Friday, April 14
Gainesville, Fla.
4:00 PM
Mississippi State
3
at
4
Florida
Bulldogs drop tough road match to No. 16 Florida.
No. 17 MSU Drops Road Contest To No. 16 Florida, 4-3
April 14, 2017 | Men's Tennis
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Friday's match was a heavyweight bout between No. 16 Florida (15-8, 8-3 SEC) and No. 17 Mississippi State men's tennis team (17-6, 8-3 SEC), but the Bulldogs were unable to outlast the Gators on the road as MSU fell, 4-3.
The defeat was MSU's first road loss in Southeastern Conference action as the Bulldogs fell to 17-6 overall and 8-3 in SEC play.
"Tip your hat to Florida, they battled back and competed really well today," head coach Matt Roberts said. "We played a great doubles point today and we've shown a lot of confidence in our doubles play lately. We had a lot of momentum early, but deviated from the game plan too much and allowed Florida back in the match."
The Bulldogs travel to No. 22 South Carolina on Sunday at 11 a.m. CT as MSU officially caps the regular season.
Doubles play was a slugfest between the Bulldogs and Gators to start things off on Friday, as two matches would be decided by tiebreakers. The senior duo of Mate Cutura and Vaughn Hunter picked up MSU's first win with a 6-4 victory on court two as the tandem won their fifth straight doubles match of the season.
"The seniors stepped up big again for us," Roberts said. "Those guys have put in a lot of effort this season and you can see it paying off in doubles play. They're playing great right now and are feeling very confident."
The Bulldog pair of Nuno Borges and Strahinja Rakic would fight to reach a tiebreaker against their Gator foes, but the sophomores fell in a tough battle, 7-6(7). It would come down to court one and the ranked tandem of No. 27 Niclas Braun and Trevor Foshey to deliver the doubles point for MSU as the pair upset No. 6 Johannes Ingildsen and Alfredo Perez, 7-6(6).
The ranked win for Braun and Foshey was the pair's seventh of the season as the duo moved to 16-9 on the year. Friday's win was also Braun and Foshey's second win over Igildsen and Perez, with the Bulldog tandem winning the ITA Indoor matchup on Feb. 18.
In singles action, the Gators would respond by taking four of the first six sets. No. 4 Borges and Braun would be the two Bulldogs to capture first set wins for MSU, before the pair went on to take their matches easily.
Borges would defeat No. 9 Perez, 6-2, 6-2, before Braun would down Maxx Lipman by the same score. The ranked win for Borges was his 18th of the season, while the sophomore earned his fourth top-10 singles win of the year.
Leading 3-0, the home team would rally back as No. 123 Rakic and Cutura both fell to their Gator foes. On courts five and six, Giovanni Oradini and Foshey would force their matches to third sets, but couldn't cap their comebacks. Oradini fell, 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, while Foshey dropped a 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 decision.
Up Next
No. 17 MSU travels to No. 22 South Carolina for its final match of the regular season as the Bulldogs and Gamecocks face off on Sunday at 11 a.m. CT. MSU will be idle until the start of the SEC Championship on April 26-30.
Additional Notes
Social Media
For more information on the Mississippi State men's tennis program, follow "HailStateMT" on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
No. 16 Florida 4, No. 17 Mississippi State 3
April 14, 2017 – Gainesville, Fla. – Ring Tennis Complex
Doubles
1. No. 27 Niclas Braun/Trevor Foshey (MSU) def. No. 6 Johannes Ingildsen/Alfredo Perez (UF) 7-6(6)
2. Mate Cutura/Vaughn Hunter (MSU) def. Maxx Lipman/Elliot Orkin (UF) 6-4
3. Josh Wardell/Chase Blanco (UF) def. Nuno Borges/Strahinja Rakic (MSU) 7-6(7)
Order of finish: 2, 3, 1
Singles
1. No. 4 Nuno Borges (MSU) def. No. 9 Alfredo Perez (UF) 6-2, 6-2
2. No. 77 Elliot Orkin (UF) def. Mate Cutura (MSU) 7-5, 6-2
3. Chase Blanco (UF) def. No. 123 Strahinja Rakic (MSU) 6-3, 6-3
4. Niclas Braun (MSU) def. Max Lipman (UF) 6-2, 6-2
5. Johannes Ingildsen (UF) def. Giovanni Oradini (MSU) 6-3, 3-6, 6-3
6. McClain Kessler (UF) def. Trevor Foshey (MSU) 6-4, 4-6, 6-3
Order of finish: 1, 4, 3, 2, 5, 6
The defeat was MSU's first road loss in Southeastern Conference action as the Bulldogs fell to 17-6 overall and 8-3 in SEC play.
"Tip your hat to Florida, they battled back and competed really well today," head coach Matt Roberts said. "We played a great doubles point today and we've shown a lot of confidence in our doubles play lately. We had a lot of momentum early, but deviated from the game plan too much and allowed Florida back in the match."
The Bulldogs travel to No. 22 South Carolina on Sunday at 11 a.m. CT as MSU officially caps the regular season.
Doubles play was a slugfest between the Bulldogs and Gators to start things off on Friday, as two matches would be decided by tiebreakers. The senior duo of Mate Cutura and Vaughn Hunter picked up MSU's first win with a 6-4 victory on court two as the tandem won their fifth straight doubles match of the season.
"The seniors stepped up big again for us," Roberts said. "Those guys have put in a lot of effort this season and you can see it paying off in doubles play. They're playing great right now and are feeling very confident."
The Bulldog pair of Nuno Borges and Strahinja Rakic would fight to reach a tiebreaker against their Gator foes, but the sophomores fell in a tough battle, 7-6(7). It would come down to court one and the ranked tandem of No. 27 Niclas Braun and Trevor Foshey to deliver the doubles point for MSU as the pair upset No. 6 Johannes Ingildsen and Alfredo Perez, 7-6(6).
The ranked win for Braun and Foshey was the pair's seventh of the season as the duo moved to 16-9 on the year. Friday's win was also Braun and Foshey's second win over Igildsen and Perez, with the Bulldog tandem winning the ITA Indoor matchup on Feb. 18.
In singles action, the Gators would respond by taking four of the first six sets. No. 4 Borges and Braun would be the two Bulldogs to capture first set wins for MSU, before the pair went on to take their matches easily.
Borges would defeat No. 9 Perez, 6-2, 6-2, before Braun would down Maxx Lipman by the same score. The ranked win for Borges was his 18th of the season, while the sophomore earned his fourth top-10 singles win of the year.
Leading 3-0, the home team would rally back as No. 123 Rakic and Cutura both fell to their Gator foes. On courts five and six, Giovanni Oradini and Foshey would force their matches to third sets, but couldn't cap their comebacks. Oradini fell, 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, while Foshey dropped a 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 decision.
Up Next
No. 17 MSU travels to No. 22 South Carolina for its final match of the regular season as the Bulldogs and Gamecocks face off on Sunday at 11 a.m. CT. MSU will be idle until the start of the SEC Championship on April 26-30.
Additional Notes
- Florida leads the all-time series over MSU, 35-17
- The Gators have won four out of the last five matchups
- MSU hasn't won in Gainesville since 2013
- MSU has won the last three doubles points against UF
- State lost to UF this season in non-conference action at the ITA Indoors
- MSU is 7-5 against ranked foes this season
- When winning the doubles point, the Bulldogs are now 10-3 this season
- No. 4 Nuno Borges leads the Bulldogs in singles play with a 28-5 record overall
- Borges has earned 23 ranked singles wins over his short career
Social Media
For more information on the Mississippi State men's tennis program, follow "HailStateMT" on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
No. 16 Florida 4, No. 17 Mississippi State 3
April 14, 2017 – Gainesville, Fla. – Ring Tennis Complex
Doubles
1. No. 27 Niclas Braun/Trevor Foshey (MSU) def. No. 6 Johannes Ingildsen/Alfredo Perez (UF) 7-6(6)
2. Mate Cutura/Vaughn Hunter (MSU) def. Maxx Lipman/Elliot Orkin (UF) 6-4
3. Josh Wardell/Chase Blanco (UF) def. Nuno Borges/Strahinja Rakic (MSU) 7-6(7)
Order of finish: 2, 3, 1
Singles
1. No. 4 Nuno Borges (MSU) def. No. 9 Alfredo Perez (UF) 6-2, 6-2
2. No. 77 Elliot Orkin (UF) def. Mate Cutura (MSU) 7-5, 6-2
3. Chase Blanco (UF) def. No. 123 Strahinja Rakic (MSU) 6-3, 6-3
4. Niclas Braun (MSU) def. Max Lipman (UF) 6-2, 6-2
5. Johannes Ingildsen (UF) def. Giovanni Oradini (MSU) 6-3, 3-6, 6-3
6. McClain Kessler (UF) def. Trevor Foshey (MSU) 6-4, 4-6, 6-3
Order of finish: 1, 4, 3, 2, 5, 6
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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