Mississippi State
Texas A&M
Cutura, Braun Pick Up Singles Win In 5-2 Defeat To No. 9 Texas A&M
March 18, 2016 | Men's Tennis
COLLEGE STATION, Texas – Junior Mate Cutura picked up his fourth ranked singles win of the season, but it wasn't enough as No. 25 Mississippi State men's tennis team (11-4, 3-2) fell to No. 9 Texas A&M (16-4, 4-1), 5-2, on the road.
“We played tough today and I thought Mate and Niclas stepped up in singles play,” head coach Matt Roberts said. “We need to keep working hard and looking forward, because the SEC schedule doesn't get any easier. We'll take this loss and use it as a lesson and keep improving like we've done all year long.”
The Bulldogs are now 3-2 in conference play, as MSU continues the SEC slate at No. 48 LSU on Sunday.
State began Friday's match against the No. 9 Aggies with two doubles losses. MSU's Nuno Borges and Niclas Braun fell to TAMU's No. 25 pair of Arthur Rinderknech and Jackson Withrow, 6-2. The Aggies clinched the doubles point after A&M's Harrison Adams and Shane Vinsant defeated State's tandem of Mate Cutura and Luka Sucevic, 6-3.
Leading 1-0, the Aggies extended their lead to 3-0 after Strahinja Rakic and Foshey fell to A&M foes in singles play. Rakic was defeated, 6-1, 6-4, while Foshey dropped a decision by the same score to TAMU's A.J. Catanzarti.
MSU would respond by narrowing the margin to 3-2, after taking back-to-back singles matches via Cutura and Braun wins. Both Bulldogs picked up straight-set victories, winning 6-2, 6-4, and 6-4, 6-0, respectively. For 36th-ranked Cutura, the win against A&M's No. 14 Arthur Rinderknech was his fourth ranked singles win of the season. Braun's win against TAMU's Harrison Adams improved his undefeated SEC singles record to 5-0.
The Aggies clinched Friday's contest after No. 34 Shane Vinsant downed MSU's 77th-ranked Rishab Agarwal, 6-4, 6-3. To close out Friday's match, TAMU's No. 67 Jordi Arconada defeated Nuno Borges in three sets, 6-3, 1-6, 6-3, bringing the final score in favor of A&M, 5-2.
State continues conference play on Sunday with a trip to Baton Rouge to face No. 48 LSU at 1 p.m. CT.
For more information on the Mississippi State men's tennis program, follow “HailStateMT” on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
No. 9 Texas A&M 5, No. 25 Mississippi State 2
Friday, March 18, 2016 – College Station, Texas
Doubles
1. #25 Arthur Rinderknech/Jackson Withrow (TAMU) def. Nuno Borges/Niclas Braum (MSU) 6-2
2. Harrison Adams/Shane Vinsant (TAMU) def. Mate Cutura/Luka Sucevic (MSU) 6-3
3. #57 Jordi Arconada/Max Lunkin (TAMU) vs. Strahinja Rakic/Trevor Foshey (MSU) 5-4, unfinished
Singles
1. #36 Mate Cutura (MSU) def. #14 Arthur Rinderknech (TAMU) 6-2, 6-4
2. #34 Shane Vinsant (TAMU) def. #77 Rishab Agarwal (MSU) 6-4, 6-3
3. #67 Jordi Arconada (TAMU) def. Nuno Borges (MSU) 6-3, 1-6, 6-3
4. Niclas Braum (MSU) def. Harrison Adams (TAMU) 6-4, 6-0
5. AJ Catanzariti (TAMU) def. Trevor Foshey (MSU) 6-1, 6-4
6. Jackson Withrow (TAMU) def. Strahinja Rakic (MSU) 6-1, 6-4
Order of finish… Doubles… 1, 2 Singles… 5, 6, 4, 1, 2, 3
Players Mentioned
