Mississippi State
Arkansas
No. 25 MSU Upsets No. 14 Arkansas On The Road
April 03, 2016 | Men's Tennis
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – In a bounce back performance on the road, the 25th-ranked Mississippi State men's tennis team (14-6, 6-4) knocked off No. 14 Arkansas (17-5, 6-3) 4-3.
“Our group just continues to impress with their resiliency and character during this SEC season,” head coach Matt Roberts said. “To go through a tough loss on Friday and come back in here today against one of the best teams in our conference and get the win at their place shows how much heart they have. It was a team win in so many ways and I couldn't be prouder of what we are building together.”
The win came on the heels of Friday night's loss to Ole Miss in Oxford, while the ranked win was MSU's eighth of the season.
State picked up the first doubles match of the day after the tandem of Rishab Agarwal and Luka Sucevic defeated Santiago Munoz and Johan den Toom, 6-4. The freshmen pair of Nuno Borges and Niclas Braun would fall by the same margin of 6-4, to follow up the win as the Razorbacks would even the odds.
It would be up to Mate Cutura and Vaughn Hunter on court 1, with the pair coming up clutch to upset No. 16 Giammarco Micolani and Mike Redlicki in a thrilling match, 7-5. The win in doubles was MSU's first on the road this season.
The Bulldogs and Razorbacks would trade wins in singles after Strahinja Rakic earned a 6-3, 6-0 win, while Sucevic fell 6-3, 6-2. With the score 2-1 in favor of MSU, Borges would extend the lead to 3-1 as the freshman knocked off No. 114 Jose Salazar, 6-3, 7-5. On court 1 the matchup between No. 22 Cutura and No. 30 Mike Redlicki would go to Arkansas, as the Razorback won 7-6(5), 6-1.
With the home standing Razorbacks nipping at the heels of the Bulldogs, junior Agarwal stepped up to claim the road win for MSU after he stormed back to beat Arkansas' Munoz, 3-6, 6-1, 6-2. Braun would fall in the final match of the day to round out results from Fayetteville, bringing the final score to 4-3 for MSU.
The Razorbacks were 11-1 at home before Sunday's match, while the win for MSU was its eighth-straight against Arkansas.
The Maroon and White will be off until next Sunday when they host Alabama at 1 p.m. CT.
For more information on the Mississippi State men's tennis program, follow “HailStateMT” on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
No. 25 Mississippi State 4, No. 14 Arkansas 3
April 3, 2016 – Fayetteville, Ark.
Doubles
Mate Cutura/Vaughn Hunter (MSU) def. No. 16 Mike Redlicki/Giammarco Micolani (ARK) 7-5
Jose Salazar/Adam Sanjurjo (ARK) def. Nuno Borges/Niclas Braun (MSU) 6-4
Rishab Agarwal/Luka Sucevic (MSU) def. Santiago Munoz/Johan den Toom (ARK) 6-4
Singles
No. 30 Mike Redlicki (ARK) def. No. 22 Mate Cutura (MSU) 7-6(5), 6-1
Nuno Borges (MSU) def. No. 114 Jose Salazar (ARK) 6-3, 7-5
No. 80 Rishab Agarwal (MSU) def. Santiago Munoz (ARK) 3-6, 6-1, 6-2
Giammarco Micolani (ARK) def. Niclas Braun (MSU) 6-4, 6-4
Strahinja Rakic (MSU) def. David Herrerias (ARK) 6-3, 6-0
Adam Sanjurjo (ARK) def. Luka Sucevic (MSU) 6-3, 6-2
Order of finish: Doubles (3, 2,1) Singles (5, 6, 2, 1, 3, 4)
