Thursday, May 25
Athens, Ga.
All Day
Mississippi State
vs
NCAA Individual Championships
Niclas Braun and Trevor Foshey opened NCAA doubles action with a win, while Nuno Borges continue his stellar play.
Borges, Braun/Foshey Punch Tickets To NCAA Round of 16
May 25, 2017 | Men's Tennis
ATHENS, GA. – The Mississippi State men's tennis sophomore trio of Nuno Borges, Niclas Braun and Trevor Foshey all earned wins on Thursday as the three Bulldogs advanced to the NCAA Individual Championship Round of 16.
Borges, who is the No. 2 national seed in the singles draw, downed No. 51 Josh Hagar of Notre Dame, 6-2, 6-4 as he moved on to Friday's round of 16. MSU's No. 8 pair of Braun and Foshey advanced to Friday after earning a three-set victory over Princeton's No. 59 Alexander Day and Luke Gamble, 6-4, 3-6, 1-0(5).
"We're proud of how Nuno, Nic and Trevor competed today," head coach Matt Roberts said. "These three have trained hard to get to this point, so it's exciting to see it pay off on the biggest stage. We're looking forward to having more fun tomorrow and continuing to get better."
Borges faces Kentucky's No. 17 William Bushamuka on Friday at 11:30 a.m. CT, while Braun and Foshey takes on fourth-seeded Skander Mansouri and Christian Seraphim of Wake Forest also on Friday at 1:30 p.m. CT. Both contests on Friday will be rematches from earlier this season, Bushamuka bested Borges while Braun and Foshey's match against Mansouri and Seraphim was suspended at 6-6.
Thursday's action began with Borges racing out to an early lead over Notre Dame's Hagar. Borges jumped ahead 3-0, before riding the wave of momentum to a 6-2 first set win. The second set was much tighter at 3-3 early, but Borges powered past his foe to take the set 6-4 and with it the match.
"Overall, it was a good match today," Borges said. "Hagar is really tough and I had to play well to beat him. My transitioning, approaching and coming to the net really helped me out, because he was countering well."
With the win, Borges became the first Bulldog to advance to the NCAA Singles Championship Round of 16 since Louis Cant and Artem Ilyushin in 2012. Borges also moved into a fourth-place tie with Mark Jeffrey (1989) for most wins in a single season after improving his record to 34-6 overall.
The No. 8 MSU pair of Braun and Foshey needed three sets to get past Princeton's No. 59 Day and Gamble on Thursday. The Bulldogs overcame a slow start to earn a 6-4 win in the opening frame, but couldn't stave off Day and Gamble in the second set. With third-set tiebreaker even at 2-2, Braun and Foshey stormed out to a 6-2 lead as the Bulldog pair held on for a 10-5 win.
Braun and Foshey became MSU's first pair to advance to the NCAA Doubles Championship Round of 16 since Jordan Angus and Malte Stropp did it in 2014.
Up Next
Borges, Braun and Foshey will seek to advance further than any Bulldogs in almost 20 years as the sophomore trio competes at the NCAA Individual Championships Round of 16.
Admission
Tickets for the NCAA Individual Championships can be purchased at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex. Adult tickets are $10, while youth/senior tickets are $6.
Live Stats/Video
Live stats and video for this week's NCAA Individual Championships 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.
Borges, who is the No. 2 national seed in the singles draw, downed No. 51 Josh Hagar of Notre Dame, 6-2, 6-4 as he moved on to Friday's round of 16. MSU's No. 8 pair of Braun and Foshey advanced to Friday after earning a three-set victory over Princeton's No. 59 Alexander Day and Luke Gamble, 6-4, 3-6, 1-0(5).
"We're proud of how Nuno, Nic and Trevor competed today," head coach Matt Roberts said. "These three have trained hard to get to this point, so it's exciting to see it pay off on the biggest stage. We're looking forward to having more fun tomorrow and continuing to get better."
Borges faces Kentucky's No. 17 William Bushamuka on Friday at 11:30 a.m. CT, while Braun and Foshey takes on fourth-seeded Skander Mansouri and Christian Seraphim of Wake Forest also on Friday at 1:30 p.m. CT. Both contests on Friday will be rematches from earlier this season, Bushamuka bested Borges while Braun and Foshey's match against Mansouri and Seraphim was suspended at 6-6.
Thursday's action began with Borges racing out to an early lead over Notre Dame's Hagar. Borges jumped ahead 3-0, before riding the wave of momentum to a 6-2 first set win. The second set was much tighter at 3-3 early, but Borges powered past his foe to take the set 6-4 and with it the match.
"Overall, it was a good match today," Borges said. "Hagar is really tough and I had to play well to beat him. My transitioning, approaching and coming to the net really helped me out, because he was countering well."
With the win, Borges became the first Bulldog to advance to the NCAA Singles Championship Round of 16 since Louis Cant and Artem Ilyushin in 2012. Borges also moved into a fourth-place tie with Mark Jeffrey (1989) for most wins in a single season after improving his record to 34-6 overall.
The No. 8 MSU pair of Braun and Foshey needed three sets to get past Princeton's No. 59 Day and Gamble on Thursday. The Bulldogs overcame a slow start to earn a 6-4 win in the opening frame, but couldn't stave off Day and Gamble in the second set. With third-set tiebreaker even at 2-2, Braun and Foshey stormed out to a 6-2 lead as the Bulldog pair held on for a 10-5 win.
Braun and Foshey became MSU's first pair to advance to the NCAA Doubles Championship Round of 16 since Jordan Angus and Malte Stropp did it in 2014.
Up Next
Borges, Braun and Foshey will seek to advance further than any Bulldogs in almost 20 years as the sophomore trio competes at the NCAA Individual Championships Round of 16.
Admission
Tickets for the NCAA Individual Championships can be purchased at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex. Adult tickets are $10, while youth/senior tickets are $6.
Live Stats/Video
Live stats and video for this week's NCAA Individual Championships can be found here.
Additional Notes
- Nuno Borges qualified for the NCAA Singles Championship as an automatic bid, earning All-America status in the process
- Borges has spent the entire spring season ranked in the ITA Top 10, not dropping below No. 8 overall
- Borges owns 24 ranked singles wins this season
- Borges has earned a 29-10 record for his career against ranked singles foes
- Borges seeks to become the first Bulldog to advance past the NCAA Singles Championship Round of 16 since Thomas Dupre in 1998 (Quarterfinals)
- Niclas Braun and Trevor Foshey will be MSU's first doubles participants since 2014
- The duo of Braun and Foshey have earned a 20-13 record this season
- The pair has earned 11 ranked wins, with five of those coming against the current ITA Top 10
- Braun and Foshey seek to become the first Bulldog pair to advance past the NCAA Doubles Championship Round of 16 since Laurent Miquelard and Joc Simmons in 1994 (NCAA Champions)
Social Media
For more information on the Mississippi State men's tennis program, follow "HailStateMT" on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
Players Mentioned
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