Bulldogs Go Undefeated, Earn Five Semifinal Spots At ITA Regionals

Sunday, October 22

Baton Rouge, La.

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Mississippi State

ITA Southern Regional Championships

Bulldogs Go Undefeated, Earn Five Semifinal Spots At ITA Regionals

October 22, 2017 | Men's Tennis

BATON ROUGE, La. – Undefeated.

That's how the Mississippi State men's tennis fared on Sunday at the Intercollegiate Tennis Association Southern Regional Championships at the LSU Tennis Complex.

In singles, Giovanni Oradini and No. 67 Strahinja Rakic both reached the semifinals of the singles main draw with victories. Oradini downed Tulane's ninth-seeded Luis Erlenbusch 6-4, 7-5 to open the day, while State's second-seeded Rakic claimed his second-career victory against Auburn's Carles Sarrio—taking a 6-0, 6-4 decision.

Oradini and Rakic are now set for Monday's semifinal action, where they will both compete for spots in the tournament finals. Oradini has a tall task ahead, as he will take on top-seeded and 13th-ranked Constantin Schmitz of Tulane. Rakic will also face a Tulane netter, as he will meet No. 77 Ewan Moore. Both matches are set for a 10 a.m. CT start time.

MSU's success carried over into the singles consolation draw, where Bulldog freshman Florian Broska downed Auburn's Olle Thestrup in a hard-fought 6-3, 6-4 affair. With the win, Broska advanced to Monday's consolation semifinals, where he will meet Alabama's Thibault Cancel, who is ranked 72nd nationally.

State's No. 1-seeded and seventh-ranked doubles tandem of Niclas Braun and Trevor Foshey worked their way into the semifinals of the doubles main draw, breezing past Auburn's Michael Durham and Alex Mascioli 8-3. In the quarterfinals, the pair nearly replicated the performance, taking an 8-4 decision from Tulane's Tim Ruetzel and Hamish Stewart.

Likewise, Broska and Oradini teamed up for a pair of victories. In their Round of 16 bout, the duo downed Auburn's Diego Chavarria and Carles Sarrio 8-5. Their quarterfinal match was a bit more challenging, as it took a super-tiebreaker to settle it. Broska and Oradini nonetheless came out on top, defeating Tulane's Luis Erlenbusch and Tyler Schick 8-7(3).

With both pairs earning spots in the semifinals, State will have at least one doubles duo in the tournament finals, as the two Bulldogs teams will battle each other for a spot in the championship match on Monday. Match time is set for 1 p.m.

"I'm very proud of how we competed today," MSU head coach Matt Roberts said. "Our players fought hard and you could see their confidence building up throughout each match, which was one of our main goals for the weekend."

The singles finalists and doubles champion of the ITA Southern Regionals will advance to the Oracle ITA National Fall Championships in Indian Wells, Calif., Nov. 1-5.

MSU at the 2017 ITA Southern Regional Championships
October 22, 2017 – Baton Rouge, La. (LSU Tennis Complex)

Main Draw Singles
Quarterfinals – Giovanni Oradini (MSU) [5] def. Luis Erlenbusch (Tulane) [9] 6-4, 7-5; #67 Strahinja Rakic (MSU) [2] def. Carles Sarrio (Auburn) 6-0, 6-4

Main Draw Singles Consolation
Quarterfinals – Florian Broska (MSU) [9] def. Olle Thestrup (Auburn) 6-3, 6-4

Main Draw Doubles
Round of 16 – #7 Niclas Braun/Trevor Foshey (MSU) [1] def. Michael Durham/Alex Mascioli (Auburn) 8-3; Florian Broska/Giovanni Oradini (MSU) [4] def. Diego Chavarria/Carles Sarrio (Auburn) 8-5

Quarterfinals – #7 Braun/Foshey (MSU) [1] def. Tim Ruetzel/Hamish Stewart (Tulane) 8-4; Broska/Oradini (MSU) [4] def. Luis Erlenbusch/Tyler Schick (Tulane) 8-7(3)

ITA National rankings precede player names; tournament seeding in brackets

For more information on the Mississippi State men's tennis program, follow "HailStateMT" on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.