Mississippi State
Georgia
Men?s Tennis Falls To No. 16 Georgia, 5-2, In Athens
March 05, 2016 | Men's Tennis
STARKVILLE, Miss. – Despite a late surge from junior Mate Cutura and freshman Niclas Braun in singles play, the 50th-ranked Mississippi State men's tennis team (8-3, 0-1) dropped its Southeastern Conference opener to No. 16 Georgia (6-3, 1-0), 5-2.
Friday's loss broke an eight-match win streak MSU had built over the last month of action.
State began the day strong by claiming the first doubles match, 6-3, after the duo of Cutura and Trevor Foshey defeated UGA's Paul Oosterbaan and Jan Zielinski. The Bulldogs of Athens would respond however, taking the next two matches to claim the doubles point. The freshmen tandem of Nuno Borges and Niclas Braun fell to UGA's No. 7 duo of Austin Smith and Ben Wagland, 6-4, while Rishab Agarwal and Vaughn Hunter lost to Emil Reinberg and Wayne Montgomery by the same margin.
“I'm very proud of the way our men came out in doubles today,” head coach Matt Roberts said. “It's a huge improvement from the last few matches and it's great to see these young men bringing so much energy from the first point.”
MSU is just 1-3 on the season when dropping the doubles point, and 7-0 when claiming it.
In singles action, State's No. 74 Agarwal, Foshey, Rakic and Borges all fell in two sets to their opponents to give Georgia the 5-0 lead. No. 44 Cutura and Braun earned three-set wins for State to close out Friday's match and narrow the final score to 5-2.
“Mate Cutura and Niclas Braun did a great job turning their matches around after losing their first sets,” Roberts said. “It was impressive with how hard they competed and problem solved throughout the course of the match.”
For Cutura and Braun, each fought back for wins despite dropping their first sets. Cutura's 1-6, 6-4, 6-3 win against UGA's No. 27 Austin Smith was the highlight of State's day, as the junior claimed his third ranked singles win of the season. Braun earned his victory in the same fashion versus Jan Zielinski, coming back to win, 2-6, 6-4, 6-3.
The Maroon and White continues its weekend road swing with a short trip from Athens to Columbia, S.C., for a ranked contest against No. 73 South Carolina (7-6) on Sunday at 10 a.m. CT.
For more information on the Mississippi State men's tennis program, follow “HailStateMT” on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
No. 16 Georgia 5, No. 50 Mississippi State 2
March 4, 2016 – Dan Magill Tennis Complex – Athens, Ga.
Doubles
1. #5 Austin Smith/Ben Wagland (UGA) def. Nuno Borges/Niclas Braun (MSU) 6-4
2. Mate Cutura/Trevor Foshey (MSU) def. Paul Oosterbaan/Jan Zielinski (UGA) 6-3
3. Emil Reinberg/Wayne Montgomery (UGA) def. Rishab Agarwal/Vaughn Hunter (MSU) 6-4
Singles
1. #44 Mate Cutura (MSU) def. #27 Austin Smith (UGA) 1-6, 6-4, 6-3
2. #21 Wayne Montgomery (UGA) def. Nuno Borges (MSU) 6-4, 7-5
3. Paul Oosterbaan (UGA) def. #74 Rishab Agarwal (MSU) 6-2, 6-4
4. Niclas Braun (MSU) def. Jan Zielinski (UGA) 2-6, 6-4, 6-3
5. #104 Walker Duncan (UGA) def. Trevor Foshey (MSU) 7-5, 6-2
6. Nick Wood (UGA) def. Strahinja Rakic (MSU) 6-1, 7-6 (7-3)
Order of finish: Doubles…2,1,3… Singles…3,5,6,2,1,4
