Saturday, January 28
Lubbock, Texas
12:00 PM
Mississippi State
4
vs
3
Florida State
Mate Cutura and the Bulldogs defeat Florida State to begin play in Lubbock.
Bulldogs Overcome Florida State To Open ITA Kick-Off Weekend
January 28, 2017 | Men's Tennis
LUBBOCK, Texas – Despite falling behind early, the 20th-ranked Mississippi State men's tennis team (2-0) stormed past Florida State (5-2) on Saturday as the Bulldogs capped the opening match of the ITA Kick-Off Weekend with a 4-3 win.
With the win, MSU moves on to Sunday where State will face Iowa (3-0), who upset host Texas Tech, at noon. The winner between the Bulldogs and Hawkeyes will advance to next month's ITA National Team Indoor Championship on Feb. 17-19.
"I'm very proud of how we responded today with our backs up against the wall," head coach Matt Roberts said. "Our guys were mentally tough and didn't let the early deficit affect them. We like it when the match gets drawn out and today was a great match for the new guys to experience."
MSU kicked off the match on a good note, as the duo of Nuno Borges and Strahinja Rakic sprinted out to a 6-0 win against Terrance and Terrell Whitehurst. The Seminoles would respond however, as FSU's Jose Garcia and Lucas Poullain evened things up by defeating No. 59 Niclas Braun and Trevor Foshey, 6-3. Mate Cutura and Vaughn Hunter would fight back from a 1-5 hole, but the duo was ultimately defeated as the pair lost the match, 4-6.
Trailing by a point, the Bulldogs received a quick result from Cutura at the No. 2 position as the senior won with ease, 6-1, 6-2, over Guy Iradukunda. The Bulldogs and Seminoles would trade points again as FSU defeated freshman Simon Baudry, 6-1, 6-1, while fellow freshman Giovanni Oradini won his collegiate debut, 7-6(5), 6-4.
"Gio handled himself extremely well for his first college match," Roberts said. "He had a great comeback in the first set and played his best tennis when it mattered most. What helped us the most was Mate's quick win as that evened the match and momentum."
With the score even at 2-2, the contest reached a pivotal point as the final three matches would be decided by the sophomore trio of Borges, Braun and Rakic. At the No. 3 spot, Rakic would put the pressure on the Seminoles as the Bulldog won, 6-3, 4-6, 6-4, to give MSU its first lead of the match.
After Braun fell, 4-6, 6-3, 4-6, all eyes were on court No. 1 as sixth-ranked Borges held a 5-3 lead in the third set over FSU's Aziz Dougaz. Borges prevailed over Dougaz, 6-4, 6-7(5), 6-4, to give MSU the comeback win, 4-3.
Up Next
MSU faces Iowa at noon on Sunday for the right to advance to next month's ITA National Team Indoor Championship on Feb. 17-19.
Live Stats
Live statistics will not be available for Sunday's match against Iowa.
Additional Notes
Social Media
For more information on the Mississippi State men's tennis program and live updates during this weekend's matches, follow "HailStateMT" on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
No. 20 Mississippi State 4, Florida State 3
Lubbock, Texas
Jan. 28, 2017
Doubles
Order of finish: 3, 2, 1
Singles
Order of finish: 2, 6, 5, 3, 4, 1*
*Match-clinching victory
With the win, MSU moves on to Sunday where State will face Iowa (3-0), who upset host Texas Tech, at noon. The winner between the Bulldogs and Hawkeyes will advance to next month's ITA National Team Indoor Championship on Feb. 17-19.
"I'm very proud of how we responded today with our backs up against the wall," head coach Matt Roberts said. "Our guys were mentally tough and didn't let the early deficit affect them. We like it when the match gets drawn out and today was a great match for the new guys to experience."
MSU kicked off the match on a good note, as the duo of Nuno Borges and Strahinja Rakic sprinted out to a 6-0 win against Terrance and Terrell Whitehurst. The Seminoles would respond however, as FSU's Jose Garcia and Lucas Poullain evened things up by defeating No. 59 Niclas Braun and Trevor Foshey, 6-3. Mate Cutura and Vaughn Hunter would fight back from a 1-5 hole, but the duo was ultimately defeated as the pair lost the match, 4-6.
Trailing by a point, the Bulldogs received a quick result from Cutura at the No. 2 position as the senior won with ease, 6-1, 6-2, over Guy Iradukunda. The Bulldogs and Seminoles would trade points again as FSU defeated freshman Simon Baudry, 6-1, 6-1, while fellow freshman Giovanni Oradini won his collegiate debut, 7-6(5), 6-4.
"Gio handled himself extremely well for his first college match," Roberts said. "He had a great comeback in the first set and played his best tennis when it mattered most. What helped us the most was Mate's quick win as that evened the match and momentum."
With the score even at 2-2, the contest reached a pivotal point as the final three matches would be decided by the sophomore trio of Borges, Braun and Rakic. At the No. 3 spot, Rakic would put the pressure on the Seminoles as the Bulldog won, 6-3, 4-6, 6-4, to give MSU its first lead of the match.
After Braun fell, 4-6, 6-3, 4-6, all eyes were on court No. 1 as sixth-ranked Borges held a 5-3 lead in the third set over FSU's Aziz Dougaz. Borges prevailed over Dougaz, 6-4, 6-7(5), 6-4, to give MSU the comeback win, 4-3.
Up Next
MSU faces Iowa at noon on Sunday for the right to advance to next month's ITA National Team Indoor Championship on Feb. 17-19.
Live Stats
Live statistics will not be available for Sunday's match against Iowa.
Additional Notes
- MSU is now 9-9 all-time at the ITA Kickoff Weekend
- The 4-3 victory over Florida State moved MSU's all-time record against the Seminoles to 10-6
- With the win, head coach Matt Roberts is the third-fastest coach to reach 40 career wins at MSU after doing so in only 57 matches
- Nuno Borges is now 4-0 for his career at the No. 1 spot
- Borges is 14-3 on the season in singles action
- The duo of Borges and Rakic are undefeated at 2-0 in dual matches
- Sunday's match between MSU and Iowa will be the first meeting on the tennis court for the two programs
Social Media
For more information on the Mississippi State men's tennis program and live updates during this weekend's matches, follow "HailStateMT" on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
No. 20 Mississippi State 4, Florida State 3
Lubbock, Texas
Jan. 28, 2017
Doubles
- Dougaz/Iradukunda (FSU) def. Mate Cutura/Vaughn Hunter (MSU) 6-4
- Garcia/Poullain (FSU) def. No. 59 Niclas Braun/Trevor Foshey (MSU) 6-3
- Nuno Borges/Strahinja Rakic (MSU) def. Whitehurst/Whitehurst (FSU) 6-0
Order of finish: 3, 2, 1
Singles
- No. 6 Nuno Borges (MSU) def. No. 71 Aziz Dougaz (FSU) 6-4, 6-7(5), 6-4
- Mate Cutura (MSU) def. No. 59 Guy Iradukunda (FSU) 6-1, 6-2
- Strahinja Rakic (MSU) def. Lucas Poullain (FSU) 6-3, 4-6, 6-4
- Jose Garcia (FSU) def. Niclas Braun (MSU) 6-4, 3-6, 6-4
- Giovanni Oradini (MSU) def. Terrance Whitehurst (FSU) 7-6(5), 6-4
- Terrell Whitehurst (FSU) def. Simon Baudry (MSU) 6-1, 6-1
Order of finish: 2, 6, 5, 3, 4, 1*
*Match-clinching victory
Players Mentioned
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
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