MSU Concludes SEC Road Slate At Ole Miss and Arkansas
March 31, 2016 | Men's Tennis
STARKVILLE, Miss. – As the conference season winds down, the 25th-ranked Mississippi State men's tennis team (13-5, 5-3) takes its final regular season road trip as the Bulldogs face No. 37 Ole Miss (7-7, 2-5) on Friday and No. 14 Arkansas (16-4, 5-2) on Sunday to cap the weekend.
Friday's match against the Rebels is slated for 5 p.m. CT, while the weekend finale against the Razorbacks kicks off at 1 p.m. CT.
“We're excited to face two quality teams this weekend on the road,” head coach Matt Roberts said. “We've had a great week of preparation and I want to see our guys use what they've worked on this week to develop against good competition.”
Last time out the Bulldogs held off No. 52 Auburn as MSU downed the Tigers 4-2 at the A.J. Pitts Tennis Centre. The highlight of that match and last weekend was the play of Nuno Borges, who was rewarded by being named SEC Freshman of the Week. Borges turned in a combined 3-1 record on the doubles and singles court, as the freshman knocked off two ranked opponents.
Niclas Braun, who has won the SEC Freshman of the Week honor twice this season, is another freshman that has been crucial to MSU's success this year. The Berlin native is currently on a 12-match winning streak in singles and is a perfect 6-0 in SEC play this season.
Rounding out the singles lineup this weekend will be juniors Mate Cutura and Rishab Agarwal, along with Serbians Strahinja Rakic and Luka Sucevic. In doubles the Bulldogs will go with Cutura and fellow junior Vaughn Hunter at the No. 1 position, Borges paired with Braun at the No. 2 and Agarwal teamed up with Sucevic at No. 3.
Friday's foe Ole Miss sports a 4-2 record in Oxford this season, but are currently on a four-match losing streak overall. The Bulldogs are 28-48 all-time against the Rebels, but have turned the tide recently to take six out of the last eight contests in the series. MSU earned a 4-3 win against Ole Miss last season in Starkville.
Sunday's opponent Arkansas has is heating up heading into the final stretch of the season. The Razorbacks have been winners in 13 out of their last 15 matches and are 11-1 at home this season. History has been on the side of the Bulldogs in the series between the two programs, with MSU earning a 26-7 record all-time against the Razorbacks.
The Maroon and White return home next Sunday to face Alabama at 1 p.m., before its season finale against Vanderbilt the following Friday as a part of Super Bulldog Weekend.
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