MSU Posts Perfect Day At ITA All-American

Monday, October 3

Tulsa, Okla.

All Day

Mississippi State

ITA All-American Championships

Bulldogs go 6-0 at ITA All-American Championships on Monday.

MSU Posts Perfect Day At ITA All-American

October 03, 2016 | Men's Tennis

ITA All-American Championships Headquarters ITA All-American Singles Draw ITA All-American Doubles Draw

TULSA, Okla. – Six wins highlighted Mississippi State's play on Monday, as the men's tennis team posted an undefeated first day of qualifying action at the ITA All-American Championships.

Sophomores Nuno Borges, Niclas Braun, Trevor Foshey and Strahinja Rakic, along with senior Vaughn Hunter, earned victories for the Bulldogs as MSU competed in qualifying singles and doubles play with two singles players advancing to the round of 64 and two doubles teams advancing the round of 16 on Tuesday. The Bulldogs defeated two ranked opponents as well on Monday, to solidify the perfect day in Tulsa.

"This was an unbelievable day, we competed so well and applied the game plan perfectly in each match," head coach Matt Roberts said. "They won a lot of deuce deciding points which shows great poise and confidence for our guys in big moments. I'm proud of their performance today and even more excited to watch these guys do it again tomorrow."

The day began with Braun defeating Utah's No. 103 David Micevski, 6-1, 7-5, before Hunter took down Indiana's Raheel Nanji with ease, 6-3, 6-3. The win for Braun was his fourth career singles win at the ITA All-American, while Hunter has now compiled three singles wins as a Bulldog at the prestigious tournament.

The qualifying singles wins for Braun and Hunter move the Bulldogs into Tuesday's second round, with a possible third round match to be played later in the day. Braun will face Ohio State's eighth-seeded and 65th-ranked Herkko Pollanen at 10 a.m. CT, while Hunter takes on Washington's 11th-seeded and 68th-ranked Mitch Stewart at 11 a.m. CT.

Doubles play dominated the rest of Monday's action, as MSU was represented by two duos in the qualifying round. Braun and Foshey downed Wisconsin's Josef Dodridge and Lamar Remy, 6-3, 6-4, before beating Arkansas' Johan den Toom and Jose Salazar, 6-2, 6-1. The pair of wins for Braun and Foshey on Monday were their first as a doubles team. The duo will face the Memphis tandem of Ryan Peniston and Andrew Watson on Tuesday.

In their first appearance as a doubles team, the duo of Borges and Rakic upset the 50th ranked pair of Christain Langmo and Piotr Lomacki, 7-6(3), 6-3. The Miami (FL) duo was slotted as a 9-16 seeded at the ITA All-American. The pair wasn't done however, as the Borges and Rakic defeated Baylor's Constantin Frantzen and Max Tchoutakian, 6-4, 7-6(4).

Up Next
Tuesday will mark the second day of qualifying play at the ITA All-American Championships, as main draw action will start up on Thursday, Oct. 6, after a brief break on Wednesday.

Social Media:
For more information on the Mississippi State men's tennis program, follow "HailStateMT" on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

ITA All-American Championships
Oct. 3, 2016 – Michael D. Case Tennis Center – Tulsa, Okla.

Qualifying Singles
Round of 128 – Niclas Braun (MSU) def. No. 103 David Micevski (Utah) 6-1, 7-5; Vaughn Hunter (MSU) def. Raheel Manji (IU)

Qualifying Doubles
Round of 64 - Braun/Foshey (MSU) def. Dodridge/Remy (Wisconsin) 6-3, 6-4; Borges/Rakic (MSU) def. No. 50 Langmo/Lomacki (Miami) 7-6(3), 6-3

Round of 32 – Braun/Foshey (MSU) def. den Toom/Salazar (ARK) 6-2, 6-1; Borges/Rakic (MSU) def. Frantzen/Tchoutakian (Baylor) 6-4, 7-6(4)