Three Bulldogs Finish In Top 70 Of ITA’s Final Singles Rankings
June 01, 2016 | Men's Tennis
STARKVILLE, Miss. – With the 2015-16 season concluding, the 19th-ranked Mississippi State men's tennis team (18-9) capped the year with three Bulldogs finishing inside the top 70 of the Intercollegiate Tennis Association's Singles Rankings, the ITA announced Wednesday.
Juniors Mate Cutura (43rd) and Rishab Agarwal (59th), along with freshman Nuno Borges (70th) closed out the season ranked after stellar years on the singles court.
"This was a special year for the program and I am really proud of our guys," head coach Matt Roberts said. "We had a team full of young and inexperienced guys coming into the season, but they played like veterans over the season. We developed our games and each player got better, so I am excited and looking forward to the great things they can do next season."
Led by two returning juniors and seven newcomers, the Bulldogs earned the program's 12th NCAA Championship Round of 16 appearance this season after downing No. 42 Memphis and No. 15 Illinois in Champaign, Ill. MSU finished the year ranked No. 19 by the ITA, as the Bulldogs closed out the season ranked 18-straight weeks.
Cutura, who earned All-SEC First Team distinctions, finished the highest among all Bulldogs ranked at 43. The junior rose to as high as 22nd in the country, as he picked up six-ranked ITA wins on the singles court. Cutura was also a mainstay in the doubles rankings, as he and partner Vaughn Hunter finished the year ranked 49th.
After a great postseason run in the NCAA Singles Championship, junior Agarwal continued his climb in the ITA rankings to finish the season at 59th overall. The junior defeated five ITA ranked players in singles play on his way to All-SEC Second Team honors. Agarwal was also successful in the classroom, becoming MSU's first-ever Elite 90 Academic Award winner and earning the tennis program's first SEC Scholar Athlete of the Year honor.
Freshman Borges added to his successful rookie season by capping the year ranked 70th overall. Borges was named to the All-SEC Second Team, All-SEC Freshman Team and the SEC All-Tournament Team in his first season with the Bulldogs. His 20 dual-match victories topped the team, while his winning percentage on the singles court also ranked first on the squad.
Under second-year head coach Roberts, the Bulldogs finished fourth in the SEC, going all the way to the semifinals of the SEC Tournament for the second-straight season. The semifinal finishes were the first time MSU has earned back-to-back appearances since 1995-1996. Roberts also became the fastest coach to reach the Round of 16 after leading MSU to the third round in only his second season.
Six SEC schools, including MSU, finished in the ITA Top 25. Back-to-back national champion Virginia finished the year at No. 1 in the team rankings, while UCLA took the No. 1 spots on the individuals' side after Mackenzie McDonald swept the singles and doubles championships.
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