Sunday, April 16
Columbia, S.C.
11:00 AM
Mississippi State
at
South Carolina
Bulldogs face off against Gamecocks to close the regular season.
No. 17 MSU Closes Regular Season At No. 22 South Carolina
April 15, 2017 | Men's Tennis
STARKVILLE, Miss. – Looking to cap the 2017 regular season with a win, the 17th-ranked Mississippi State men's tennis team (17-6, 8-3 SEC) travels to 22nd-ranked South Carolina (19-5, 8-3 SEC) on Sunday seeking momentum heading into postseason play.
First serve between the Bulldogs and Gamecocks is set for 11 a.m. CT at the Carolina Tennis Center. GamecocksOnline.com will provide live stats and video for Sunday's match.
"We're excited for another opportunity to get better on Sunday," head coach Matt Roberts said. "South Carolina has a good team and is tough to play on the road, but we're ready for the challenge and focused on the goal. It should be a fun match and our guys are ready to get back out on the court tomorrow."
Sunday's match will be crucial for SEC Tournament seeding as MSU and USC are currently tied for fourth place.
Last time out, the Bulldogs dropped a close decision on the road to No. 16 Florida, 4-3. MSU began the match by capturing the doubles point, but couldn't hold off the Gators on Friday. The defeat for State was the squad's first SEC loss on the road.
Many good things came out of Friday's loss, one being the steady improvement of MSU's doubles play. The Bulldogs won their 13th doubles point of the season, which betters last season's total of 10. On Friday, the duo of Mate Cutura and Vaughn Hunter earned the pair's fifth straight win, before No. 27 Niclas Braun and Trevor Foshey upset No. 6 Johannes Igildsen and Alfredo Perez to clinch the doubles point.
In singles play, No. 4 Nuno Borges downed his fourth top-10 foe of the season after handling No. 9 Perez in straight sets, 6-2, 6-2. Borges improved his record to 28-5 on the season and 16-2 in dual-match play. The ranked win was Borges' 18th of the season and 23rd of this career at MSU.
On Sunday, the Bulldogs will use a familiar lineup in both doubles and singles play against the Gamecocks. MSU's No. 27 Braun and Foshey will top the doubles lineup, Cutura and Hunter at No. 2 and the pair of Borges and Strahinja Rakic rounding out the order. In singles No. 4 Borges will lead the Bulldogs with Cutura, No. 123 Rakic, Braun, Giovanni Oradini and Foshey to follow.
Who To Watch For MSU
No. 4 Nuno Borges will look to win his SEC-best 29th singles match of the season as the sophomore takes on USC's No. 76 Harrison O'Keefe. The Bulldog has collected a staggering 18 ranked singles wins this season to lead MSU.
Previewing The Gamecocks
USC defeated Auburn at home on Friday to earn the team's eighth SEC win, which is a program best for the Gamecocks. USC has won seven out of its last eight matches and its last four at home.
Who To Watch For South Carolina
The Gamecocks have two ranked players in singles play and one ranked doubles team. O'Keefe ranks 76th in singles and makes up the 22nd ranked doubles team alongside Yancy Dennis. Gabriel Friedrich is the highest ranked singles player on USC, coming in at No. 38 this past week.
Up Next
After Sunday's match in Columbia, MSU will be idle until the start of the SEC Championship on April 26-30.
Live Video/Stats
Live video and statistics for Sunday's match can be found here.
Additional Notes
Social Media
For more information on the Mississippi State men's tennis program, follow "HailStateMT" on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
First serve between the Bulldogs and Gamecocks is set for 11 a.m. CT at the Carolina Tennis Center. GamecocksOnline.com will provide live stats and video for Sunday's match.
"We're excited for another opportunity to get better on Sunday," head coach Matt Roberts said. "South Carolina has a good team and is tough to play on the road, but we're ready for the challenge and focused on the goal. It should be a fun match and our guys are ready to get back out on the court tomorrow."
Sunday's match will be crucial for SEC Tournament seeding as MSU and USC are currently tied for fourth place.
Last time out, the Bulldogs dropped a close decision on the road to No. 16 Florida, 4-3. MSU began the match by capturing the doubles point, but couldn't hold off the Gators on Friday. The defeat for State was the squad's first SEC loss on the road.
Many good things came out of Friday's loss, one being the steady improvement of MSU's doubles play. The Bulldogs won their 13th doubles point of the season, which betters last season's total of 10. On Friday, the duo of Mate Cutura and Vaughn Hunter earned the pair's fifth straight win, before No. 27 Niclas Braun and Trevor Foshey upset No. 6 Johannes Igildsen and Alfredo Perez to clinch the doubles point.
In singles play, No. 4 Nuno Borges downed his fourth top-10 foe of the season after handling No. 9 Perez in straight sets, 6-2, 6-2. Borges improved his record to 28-5 on the season and 16-2 in dual-match play. The ranked win was Borges' 18th of the season and 23rd of this career at MSU.
On Sunday, the Bulldogs will use a familiar lineup in both doubles and singles play against the Gamecocks. MSU's No. 27 Braun and Foshey will top the doubles lineup, Cutura and Hunter at No. 2 and the pair of Borges and Strahinja Rakic rounding out the order. In singles No. 4 Borges will lead the Bulldogs with Cutura, No. 123 Rakic, Braun, Giovanni Oradini and Foshey to follow.
Who To Watch For MSU
No. 4 Nuno Borges will look to win his SEC-best 29th singles match of the season as the sophomore takes on USC's No. 76 Harrison O'Keefe. The Bulldog has collected a staggering 18 ranked singles wins this season to lead MSU.
Previewing The Gamecocks
USC defeated Auburn at home on Friday to earn the team's eighth SEC win, which is a program best for the Gamecocks. USC has won seven out of its last eight matches and its last four at home.
Who To Watch For South Carolina
The Gamecocks have two ranked players in singles play and one ranked doubles team. O'Keefe ranks 76th in singles and makes up the 22nd ranked doubles team alongside Yancy Dennis. Gabriel Friedrich is the highest ranked singles player on USC, coming in at No. 38 this past week.
Up Next
After Sunday's match in Columbia, MSU will be idle until the start of the SEC Championship on April 26-30.
Live Video/Stats
Live video and statistics for Sunday's match can be found here.
Additional Notes
- MSU leads the all-time series over South Carolina, 18-10
- The Bulldogs have won the last six matches against the Gamecocks
- MSU won last season's match in Columbia, 5-2
- The Bulldogs haven't lost in Columbia since 2009
- MSU is 7-5 against ranked foes this season
- When winning the doubles point, the Bulldogs are 10-3 this season
- Mate Cutura and Vaughn Hunter have clinched seven doubles points for MSU 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.
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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