Thursday, March 30
Starkville
3:00 PM
Mississippi State
0
vs
4
Georgia
Vaughn Hunter earned his first ranked doubles win of the year in the defeat.
No. 14 Georgia Edges Past No. 17 MSU
March 30, 2017 | Men's Tennis
STARKVILLE, Miss. – After dropping a slugfest in doubles play, the 17th-ranked Mississippi State men's tennis team (14-5, 5-2 SEC) couldn't bounce back in singles action as 14th-ranked Georgia (12-6, 8-0 SEC) rode the early momentum to a 4-0 win.
Thursday's contest continued MSU's five-match homestand as the Bulldogs now turn their focus to Tennessee on Saturday at 1 p.m. CT.
"Tip your hat to Georgia, they have a great team and showed why today," head coach Matt Roberts said. "We had a battle in doubles play and felt pretty good about our effort there, but it wasn't enough to overcome Georgia. Today is a tough loss, but we're going to move forward and prepare for Tennessee on Saturday."
Doubles action was a heavyweight bout between MSU and UGA as the two squads went toe-to-toe to start off Thursday's match. The first result of the day went to Mate Cutura and Vaughn Hunter as the senior pair upset No. 48 Nathan Ponwith and Emil Reinberg, 6-3 to kickoff play.
"I'm very happy with how Mate and Vaughn played in doubles," Roberts said. "The seniors stepped up big and that was a nice ranked win against a tough team."
The next two matches would be decided by tiebreakers as No. 31 Niclas Braun and Trevor Foshey, along with Nuno Borges and Giovanni Oradini pushed their UGA foes to the limit. No. 8 Robert Loeb and Jan Zielinski took all they could handle from Braun and Foshey, but the UGA tandem won 7-6(3) on court one to even the odds.
On court three, the MSU pair of Borges and Oradini turned in a great effort as the duo fought back from a 4-0 deficit to force a tiebreaker. The Bulldogs of Athens would eventually take the match, 7-6(5) and with it the highly contested doubles point.
With the skies beginning to clear at the A.J. Pitts Tennis Centre, the two squads entered singles play with UGA holding a narrow 1-0 lead. Four of the first six sets would go to the Red and Black as UGA used momentum from doubles play to earn the early advantage.
UGA would pick up back-to-back wins on courts five and six to build its lead to 3-0 over the homestanding Bulldogs as Giovanni Oradini and Trevor Foshey would fall in straight sets. Walker Duncan would down Oradini, 6-2, 6-2, before Robert Loeb took his contest against Foshey, 6-3, 6-0.
With the 3-0 lead, MSU would make one last push against UGA as No. 8 Borges would spilt his sets with SEC Freshman of the Week Nathan Ponwith after taking the second frame, 6-0. On courts three and four, Strahinja Rakic and Braun got out to a good start after each sophomore took their first set by a score of 6-4.
Despite mounting a great comeback in the second set, Cutura dropped his match to No. 32 Wayne Montgomery, 6-4, 6-4 to clinch the 4-0 for UGA. The trio of Borges, Braun and Rakic had their matches suspended following the clinch.
Up Next
The Bulldogs will continue their five-match homestand against Tennessee on Saturday at 1 p.m. CT before closing out the home season against Texas A&M and LSU next weekend.
Additional Notes
Social Media
For more information on the Mississippi State men's tennis program, follow "HailStateMT" on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
No. 14 Georgia 4, No. 17 Mississippi State 0
March 30, 2017 – Starkville – A.J. Pitts Tennis Centre
Doubles
1. No. 8 Robert Loeb vs. Jan Zielinski (UGA) def. No. 31 Niclas Braun/Trevor Foshey (MSU) 7-6(3)
2. Mate Cutura/Vaughn Hunter (MSU) def. No. 48 Nathan Ponwith/Emil Reinberg (UGA) 6-3
3. Walker Duncan/Wayne Montgomery (UGA) def. Nuno Borges/Giovanni Oradini (MSU) 7-6(5)
Order of finish: 2, 1, 3
Singles
1. No. 8 Nuno Borges (MSU) vs. Nathan Ponwith (UGA) 4-6, 6-0, 1-0, suspended
2. No. 32 Wayne Montgomery (UGA) def. Mate Cutura (MSU) 4-6, 4-6*
3. No. 110 Strahinja Rakic (MSU) vs. No. 65 Emil Reinberg (UGA) 6-4, 3-6, suspended
4. Niclas Braun (MSU) vs. Jan Zielinski (UGA) 6-4, 2-6, suspended
5. Walker Duncan (UGA) def. Giovanni Oradini (MSU) 6-2, 6-2
6. Robert Loeb (UGA) def. Trevor Foshey (MSU) 6-3, 6-0
Order of finish: 5, 6, 2
* - Match-clinching win
Thursday's contest continued MSU's five-match homestand as the Bulldogs now turn their focus to Tennessee on Saturday at 1 p.m. CT.
"Tip your hat to Georgia, they have a great team and showed why today," head coach Matt Roberts said. "We had a battle in doubles play and felt pretty good about our effort there, but it wasn't enough to overcome Georgia. Today is a tough loss, but we're going to move forward and prepare for Tennessee on Saturday."
Doubles action was a heavyweight bout between MSU and UGA as the two squads went toe-to-toe to start off Thursday's match. The first result of the day went to Mate Cutura and Vaughn Hunter as the senior pair upset No. 48 Nathan Ponwith and Emil Reinberg, 6-3 to kickoff play.
"I'm very happy with how Mate and Vaughn played in doubles," Roberts said. "The seniors stepped up big and that was a nice ranked win against a tough team."
The next two matches would be decided by tiebreakers as No. 31 Niclas Braun and Trevor Foshey, along with Nuno Borges and Giovanni Oradini pushed their UGA foes to the limit. No. 8 Robert Loeb and Jan Zielinski took all they could handle from Braun and Foshey, but the UGA tandem won 7-6(3) on court one to even the odds.
On court three, the MSU pair of Borges and Oradini turned in a great effort as the duo fought back from a 4-0 deficit to force a tiebreaker. The Bulldogs of Athens would eventually take the match, 7-6(5) and with it the highly contested doubles point.
With the skies beginning to clear at the A.J. Pitts Tennis Centre, the two squads entered singles play with UGA holding a narrow 1-0 lead. Four of the first six sets would go to the Red and Black as UGA used momentum from doubles play to earn the early advantage.
UGA would pick up back-to-back wins on courts five and six to build its lead to 3-0 over the homestanding Bulldogs as Giovanni Oradini and Trevor Foshey would fall in straight sets. Walker Duncan would down Oradini, 6-2, 6-2, before Robert Loeb took his contest against Foshey, 6-3, 6-0.
With the 3-0 lead, MSU would make one last push against UGA as No. 8 Borges would spilt his sets with SEC Freshman of the Week Nathan Ponwith after taking the second frame, 6-0. On courts three and four, Strahinja Rakic and Braun got out to a good start after each sophomore took their first set by a score of 6-4.
Despite mounting a great comeback in the second set, Cutura dropped his match to No. 32 Wayne Montgomery, 6-4, 6-4 to clinch the 4-0 for UGA. The trio of Borges, Braun and Rakic had their matches suspended following the clinch.
Up Next
The Bulldogs will continue their five-match homestand against Tennessee on Saturday at 1 p.m. CT before closing out the home season against Texas A&M and LSU next weekend.
Additional Notes
- Georgia leads the all-time series 55-8
- MSU has only defeated UGA twice at home
- Thursday's contest was MSU's 10th match against a ranked opponent this season
- The ranked win for Mate Cutura and Vaughn Hunter in doubles play was the duo's first of the season
- For their Bulldog careers, Cutura and Hunter have four ranked wins
Social Media
For more information on the Mississippi State men's tennis program, follow "HailStateMT" on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
No. 14 Georgia 4, No. 17 Mississippi State 0
March 30, 2017 – Starkville – A.J. Pitts Tennis Centre
Doubles
1. No. 8 Robert Loeb vs. Jan Zielinski (UGA) def. No. 31 Niclas Braun/Trevor Foshey (MSU) 7-6(3)
2. Mate Cutura/Vaughn Hunter (MSU) def. No. 48 Nathan Ponwith/Emil Reinberg (UGA) 6-3
3. Walker Duncan/Wayne Montgomery (UGA) def. Nuno Borges/Giovanni Oradini (MSU) 7-6(5)
Order of finish: 2, 1, 3
Singles
1. No. 8 Nuno Borges (MSU) vs. Nathan Ponwith (UGA) 4-6, 6-0, 1-0, suspended
2. No. 32 Wayne Montgomery (UGA) def. Mate Cutura (MSU) 4-6, 4-6*
3. No. 110 Strahinja Rakic (MSU) vs. No. 65 Emil Reinberg (UGA) 6-4, 3-6, suspended
4. Niclas Braun (MSU) vs. Jan Zielinski (UGA) 6-4, 2-6, suspended
5. Walker Duncan (UGA) def. Giovanni Oradini (MSU) 6-2, 6-2
6. Robert Loeb (UGA) def. Trevor Foshey (MSU) 6-3, 6-0
Order of finish: 5, 6, 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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