio Gonzalez-Muniz (USF) def. Vaughn Hunter (MSU) 6-4, 6-2; Everth Dzib (USF) def. Luka Sucevic (MSU) 6-3, 6-4
Doubles – Cotrone/Roberts (USF) def. Hunter/Cutura (MSU) 7-5; Cid/Gonzalez (USF) def. Borges/Braun (MSU) 6-2; Kalyuzhnyy/Bertran (USF) def. Sanchez/Sucevic (MSU) 6-2
