Mississippi State
Vanderbilt
No. 23 MSU Falls 4-2 To No. 45 Vanderbilt
April 16, 2016 | Men's Tennis
STARKVILLE, Miss. – Despite fighting back to retake the lead 2-1, the 23rd-ranked Mississippi State men's tennis team (15-7, 7-5) couldn't hold off No. 45 Vanderbilt (14-12, 5-6) as the Bulldogs fell 4-2 in Friday night's season finale.
“Our fans did a great job as they have all season long by getting behind us,” head coach Matt Roberts said. “We had a long delay to begin the match, so we are very appreciative that they stuck it out and stayed the entire night. Our fans have given us nothing but love this season and we are thankful.”
The Bulldogs and Commodores would only get to play for 10 minutes on Friday before rain set in to delay the match for almost three hours. After the showers had passed, Vandy came out of the gate to take two matches from MSU to claim the doubles point and the early lead.
“We didn't take advantage of the deciding points tonight and Vanderbilt did,” Roberts said. “Vanderbilt wanted it more and they played with a sense of urgency because they're fighting to get into the NCAA tournament. Hats off to those guys because they competed well and rose to the occasion.”
MSU's Strahinja Rakic and Luka Sucevic, along with Niclas Braun and Trevor Foshey, fell to VU tandems, 6-1 and 7-5 respectively. No. 43 Mate Cutura and Vaughn Hunter's match against No. 15 Cameron Klinger and Rhys Johnson was suspended at 6-6 after the clinch.
Similar to the entire season, the Bulldogs would fight back in singles play. MSU took the first two matches from Vandy to take its first lead of the night at 2-1. Freshmen Nuno Borges and Sucevic would pick up straight-set wins only seconds apart to give MSU the advantage.
No. 105 Borges took his match 6-3, 6-1 from Vandy's Johnson to earn the first singles result of the night. The win for the newly ranked Borges was his 16th dual-match victory of the season. Sucevic, who also won 6-3, 6-1, earned the win after being inserted into the lineup at the No. 6 position after doubles play.
The Commodores rebounded with back-to-back wins to retake the lead against the Bulldogs after freshman Niclas Braun and junior Rishab Agarwal fell to Vandy foes in straight sets.
Trailing 3-2, MSU would show grit on the final two courts, as freshman Rakic would fight back from a 5-2 deficit in the second set before falling 6-4, 6-4. No. 33 Cutura played No. 40 Daniel Valent to a third set before his match was suspended due to the Commodores clinching.
“We are still learning a lot about each other and how to play with one another,” Roberts said. “We didn't hold each other accountable on the singles court tonight and I thought that hurt us. We have to get back to playing as a unit because that is when we play our best.”
Friday's 4-2 loss was only the second time the Bulldogs have dropped a decision at home in conference play.
The Maroon and White will be idle on Sunday as the rest of the SEC closes out play. The Bulldogs now turn their attention to the SEC Tournament on April 20-24 in Columbia, S.C.
For more information on the Mississippi State men's tennis program, follow “HailStateMT” on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
No. 45 Vanderbilt 4, No. 23 Mississippi State 2
April 15, 2016 – A.J. Pitts Tennis Centre – Starkville, Miss.
Doubles
1. No. 43 Mate Cutura/Vaughn Hunter (MSU) vs. No. 15 Rhys Johnson/Cameron Klinger (VU) 6-6(1-2) (susp.)
2. Tate Allwardt/Pen Binet (VU) def. Niclas Braun/Trevor Foshey (MSU) 7-5
3. Baker Newman/Daniel Valent (VU) def. Strahinja Rakic/Luka Sucevic (MSU) 6-1
Singles
1. No. 33 Mate Cutura (MSU) vs. No. 40 Daniel Valent (VU) 6-3, 6-7(1), 1-3 (susp.)
2. No. 105 Nuno Borges (MSU) def. Rhys Johnson (VU) 6-3, 6-1
3. No. 97 Cameron Klinger (VU) def. No. 64 Rishab Agarwal (MSU) 6-4, 6-3
4. Baker Newman (VU) def. Niclas Braun (MSU) 6-0, 6-1
5. Kris Yee (VU) def. Strahinja Rakic (MSU) 6-4, 6-4
6. Luka Sucevic (MSU) def. Tate Allwardt (VU) 6-3, 6-1
Order of finish: Doubles (3,2) Singles (2,6,4,3,5)
