Friday, April 28
Knoxville, Tenn.
5:00 PM
Mississippi State
4
vs
1
South Carolina
Strahinja Rakic earned wins in doubles and singles play on Saturday.
Bulldogs Soar Past Gamecocks To Advance To #SECMT17 Semifinals
April 28, 2017 | Men's Tennis
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Propelled by a boost of momentum in singles action, the 18th-ranked Mississippi State men's tennis team (19-7) surged past 19th-ranked South Carolina (20-6) as the Bulldogs took a 4-1 decision over the Gamecocks.
With the win, MSU advances to the Southeastern Conference Tournament Semifinals, where the Bulldogs will face No. 11 Texas A&M on Saturday at 12 p.m. CT. UTsports.com will provide live stats and video.
"We knew this match was going to be a battle," head coach Matt Roberts said. "We respect South Carolina so much, because they fight for everything and never give up. I'm proud of our effort and how we battled on every single court. Every guy was supportive and there for each other, which is what I love about this team."
The victory improved MSU's record to 19-7 on the season, while USC fell to 20-6 on the year.
Doubles play began with the Bulldogs and Gamecocks trading a pair of 6-1 decisions as Mate Cutura and Vaughn Hunter defeated Alex Fennel and Thomas Mayronne, while No. 9 Niclas Braun and Trevor Foshey lost a ranked matchup to No. 18 Yancy Dennis and Harrison O'Keefe. A tight affair on court three would decide the doubles point, as Nuno Borges and Strahinja Rakic outlasted USC's tandem of Gabriel Friedrich and Andrew Schafer in a tiebreaker 7-6(6).
"It's great to see Nuno and Strale get revenge on a team that beat them in the regular season," Roberts said. "They did a good job communicating during the match and setting up their plays. They were so clutch for us and we needed that doubles point because we knew it would be a battle in singles."
After a marathon doubles session, the Gamecocks would surge back to take four of the first six sets in singles play. USC grabbed a win on court two after No. 52 Gabriel Friedrich downed Cutura, 7-6, 6-3 to even the match at 1-1.
"We had a slow start in singles, but our guys held tough and didn't cave in," Roberts said. "We knew we had to hold off their push, and it eventually starting falling our way."
Borges was the first to make a push as the sophomore bounced back to take his second set, the surge would be contagious as Rakic also forced a third set. Borges would then wrestle the match away from No. 67 O'Keefe as he took the third set, 6-0.
"Nuno flipped our match, he had a huge hand in changing the momentum," Roberts said. "As his confidence started to build, it begin to spread to other guys and it was great to see us make a big final push."
The ranked win for Borges was his 20th of the season as the sophomore improved to 30-5 overall this season.
Following Borges' victory on court one, the floodgates would open for the Bulldogs as Rakic and Giovanni Oradini took back-to-back matches. Rakic downed Schafer, 4-6, 6-3, 6-2, while Oradini clinched MSU's win after a 6-3, 3-6, 7-5.
"This is the type of match that our team loves," Roberts said. "The longer the match goes, the stronger we get. Our guys showed resiliency by holding off long enough for the match to start to turn. We love these kind of matches, nothing gets better."
Braun and Foshey's matches were suspended in the third set, with Braun tied 1-1 and Foshey trailing 2-3.
Up Next
The Bulldogs will face top-seeded and 11th-ranked Texas A&M on Saturday at 12 p.m. CT. The winner will advance to Sunday's championship match against Florida/Georgia at noon.
Live Video/Stats
Live stats can be found here, while a live video stream of Saturday's match can be found here.
SEC Championship Info
For information on past matches, tourney draws, stats, parking maps or anything else SEC Tournament related, visit here.
Additional Notes
Social Media
For more information on the Mississippi State men's tennis program, follow "HailStateMT" on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
No. 18 Mississippi State 4, No. 19 South Carolina 1
SEC Championship – Quarterfinals
April 28, 2017 – Knoxville, Tenn. – Barksdale Stadium
Doubles
1. No. 18 Yancy Dennis/Harrison O'Keefe (USC) def. No. 9 Niclas Braun/Trevor Foshey (MSU) 6-1
2. Mate Cutura/Vaughn Hunter (MSU) def. Alex Fennell/Thomas Mayronne (USC) 6-1
3. Nuno Borges/Strahinja Rakic (MSU) def. Gabriel Friedrich/Andrew Schafer (USC) 7-6(6)
Order of finish: 2, 1, 3
Singles
1. No. 3 Nuno Borges (MSU) def. No. 67 Harrison O'Keefe (USC) 4-6, 6-4, 6-0
2. No. 52 Gabriel Friedrich (USC) def. Mate Cutura (MSU) 7-6(2), 6-3
3. No. 111 Strahinja Rakic (MSU) def. Andrew Schafer (USC) 4-6, 6-3, 6-2
4. Niclas Braun (MSU) vs. Yancy Dennis (USC) 3-6, 7-6(4), 1-1, suspended
5. Giovanni Oradini (MSU) def. Alex Fennell (USC) 6-3, 3-6, 7-5*
6. Trevor Foshey (MSU) vs. Paul Jubb (USC) 7-6(8), 1-6, 2-3
Order of Finish: 2, 1, 3, 5
* - Match-clinching victory
With the win, MSU advances to the Southeastern Conference Tournament Semifinals, where the Bulldogs will face No. 11 Texas A&M on Saturday at 12 p.m. CT. UTsports.com will provide live stats and video.
"We knew this match was going to be a battle," head coach Matt Roberts said. "We respect South Carolina so much, because they fight for everything and never give up. I'm proud of our effort and how we battled on every single court. Every guy was supportive and there for each other, which is what I love about this team."
The victory improved MSU's record to 19-7 on the season, while USC fell to 20-6 on the year.
Doubles play began with the Bulldogs and Gamecocks trading a pair of 6-1 decisions as Mate Cutura and Vaughn Hunter defeated Alex Fennel and Thomas Mayronne, while No. 9 Niclas Braun and Trevor Foshey lost a ranked matchup to No. 18 Yancy Dennis and Harrison O'Keefe. A tight affair on court three would decide the doubles point, as Nuno Borges and Strahinja Rakic outlasted USC's tandem of Gabriel Friedrich and Andrew Schafer in a tiebreaker 7-6(6).
"It's great to see Nuno and Strale get revenge on a team that beat them in the regular season," Roberts said. "They did a good job communicating during the match and setting up their plays. They were so clutch for us and we needed that doubles point because we knew it would be a battle in singles."
After a marathon doubles session, the Gamecocks would surge back to take four of the first six sets in singles play. USC grabbed a win on court two after No. 52 Gabriel Friedrich downed Cutura, 7-6, 6-3 to even the match at 1-1.
"We had a slow start in singles, but our guys held tough and didn't cave in," Roberts said. "We knew we had to hold off their push, and it eventually starting falling our way."
Borges was the first to make a push as the sophomore bounced back to take his second set, the surge would be contagious as Rakic also forced a third set. Borges would then wrestle the match away from No. 67 O'Keefe as he took the third set, 6-0.
"Nuno flipped our match, he had a huge hand in changing the momentum," Roberts said. "As his confidence started to build, it begin to spread to other guys and it was great to see us make a big final push."
The ranked win for Borges was his 20th of the season as the sophomore improved to 30-5 overall this season.
Following Borges' victory on court one, the floodgates would open for the Bulldogs as Rakic and Giovanni Oradini took back-to-back matches. Rakic downed Schafer, 4-6, 6-3, 6-2, while Oradini clinched MSU's win after a 6-3, 3-6, 7-5.
"This is the type of match that our team loves," Roberts said. "The longer the match goes, the stronger we get. Our guys showed resiliency by holding off long enough for the match to start to turn. We love these kind of matches, nothing gets better."
Braun and Foshey's matches were suspended in the third set, with Braun tied 1-1 and Foshey trailing 2-3.
Up Next
The Bulldogs will face top-seeded and 11th-ranked Texas A&M on Saturday at 12 p.m. CT. The winner will advance to Sunday's championship match against Florida/Georgia at noon.
Live Video/Stats
Live stats can be found here, while a live video stream of Saturday's match can be found here.
SEC Championship Info
For information on past matches, tourney draws, stats, parking maps or anything else SEC Tournament related, visit here.
Additional Notes
- State now leads the all-time series over South Carolina, 19-11
- With the win, MSU advances to the SEC Semifinals for the third-straight season
- The Bulldogs are 4-2 this season in neutral matches
- MSU is now 11-4 this season when winning the doubles point
- Head Coach Matt Roberts moved to 4-2 all-time in SEC Tourney action
- Roberts is the only coach in MSU history to advance to the SEC Semifinals in his first three seasons at the helm
- Nuno Borges and Strahinja Rakic clinched their first doubles point of the year
- No. 3 Borges now owns 25 career ranked wins in singles play
- Giovanni Oradini clinched his fourth match of the season
- The freshman is now 13-6 on the season
Social Media
For more information on the Mississippi State men's tennis program, follow "HailStateMT" on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
No. 18 Mississippi State 4, No. 19 South Carolina 1
SEC Championship – Quarterfinals
April 28, 2017 – Knoxville, Tenn. – Barksdale Stadium
Doubles
1. No. 18 Yancy Dennis/Harrison O'Keefe (USC) def. No. 9 Niclas Braun/Trevor Foshey (MSU) 6-1
2. Mate Cutura/Vaughn Hunter (MSU) def. Alex Fennell/Thomas Mayronne (USC) 6-1
3. Nuno Borges/Strahinja Rakic (MSU) def. Gabriel Friedrich/Andrew Schafer (USC) 7-6(6)
Order of finish: 2, 1, 3
Singles
1. No. 3 Nuno Borges (MSU) def. No. 67 Harrison O'Keefe (USC) 4-6, 6-4, 6-0
2. No. 52 Gabriel Friedrich (USC) def. Mate Cutura (MSU) 7-6(2), 6-3
3. No. 111 Strahinja Rakic (MSU) def. Andrew Schafer (USC) 4-6, 6-3, 6-2
4. Niclas Braun (MSU) vs. Yancy Dennis (USC) 3-6, 7-6(4), 1-1, suspended
5. Giovanni Oradini (MSU) def. Alex Fennell (USC) 6-3, 3-6, 7-5*
6. Trevor Foshey (MSU) vs. Paul Jubb (USC) 7-6(8), 1-6, 2-3
Order of Finish: 2, 1, 3, 5
* - Match-clinching victory
Players Mentioned
/ Men's Tennis
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/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
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