Sunday, January 29
Lubbock, Texas
12:00 PM
Mississippi State
4
vs
1
Iowa
Bulldogs sweep #ITAKickOff Weekend with 4-1 win over Iowa.
No. 20 MSU Clinches Trip To ITA Indoor Championships
January 29, 2017 | Men's Tennis
LUBBOCK, Texas – Riding a wave of momentum from yesterday's thrilling 4-3 victory, the 20th-ranked Mississippi State men's tennis team (3-0) downed Iowa (3-1) 4-1 as the Bulldogs secured a spot at next month's ITA National Team Indoor Championships.
Sunday's 4-1 win capped MSU's time at the ITA Kick-Off Weekend as the Bulldogs sweep Florida State and Iowa to advance past the Lubbock host site. The Bulldogs have now qualified for the ITA National Team Indoor Championships 11 times in program history, with the last appearance coming in 2014.
"I'm proud of the effort we gave today, we dug deep to win the doubles point and that really set things in motion," head coach Matt Roberts said. "We hung around in doubles play and found a way to win both tiebreakers for the point. We learned so much this weekend and we're looking forward to training the next two weeks to improve on that."
Doubles play began with Nuno Borges and Strahinja Rakic finding themselves in a 3-0 hole, but the duo fought back to close the margin at 5-3. Despite the effort, the pair lost, 6-3, as the Hawkeyes took the early advantage.
With their backs against the wall, the Bulldogs had both doubles matches on courts one and two go to tiebreakers. MSU needed both matches for the point and the duos of Mate Cutura and Vaughn Hunter, along with Niclas Braun and Trevor Foshey, delivered.
No. 59 Braun and Foshey were the first to the finish line as the tandem won, 7-6(3), despite starting out the tiebreaker down 2-0. Soon after, Cutura and Hunter delivered the doubles point with a hard-fought 7-6(6) win against the Hawkeye pair of Josh Silverstein and Lefteris Theodorou.
"Doubles could have gone either way today and we were fortunate to get some breaks," Roberts said. "Trevor Foshey carried us in doubles today with his net play and energy. Both doubles teams at the top came up big for us and played great."
With a 1-0 cushion, the Bulldogs began singles action by winning four out of six first sets over the Hawkeyes. No. 6 Borges finished off his opponent with ease, 6-2, 6-1, while Cutura fell, 6-4, 6-3, as the score moved to a 2-1 MSU advantage.
After the two singles decisions, the Bulldogs held leads on three of the four courts. Freshman Giovanni Oradini was MSU's lone player trailing, but that would soon change as he dominated the second and third sets.
"Giovanni won 12 games in a row and turned his match around," Roberts said about the freshman. "After he came back, that really helped our team's momentum to finish out the match."
Oradini's boost of energy carried over to courts three and four as Rakic won, 6-2, 7-5, and Braun clinched the match with his 6-3, 6-4 win.
"Nic had a small dip in the second set after his win in the opening set," Roberts said. "He pushed himself to step back up and played great in the last part of his match to clinch the win."
Up Next
The Bulldogs continue their road schedule against Miami (FL) on Feb. 10, before traveling to South Florida on Feb. 12 to close out the weekend. The ITA National Team Indoor Championships, which are hosted by the University of Virginia, will be the next play date on Feb. 17-19.
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, Iowa 1
Lubbock, Texas
Jan. 29, 2017
Doubles
Order of finish: 3, 2, 1
Singles
Order of finish: 1, 2, 3, 4
*Match-clinching victory
Sunday's 4-1 win capped MSU's time at the ITA Kick-Off Weekend as the Bulldogs sweep Florida State and Iowa to advance past the Lubbock host site. The Bulldogs have now qualified for the ITA National Team Indoor Championships 11 times in program history, with the last appearance coming in 2014.
"I'm proud of the effort we gave today, we dug deep to win the doubles point and that really set things in motion," head coach Matt Roberts said. "We hung around in doubles play and found a way to win both tiebreakers for the point. We learned so much this weekend and we're looking forward to training the next two weeks to improve on that."
Doubles play began with Nuno Borges and Strahinja Rakic finding themselves in a 3-0 hole, but the duo fought back to close the margin at 5-3. Despite the effort, the pair lost, 6-3, as the Hawkeyes took the early advantage.
With their backs against the wall, the Bulldogs had both doubles matches on courts one and two go to tiebreakers. MSU needed both matches for the point and the duos of Mate Cutura and Vaughn Hunter, along with Niclas Braun and Trevor Foshey, delivered.
No. 59 Braun and Foshey were the first to the finish line as the tandem won, 7-6(3), despite starting out the tiebreaker down 2-0. Soon after, Cutura and Hunter delivered the doubles point with a hard-fought 7-6(6) win against the Hawkeye pair of Josh Silverstein and Lefteris Theodorou.
"Doubles could have gone either way today and we were fortunate to get some breaks," Roberts said. "Trevor Foshey carried us in doubles today with his net play and energy. Both doubles teams at the top came up big for us and played great."
With a 1-0 cushion, the Bulldogs began singles action by winning four out of six first sets over the Hawkeyes. No. 6 Borges finished off his opponent with ease, 6-2, 6-1, while Cutura fell, 6-4, 6-3, as the score moved to a 2-1 MSU advantage.
After the two singles decisions, the Bulldogs held leads on three of the four courts. Freshman Giovanni Oradini was MSU's lone player trailing, but that would soon change as he dominated the second and third sets.
"Giovanni won 12 games in a row and turned his match around," Roberts said about the freshman. "After he came back, that really helped our team's momentum to finish out the match."
Oradini's boost of energy carried over to courts three and four as Rakic won, 6-2, 7-5, and Braun clinched the match with his 6-3, 6-4 win.
"Nic had a small dip in the second set after his win in the opening set," Roberts said. "He pushed himself to step back up and played great in the last part of his match to clinch the win."
Up Next
The Bulldogs continue their road schedule against Miami (FL) on Feb. 10, before traveling to South Florida on Feb. 12 to close out the weekend. The ITA National Team Indoor Championships, which are hosted by the University of Virginia, will be the next play date on Feb. 17-19.
Additional Notes
- MSU is now 10-9 all-time at the ITA Kickoff Weekend
- The Bulldogs have advanced out of the ITA Kickoff Weekend format three times (2013, 2014 & 2017)
- Sunday's match against Iowa was the first of the head-to-head series
- The Bulldogs are now 3-0 for the second time under head coach Matt Roberts
- Nuno Borges is now 5-0 for his career at the No. 1 spot
- Borges and Strahinja Rakic each own a team-leading 3-0 record in dual-match singles action
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, Iowa 1
Lubbock, Texas
Jan. 29, 2017
Doubles
- Mate Cutura/Vaughn Hunter (MSU) def. Josh Silverstein/Lefteris Theodorou (Iowa) 7-6(6)
- No. 59 Niclas Braun/Trevor Foshey (MSU) def. Kareem Allaf/Jonas Larsen (Iowa) 7-6(3)
- Robin Haden/Jake Jacoby (Iowa) def. Nuno Borges/Strahinja Rakic (MSU) 6-3
Order of finish: 3, 2, 1
Singles
- No. 6 Nuno Borges (MSU) def. Josh Silverstein (Iowa) 6-2, 6-1
- Lefteris Theodorou (Iowa) def. Mate Cutura (MSU) 6-4, 6-3
- Strahinja Rakic (MSU) def. Kareem Allaf (Iowa) 6-2, 7-5
- Niclas Braun (MSU) def. Robin Haden (Iowa) 6-3, 6-4*
- Giovanni Oradini (MSU) vs. Jonas Larsen (Iowa) 3-6, 6-1, 5-0, susp.
- Simon Baudry (MSU) vs. Jake Jacoby (Iowa) 7-5, 1-6, susp.
Order of finish: 1, 2, 3, 4
*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
Men's Tennis | Matt Roberts Michigan State Presser
Saturday, May 03
Men's Tennis | Matt Roberts & Niccolo Baroni
Friday, May 02
Men's Tennis | Matt Roberts - NCAA Selection Show
Monday, April 28
Mississippi State Men's Tennis vs. Arkansas Recap - 04/07/21
Thursday, April 08