No. 15 MSU Leaves Arkansas With 4-1 Win

Thursday, March 23

Fayetteville, Ark.

6:00 PM

Mississippi State

Arkansas

Vaughn Hunter leads Bulldogs to 4-1 win over Razorbacks.

No. 15 MSU Leaves Arkansas With 4-1 Win

March 23, 2017 | Men's Tennis

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – No. 15 Mississippi State (14-3, 5-0 SEC) was too much to handle for Arkansas (10-9, 2-4 SEC) on Thursday night, as the Bulldogs continued their impressive stretch of tennis to earn a 4-1 win in Fayetteville.

MSU improved its record to 14-3 overall and 5-0 in conference play, while extending its 10-match win streak. The Bulldogs also built on their win streak over the Razorbacks, with State now taking the last nine contests against the Hogs.

"It's always tough to win on the road, so this was a great team victory for our guys," head coach Matt Roberts said. "We came out strong in doubles play and that carried over to singles. I'm proud of our effort and we're going to savor this one tonight, but it's back to work tomorrow as we get ready to host Ole Miss on Saturday."

No. 49 Ole Miss will travel to Starkville on Saturday at 3 p.m. CT as the match kicks off a five-match homestand for the Bulldogs.

Thursday's match against Arkansas began with MSU's newly formed tandem of Nuno Borges and Giovanni Oradini taking a quick 6-1 result against their Razorback foes to give State the early advantage. The Hogs' ranked pair of No. 38 Mike Redlicki and Jose Salazar would strike back however after downing MSU's ranked duo of No. 31 Niclas Braun and Trevor Foshey, 6-2.

With one doubles win for each team, the point would come down to court two as the senior pair of Mate Cutura and Vaughn Hunter would go up against Arkansas' Adam Sanjurjo and Oscar Mesquida. The seniors would deliver for the Maroon and White as Cutura and Hunter powered to a 6-2 win.

In singles action, Braun didn't waste anytime with Razorback Johan den Toom as the sophomore won easily, 6-0, 6-1. The victory marked the ninth-straight win in singles play for Braun, while also improving his dual-match record to 11-4 and his SEC record to 5-0.

With the 2-0 lead, the Razorbacks would earn their first point of the match at court four as Oscar Mesquida downed MSU's Oradini, 6-4, 6-4. Not long after, Oradini's doubles partner Borges would give the Bulldogs a 3-1 cushion as he downed No. 10 Redlicki, 6-2, 7-6(5).

"Arkansas has a good team and made a push in singles play," Roberts said. "Our guys did a great job of handling that and adjusting to adversity, which shows our maturity as a team."

Borges now has 13 ranked singles wins this season and 18 for his career. The victory also moved his record to 23-5 overall and 11-2 in dual-match play.

Only three matches remained, with all three contests looking to be tough battles. One of those battles was on court six with MSU's Hunter and Arkansas' Juan Marino. The Razorback took the first set 6-4, but Hunter bounced back nicely to win back-to-back sets, 6-1, 6-3 to clinch the 4-1 win for the Bulldogs.

"The match ball goes to Vaughn Hunter," Roberts said. "He clinched the doubles point and the match for us today and I'm very proud of his effort tonight."

The match-clincher was Hunter's first as a Bulldog as the senior earned his second dual-match singles win of the season. No. 110 Strahinja Rakic and Cutura's matches against their Razorback foes were suspended after the clinch.

Up Next
The Bulldogs now return home to face No. 49 Ole Miss on Saturday at 3 p.m. CT. The in-state showdown will kickoff a five-match homestand that includes contests against Ole Miss, Georgia, Tennessee, Texas A&M and LSU.

Additional Notes

MSU leads Arkansas 28-7 in the all-time head-to-head series
The Bulldogs have won the last nine matches against the Razorbacks
State has not lost in Fayetteville since 1990
The 5-0 start in SEC play is MSU's first since 2005
The Bulldogs are 7-0 in the month of March this season
MSU is 7-2 on the season when its wins the doubles point
The Bulldogs have won three out of the last four doubles points
Head Coach Matt Roberts is 3-0 all-time against his alma matter
Niclas Braun is currently on a nine-match winning streak for MSU in singles play
No. 8 Nuno Borges now has 30 career dual-match singles wins

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

No. 15 Mississippi State 4, Arkansas 1
March 23, 2017 – Fayetteville, Ark. – Billingsley Tennis Center

Doubles

1. No. 37 Mike Redlicki/Jose Salazar (ARK) def. No. 31 Niclas Braun/Trevor Foshey (MSU) 6-2
2. Mate Cutura/Vaughn Hunter (MSU) def. Adam Sanjurjo/Oscar Mesquida (ARK) 6-2
3. Nuno Borges/Giovanni Oradini (MSU) def. Johan den Toom/Branch Terrell (ARK) 6-1

Order of finish: 3, 1, 2

Singles

1. No. 8 Nuno Borges (MSU) def. No. 10 Mike Redlicki (ARK) 6-2, 7-6(5)
2. No. 110 Strahinja Rakic (MSU) vs. No. 26 Jose Salazar (ARK) 6-7(4), 5-5, suspended
3. Mate Cutura (MSU) vs. Adam Sanjurjo (ARK) 5-7, 6-4, suspended
4. Oscar Mesquida (ARK) def. Giovanni Oradini (MSU) 6-4, 6-4
5. Niclas Braun (MSU) def. Johan den Toom (ARK) 6-0, 6-1
6. Vaughn Hunter (MSU) vs. Juan Marino (ARK) 4-6, 6-1, 6-3*

Order of finish: 5, 4, 1, 6
* - Match-clinching win