Mississippi State
South Carolina
No. 50 MSU Surges Past No. 73 South Carolina For 5-2 Win
March 07, 2016 | Men's Tennis
COLUMBIA, S.C.– Thanks to a jolt of energy in singles action, the 50th-ranked Mississippi State men's tennis team (9-3, 1-1) took down No. 73 South Carolina (7-8, 0-2) on the road to close out the weekend.
The Bulldogs spilt the opening weekend of conference play with Sunday's 5-2 win, after suffering a setback at No. 16 Georgia on Friday. The victory also marked MSU's third ranked win of the season, with the first two coming against Tulane and UNC Wilmington.
“The guys did a great job of bouncing back today after Friday's match against Georgia,” head coach Matt Roberts said. “To win in a hostile environment shows how mature this team is becoming quickly. Everyone played on a mission today and we are excited to take this momentum into next weekend at home.”
Sunday would look promising for the Gamecocks, after USC claimed the doubles point following two 6-4 wins. MSU's Mate Cutura and Trevor Foshey fell to USC's Gabriel Friedrich and Swank, before the tandem of Rishab Agarwal and Vaughn Hunter dropped a decision to USC's Thomas Mayronne and Andrew Schafer. The freshmen duo of Nuno Borges and Niclas Braun stood toe-to-toe with USC's 51st-ranked pair of Harrison O'Keefe and Alex Fennell in the remaining match however, but it was suspended at 4-4.
Following the doubles decision, the Bulldogs would reel off three consecutive singles wins to take a 3-1 lead against the home standing Gamecocks. The freshmen trio of Borges, Braun and Strahinja Rakic would all pick up two-set wins for MSU to propel the Maroon and White to a commanding lead.
For Braun, the singles win was retribution after losing to O'Keefe back in October at the SEC Fall Classic. The fall loss was a three-set decision, but Sunday's match wrapped up in quick fashion with Braun winning, 6-4, 6-1. The German native improved his dual-match singles record to 8-1 overall and a spotless 2-0 in conference play.
With the lead at 3-1 over the Gamecocks, junior Agarwal also earned a two-set win after defeating USC's Fennell, 6-4, 6-4, to clinch the match for MSU. On court five, Foshey closed out the day for MSU, downing Mayronne, 6-4, 4-6, 1-0(8) to cap the impressive win.
MSU returns to the A.J. Pitts Tennis Centre this weekend for a pair of conference battles with No. 22 Kentucky and No. 64 Tennessee on Friday and Sunday, beginning at 5 p.m. and 1 p.m. CT.
For more information on the Mississippi State men's tennis program, follow “HailStateMT” on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
No. 50 Mississippi State 5, No. 73 South Carolina 2
March 6, 2016 – Carolina Tennis Center – Columbia, S.C.
Doubles
1. #51 O'Keefe/Fennell (USC) vs. Borges/Braun (MSU) 4-4 (susp.)
2 Friedrich/Swank (USC) d. Cutura/Foshey (MSU) 6-3
3. Mayronne/Schafer (USC) d. Agarwal/Hunter (MSU) 6-4
Singles
1. Gabriel Friedrich (USC) def. #44 Mate Cutura (MSU) 6-0, 7-6 (3)
2. Nuno Borges (MSU) def. Andrew Schafer (USC) 6-2, 6-1
3. #74 Rishab Agarwal (MSU) def. Alex Fennell (USC) 6-4, 6-4
4. Niclas Braun (MSU) def. Harrison O'Keefe (USC) 6-4, 6-1
5. Trevor Foshey (MSU) def. Thomas Mayronne (USC) 6-4, 4-6, 1-0 (8)
6. Strahinja Rakic (MSU) def. Wood Benton (USC) 6-4, 6-2
Order of finish: Doubles…2,3… Singles…2,4,6,1,3,5
