Mississippi State
Florida
No. 24 MSU Drops Close Decision To No. 16 Florida At Home, 4-3
March 26, 2016 | Men's Tennis
STARKVILLE, Miss. – An excited and ruckus crowd witnessed the 24th-ranked Mississippi state men's tennis team (12-5, 4-3) give a valiant effort at home on Friday night, but it was not enough to hold off No. 16 Florida (10-4, 5-1) as the Bulldogs fell, 4-3.
The loss for MSU was its first of the season at the A.J. Pitts Tennis Centre and snapped a 13-match home winning streak dating back to March 25, 2015.
“We gained a lot from tonight's match,” head coach Matt Roberts said. “We had positives from our doubles teams that put us in a great position going into singles play, but it came down to a freshman versus a senior. Florida's guy has probably been in that spot many times, so it was tough to ask three freshmen to win for you against an experienced team like Florida.”
Friday's match began with Florida's tandem of Chase Perez-Blanco and Alfredo Perez defeating Trevor Foshey and Strahinja Rakic, 6-1. MSU would bounce back and take the next two doubles matches however, getting back-to-back ranked doubles wins.
The freshmen duo of Nuno Borges and Niclas Braun blew past UF's 52nd-ranked pair of Maxx Lipman and Elliot Orkin, 6-1 to even the odds in doubles play. Mate Cutura and Vaughn Hunter would pick up the biggest win of the day for MSU to follow up, upsetting the nation's top-ranked team of Diego Hidalgo and Gordon Watson, 6-4.
“I'm very proud of the way we competed in doubles tonight at 1 and 2,” Roberts said. “Mate and Vaughn have been working hard and stepped up tonight huge for us.”
The Gators would respond in singles play to even the score 1-1, after UF's McClain Kessler defeated Foshey, 6-3, 6-0. The next five singles matches would go the full three sets as the Bulldogs and Gators played neck and neck down the stretch.
The reliable pair of Borges and Braun picked up singles wins to put MSU up 3-1, after the pair won three-set matches against ranked Gators. For Borges the win came after he dropped the opening set 6-0, but would storm back to defeat No. 122 Alfredo Perez in the next two sets, 6-2, 6-3. Braun upset No. 71 Chase Perez-Blanco, 6-4, 0-6, 6-3, to extend his 12-match winning streak.
Down 3-1, UF would claim the next two matches to even the score up after winning on courts 1 and 2. No. 24 Hidalgo downed No. 22 Cutura, 3-6, 6-4, 6-3, before No. 80 Rishab Agarwal fell to No. 29 Orkin, 6-4, 3-6, 6-3.
With the match tied at 3-3, the stakes would be raised for court 5 as freshman Rakic squared off against senior Watson. After each player won a set by the margin of 7-5, the match came down to the final set, but UF's experienced senior pulled ahead of Rakic to win the third and deciding set, 6-3, to give the Gators the 4-3 win.
“We're going to stay positive and focused on the journey one day and one week at time for everyone's overall development,” Roberts said. “Wins and losses come and go, but the impact we can have on these great student athletes is everlasting.”
The Maroon and White will face its ninth-consecutive ranked opponent on Sunday, as No. 52 Auburn comes to the A.J. Pitts Tennis Centre to take on the Bulldogs at 1 p.m. CT.
For more information on the Mississippi State men's tennis program, follow “HailStateMT” on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
No. 16 Florida 4, No. 24 Mississippi State 3
March 25, 2016 – A.J. Pitts Tennis Centre – Starkville, Miss
Doubles
1. Cutura/Hunter (MSU) def. No. 1 Hidalgo/Watson (UF) 6-4
2. Borges/Braun (MSU) def. No. 52 Lipman/Orkin (UF) 6-1
3. Blanco/Perez (UF) def. Foshey/Rakic (MSU) 1-6
Singles
1. No. 24 Diego Hidalgo (UF) def. No. 22 Mate Cutura (MSU) 3-6, 6-4, 6-4
2. No. 29 Elliot Orkin (UF) def. No. 80 Rishab Agarwal (MSU) 6-4, 3-6, 6-3
3. Nuno Borges (MSU) def. No. 122 Alfredo Perez (UF) 0-6, 6-2, 6-3
4. Niclas Braun (MSU) def. No. 71 Chase Perez-Blanco (UF) 6-4, 0-6, 6-3
5. Gordon Watson (UF) def. Strahinja Rakic (MSU) 7-5, 5-7, 6-3
6. McClain Kessler (UF) def. Trevor Foshey (MSU) 6-3, 6-0
Order of finish: Doubles… 3, 2, 1 Singles… 6, 3, 4, 1, 2, 5
