No. 23 MSU Hosts No. 45 Vanderbilt In Season Finale On Friday
April 14, 2016 | Men's Tennis
STARKVILLE, Miss. – Coming into the final match of the 2016 season, the 23rd ranked Mississippi State men's tennis team (15-6, 7-4) looks to finish strong against No. 45 Vanderbilt (13-12, 4-6) on Friday at 5 p.m. CT.
“We've had a great week of training and we are prepared for Vanderbilt this Friday,” head coach Matt Roberts said. “This is the last chance our fans will have to see our guys here for the rest of the year, so we want to see a good crowd on Friday. Our guys love playing in front of the fans at home and they feed off their energy.”
Free pizza will be provided for students while supplies last. As with all home matches at A.J. Pitts this season, admission is free to all.
Last time out the Bulldogs won five-straight singles matches to overcome No. 32 Alabama at home, 5-2. The win gave MSU its seventh straight against the Tide and improved State's record at home to 11-1 this season. The Maroon and White have won three out of their last four SEC matches heading into Friday's final conference showdown.
Highlighting the Bulldogs big day in singles was newly ranked singles player, No. 105, Nuno Borges. The freshman knocked off his third ranked opponent of the season in singles play to lead MSU in singles at the No. 2 spot. Also picking up a ranked win was 33rd ranked junior Mate Cutura, who defeated Alabama's No. 54 Mazen Osama in three tiebreaker sets to earn his sixth ranked victory of the year.
Joining MSU in the singles order on Friday will be 65th ranked junior Rishab Agarwal and freshmen Niclas Braun, Strahinja Rakic and Trevor Foshey. The lineup is composed of four freshmen, as 45 of the 65 dual-match wins in singles play has come from freshmen.
In doubles play the 43rd ranked team of Cutura and Vaughn Hunter will lead off the order against Vandy, with freshmen Braun and Foshey at No. 2 followed by Rakic and Luka Sucevic to round out the lineup.
Friday's foe Vanderbilt comes into Starkville having lost its last two matches, but have amassed a 4-2 record on the road this season. The Commodores have two ranked players in the ITA singles rankings, with 40th ranked Daniel Valent and No. 97 Cameron Klinger. The tandem of Klinger and Rhys Johnson ranks as the No. 15 doubles team in the country.
MSU is 36-13 all-time against Vandy, holding a 16-4 advantage at A.J. Pitts. The Commodores have had success against the Bulldogs of late however, winning two out of the last three in the series.
The Maroon and White will be idle on Sunday as the rest of the SEC closes out play. After Friday's match the Bulldogs will turn their attention to the SEC Tournament on April 20-24 in Columbia, S.C. MSU currently sits as the No. 5 seed in the tournament ahead of this weekend's action.
For more information on the Mississippi State men's tennis program, follow “HailStateMT” on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
