Mississippi State
Ole Miss
No. 25 MSU Falls To No. 37 Ole Miss 4-3
April 02, 2016 | Men's Tennis
OXFORD, Miss. – Despite a late surge in singles, the 25th-ranked Mississippi State men's tennis team (13-6, 5-4) could not overcome No. 37 Ole Miss (8-7, 3-5) on the road as the Bulldogs fell 4-3.
“Obviously this is a tough loss for our young team, but this doesn't change who we are and where we are going,” head coach Matt Roberts said. “We have grown so much this season and what we are doing each week is developing our team and players. We look forward to many opportunities this season including a great match on Sunday against Arkansas.”
Ole Miss would kickoff play at home by taking the doubles point against MSU, after the teams of Mate Cutura and Vaughn Hunter, along with Rishab Agarwal and Luka Sucevic each fell to Rebel tandems 6-4. Nuno Borges and Niclas Braun held a slight advantage against Fabian Fallert and Grey Hamilton, 5-4, but the match was suspended.
In singles action Braun would claim the first decision of the afternoon for MSU to even the score 1-1. The freshman defeated Hamilton in two sets, 6-3, 6-3. The win for Braun extended his singles winning streak to 13 matches and improved his SEC record to 7-0.
No. 87 Stefan Lindmark upset No. 22 Cutura for the next finish of the day, after winning 6-2, 6-4. The 2-1 lead for the Rebels would be short-lived however, as Sucevic defeated Vinod Gowda in straight sets on court 6. The win for Sucevic was his sixth-straight and gave the freshman a 2-0 record in conference.
With the score knotted at 2-2, MSU would drop back-to-back three setters to Ole Miss, as Borges and Agarwal fell. No. 104 Gustav Hansson defeated Borges, 6-4, 0-6, 6-3, while Filip Kraljevic downed No. 80 Agarwal, 3-6, 6-1, 7-5.
Rounding out the action in Oxford was freshman Strahinja Rakic who needed a tie breaker in the third set to cap off a comeback win against Ricardo Jorge, 3-6, 6-4, 7-6. The victory for Rakic was his sixth conference dual-match win of the year.
The Maroon and White now sets its sights on Fayetteville, as the Bulldogs take on No. 14 Arkansas on Sunday at 1 p.m. CT.
For more information on the Mississippi State men's tennis program, follow “HailStateMT” on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
No. 37 Ole Miss 4, No. 25 MSU 3
April 1, 2016 – Palmer/Salloum Tennis Center– Oxford Miss.
Doubles
1. Filip Kraljevic/Zvonimir Babic (UM) def. Mate Cutura/Vaughn Hunter (MSU) 6-4
2. Nuno Borges/Niclas Braun (MSU) vs. Fabian Fallert/Grey Hamilton (UM) susp. 5-4
3. Stefan Lindmark/Gustav Hansson (UM) def. Rishab Agarwal/Luka Sucevic (MSU) 6-4
Singles
1. No. 87 Stefan Lindmark (UM) def. Mate Cutura (MSU) 6-2, 6-4
2. No. 104 Gustav Hansson (UM) def. Nuno Borges (MSU) 6-4, 0-6, 6-3
3. Filip Kraljevic (UM) def. Rishab Agarwal (MSU) 3-6, 6-1, 7-5
4. Niclas Braun (MSU) def. Grey Hamilton (UM) 6-3, 6-3
5. Strahinja Rakic (MSU) def. Ricardo Jorge (UM) 3-6, 6-4, 7-6
6. Luka Sucevic (MSU) def. Vinod Gowda (UM) 6-2, 7-6
Order of finish: Doubles… 1, 3 Singles… 4, 1, 6, 2, 3, 5
