Sunday, February 26
Starkville
11:00 AM
Mississippi State
5
vs
2
NC State
Freshman Giovanni Oradini clinched MSU's 5-2 win on Sunday.
No. 20 MSU Caps Weekend With Win Over No. 38 NC State
February 26, 2017 | Men's Tennis
STARKVILLE, Miss. – Much to the delight of the Maroon and White faithful on hand, the 20th-ranked Mississippi State men's tennis team (7-3) powered past 38th-ranked North Carolina State (7-6) as the Bulldogs won 5-2 in front of a great Sunday afternoon crowd at the A.J. Pitts Tennis Centre.
Sunday's win marks the third-consecutive victory against ranked foes for the Bulldogs, while extending MSU's winning streak in non-conference matches at home to 12-straight.
"We got off to a slow start today, but our team responded and came up big in singles," head coach Matt Roberts said. "Our team fed off the crowd's energy and it gave us a lot of momentum. We knew today would be a battle because NC State has a good team, but our guys stepped up and played through the adversity."
The Wolfpack began the match by taking the doubles point from the Bulldogs after NCSU won on courts one and two. NCSU defeated No. 26 Niclas Braun and Trevor Foshey to open the match, before clinching the point against Mate Cutura and Vaughn Hunter. The Bulldog tandem of Nuno Borges and Strahinja Rakic had no problem against NCSU's Igor Saveljic and Georgiy Malyshev as MSU's pair won easily, 6-1.
Down early, the Bulldogs didn't falter however as MSU would get back-to-back singles wins from No. 4 Borges and Foshey to take a 2-1 lead. Borges downed No. 58 Nick Horton in straight-sets to earn his 19th overall singles win of the season, before Foshey would take his match in two sets as well.
Leading 2-1, the outcome became clear after Braun capped a stellar performance with a 6-4, 6-3 win on court five against NCSU's Malyshey. The Bulldog sophomore has won three-straight singles matches.
MSU needed only one more win as the focus turned to freshman Giovanni Oradini and court four. Oradini raced out to a 6-3 win in the openings set, before coming back to force a tiebreaker in the second set. The freshman won, 7-4, in the tiebreaker to clinch the Bulldog victory over the Wolfpack, while earning his fifth singles win of the year.
Cutura took No. 72 Alexi Galarneau the distance, but ultimately fell to the ranked foe in a tough-set match, 6-1, 1-6, 6-2. With the score at 4-2 and only one match remaining, Rakic put an exclamation point on the 5-2 win after his three-set victory, 5-7, 6-3, 6-2, at the No. 2 position. The win for Rakic marked the 11th singles win of the season for the sophomore and his third-straight.
"We have to do a better job with our match preparation going forward," Roberts said. "We didn't come out sharp today and our focus was a little off. It's good to have a match like this though to make you realize they're all important. It doesn't matter who we are playing, you have to come out with the same intensity, same energy and same mental preparedness."
Up Next
With the home-opening weekend in the rearview mirror, the Bulldogs travel to Auburn on March 5 at 1 p.m. CT to open SEC play. MSU's next home match will be a doubleheader against Alcorn State on March 7 at 1:30 p.m. and 4 p.m. CT.
Additional Notes
Social Media
For more information on the Mississippi State men's tennis program, follow "HailStateMT" on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
No. 20 Mississippi State 5, No. 38 North Carolina State 2
Starkville, Miss. – A.J. Pitts Tennis Centre – Feb. 26, 2017
Doubles
1. Nick Horton/Alexis Galarneau (NCSU) def. No. 26 Niclas Braun/Trevor Foshey (MSU) 6-1
2. Ivan Saveljic/Michael Ogden (NCSU) def. Mate Cutura/Vaughn Hunter (MSU) 7-6(5)
3. Nuno Borges/Strahnja Rakic (MSU) def. Igor Saveljic/Georgiy Malyshev (NCSU) 6-1
Order of finish: 1, 3, 2
Singles
1. No. 4 Nuno Borges (MSU) def. No. 58 Nick Horton (NCSU) 6-2, 6-3
2. Strahinja Rakic (MSU) def. Igor Saveljic (NCSU) 5-7, 6-3, 6-2
3. No. 72 Alexi Galarneau (NCSU) def. Mate Cutura (MSU) 6-1, 1-6, 6-2
4. Giovanni Oradini (MSU) def. Michael Ogden (NCSU) 6-3, 7-6(4)*
5. Niclas Braun (MSU) def. Georgiy Malyshev (NCSU) 6-4, 6-3
6. Trevor Foshey (MSU) def. Sean Burnette (NCSU) 6-2, 6-2
Order of Finish: 1, 6, 5, 3, 4, 2
* - Match-clinching win
Sunday's win marks the third-consecutive victory against ranked foes for the Bulldogs, while extending MSU's winning streak in non-conference matches at home to 12-straight.
"We got off to a slow start today, but our team responded and came up big in singles," head coach Matt Roberts said. "Our team fed off the crowd's energy and it gave us a lot of momentum. We knew today would be a battle because NC State has a good team, but our guys stepped up and played through the adversity."
The Wolfpack began the match by taking the doubles point from the Bulldogs after NCSU won on courts one and two. NCSU defeated No. 26 Niclas Braun and Trevor Foshey to open the match, before clinching the point against Mate Cutura and Vaughn Hunter. The Bulldog tandem of Nuno Borges and Strahinja Rakic had no problem against NCSU's Igor Saveljic and Georgiy Malyshev as MSU's pair won easily, 6-1.
Down early, the Bulldogs didn't falter however as MSU would get back-to-back singles wins from No. 4 Borges and Foshey to take a 2-1 lead. Borges downed No. 58 Nick Horton in straight-sets to earn his 19th overall singles win of the season, before Foshey would take his match in two sets as well.
Leading 2-1, the outcome became clear after Braun capped a stellar performance with a 6-4, 6-3 win on court five against NCSU's Malyshey. The Bulldog sophomore has won three-straight singles matches.
MSU needed only one more win as the focus turned to freshman Giovanni Oradini and court four. Oradini raced out to a 6-3 win in the openings set, before coming back to force a tiebreaker in the second set. The freshman won, 7-4, in the tiebreaker to clinch the Bulldog victory over the Wolfpack, while earning his fifth singles win of the year.
Cutura took No. 72 Alexi Galarneau the distance, but ultimately fell to the ranked foe in a tough-set match, 6-1, 1-6, 6-2. With the score at 4-2 and only one match remaining, Rakic put an exclamation point on the 5-2 win after his three-set victory, 5-7, 6-3, 6-2, at the No. 2 position. The win for Rakic marked the 11th singles win of the season for the sophomore and his third-straight.
"We have to do a better job with our match preparation going forward," Roberts said. "We didn't come out sharp today and our focus was a little off. It's good to have a match like this though to make you realize they're all important. It doesn't matter who we are playing, you have to come out with the same intensity, same energy and same mental preparedness."
Up Next
With the home-opening weekend in the rearview mirror, the Bulldogs travel to Auburn on March 5 at 1 p.m. CT to open SEC play. MSU's next home match will be a doubleheader against Alcorn State on March 7 at 1:30 p.m. and 4 p.m. CT.
Additional Notes
- MSU now leads the all-time series against NC State 2-0
- MSU has won its last 12 non-conference matches at A.J. Pitts
- State is now 16-1 under head coach Matt Roberts in non-conference matches at home
- Roberts earned his 27th ranked win at MSU on Friday
- The Bulldogs have now won three matches despite dropping the doubles point
- No. 4 Nuno Borges is now a perfect 7-0 in dual-match singles play
- Borges is still undefeated for his career at the No. 1 position at 9-0
- Freshman Giovanni Oradini has clinched two matches for MSU this season
- Attendance for Sunday's match was 369
Social Media
For more information on the Mississippi State men's tennis program, follow "HailStateMT" on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
No. 20 Mississippi State 5, No. 38 North Carolina State 2
Starkville, Miss. – A.J. Pitts Tennis Centre – Feb. 26, 2017
Doubles
1. Nick Horton/Alexis Galarneau (NCSU) def. No. 26 Niclas Braun/Trevor Foshey (MSU) 6-1
2. Ivan Saveljic/Michael Ogden (NCSU) def. Mate Cutura/Vaughn Hunter (MSU) 7-6(5)
3. Nuno Borges/Strahnja Rakic (MSU) def. Igor Saveljic/Georgiy Malyshev (NCSU) 6-1
Order of finish: 1, 3, 2
Singles
1. No. 4 Nuno Borges (MSU) def. No. 58 Nick Horton (NCSU) 6-2, 6-3
2. Strahinja Rakic (MSU) def. Igor Saveljic (NCSU) 5-7, 6-3, 6-2
3. No. 72 Alexi Galarneau (NCSU) def. Mate Cutura (MSU) 6-1, 1-6, 6-2
4. Giovanni Oradini (MSU) def. Michael Ogden (NCSU) 6-3, 7-6(4)*
5. Niclas Braun (MSU) def. Georgiy Malyshev (NCSU) 6-4, 6-3
6. Trevor Foshey (MSU) def. Sean Burnette (NCSU) 6-2, 6-2
Order of Finish: 1, 6, 5, 3, 4, 2
* - Match-clinching win
Players Mentioned
/ 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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