MSU's Braun Named SEC Men?s Tennis Freshman of the Week
March 16, 2016 | Men's Tennis
STARKVILLE, Miss. – After a 3-1 weekend on the singles and doubles court, Mississippi State men's tennis freshman Niclas Braun has been named the Southeastern Conference Freshman of the Week, the league announced Wednesday.
Braun propelled the 25th-ranked Bulldogs to a weekend sweep of conference foes No. 12 Kentucky (5-0) and No. 72 Tennessee (6-1). The freshman earned two singles and one doubles win for MSU, while his two singles wins were match-clinching victories.
“It means a lot to me being named SEC Freshman of the Week again,” Niclas Braun said. “It's just awesome that I could help the team and be the clinching match in both wins. We are having a lot of fun right now and I'm enjoying playing with these guys.”
The recognition marks the second time this season Braun has earned the honor with the first coming on Feb. 3.
The efforts from the Berlin Germany, native also has No. 25 MSU on a three-match win streak in conference play with the Bulldogs winning 11 of their last 12 matches overall.
Despite suffering from flu-like symptoms, Braun picked up two singles wins over the weekend to extend his team best 10-match win streak. The freshman is currently a perfect 4-0 in league play and has earned a team-leading 21 singles wins overall.
In Saturday's match against the Wildcats, Braun and doubles partner Nuno Borges picked up a win to kickoff the afternoon against William Bushamuka and Nils Ellefsen, 6-1. Braun followed up that performance with a 6-3, 6-4, singles win against UK's Enzo Wallart to clinch the match.
In the weekend's finale against No, 72 Tennessee, Braun bounced back from a defeat in doubles play to take down UT's Srdjan Jakovljevic, 7-6(5), 6-2. The win on Sunday came after the freshman battled flu-like symptoms earlier that morning.
“Niclas is very deserving of this honor with the hard work he has been putting in all season,” MSU head coach Matt Roberts said. “He is playing like an upperclassmen even though he is only a freshman. I was very proud of how he responded on Sunday, despite how he was feeling.”
Braun and the 25th-ranked Bulldogs travel to College Station and Baton Rouge this weekend to face Texas A&M and LSU to continue SEC play.
For more information on the Mississippi State men's tennis program, follow “HailStateMT” on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
