Friday, May 26
Athens, Ga.
All Day
Mississippi State
vs
NCAA Individual Championships
Nuno Borges won in three sets to advance to Saturday's NCAA Singles Championship Quarterfinals.
Photo by: John R. Cade
Late Rally Sends Borges To NCAA Singles Championship Quarterfinals
May 26, 2017 | Men's Tennis
ATHENS, GA. – After overcoming a 2-0 deficit late, Mississippi State men's tennis sophomore Nuno Borges won a three-set thriller over Kentucky's No. 17 William Bushamuka to become MSU's first player since 1998 to reach the NCAA Singles Championship Quarterfinals.
Second-seeded Borges downed Bushamuka, 6-4. 4-6, 6-2 on Friday, while fellow sophomores Niclas Braun and Trevor Foshey fell to fourth-seeded Skander Mansouri and Christian Seraphim of Wake Forest, 6-1. 7-5.
"I am proud of the fight our guys showed today, especially from Nuno," head coach Matt Roberts said. "He took over that match and when he's playing like that it's very fun to watch. We're also proud of Nic and Trevor with their play today. All three guys have battled all season and what they've accomplished as just sophomore is pretty incredible."
Borges will face No. 9-16 seed and 13th-ranked nationally Mansouri on Saturday with a trip to Sunday's semifinals on the line. The two have met twice already this season, with Mansouri taking the first decision at the ITA All-Americans in October and Borges earning redemption at the ITA National Indoors in early November. First serve for Saturday's rubber match will be at 11 a.m. CT.
Friday's win over Bushamuka was also a dose of redemption for Borges after he dropped a tough battle to the Wildcat in Lexington on March 18. This time around, Borges began the contest with momentum as he took the opening frame, 6-4. Bushamuka would bounce back and earn a set by the same margin to force it to a third. Bushamuka began the third set by taking the first two games, but that would be all Borges allowed as he reeled off six in a row to clinch a 6-4, 4-6, 6-2 victory.
Borges became just the sixth MSU player in program history to advance past the round of 16 and the first since Thomas Dupre in 1998. The win also moved Borges (35-6) into sole possession of fourth-place all-time at MSU for most wins in a singles season. The ranked victory for Borges gives him 25 on the season and 30 for his career.
In MSU's second match of the day, the No. 8 pair of Braun and Foshey couldn't overcome their slow start to get past fourth-seeded Mansouri and Seraphim. The Demon Deacons grabbed the opening set, before overtaking the Bulldog duo in the second set to win, 6-1, 7-5. Braun and Foshey finished their sophomore campaign with a 20-14 record overall, while earning 11 ranked wins in the process. On Thursday, 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 will seek to become MSU's first NCAA Singles Semifinalist in program history as he takes on Wake Forest's Mansouri in a rubber match on Saturday at 11 a.m. CT.
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.
Second-seeded Borges downed Bushamuka, 6-4. 4-6, 6-2 on Friday, while fellow sophomores Niclas Braun and Trevor Foshey fell to fourth-seeded Skander Mansouri and Christian Seraphim of Wake Forest, 6-1. 7-5.
"I am proud of the fight our guys showed today, especially from Nuno," head coach Matt Roberts said. "He took over that match and when he's playing like that it's very fun to watch. We're also proud of Nic and Trevor with their play today. All three guys have battled all season and what they've accomplished as just sophomore is pretty incredible."
Borges will face No. 9-16 seed and 13th-ranked nationally Mansouri on Saturday with a trip to Sunday's semifinals on the line. The two have met twice already this season, with Mansouri taking the first decision at the ITA All-Americans in October and Borges earning redemption at the ITA National Indoors in early November. First serve for Saturday's rubber match will be at 11 a.m. CT.
Friday's win over Bushamuka was also a dose of redemption for Borges after he dropped a tough battle to the Wildcat in Lexington on March 18. This time around, Borges began the contest with momentum as he took the opening frame, 6-4. Bushamuka would bounce back and earn a set by the same margin to force it to a third. Bushamuka began the third set by taking the first two games, but that would be all Borges allowed as he reeled off six in a row to clinch a 6-4, 4-6, 6-2 victory.
Borges became just the sixth MSU player in program history to advance past the round of 16 and the first since Thomas Dupre in 1998. The win also moved Borges (35-6) into sole possession of fourth-place all-time at MSU for most wins in a singles season. The ranked victory for Borges gives him 25 on the season and 30 for his career.
In MSU's second match of the day, the No. 8 pair of Braun and Foshey couldn't overcome their slow start to get past fourth-seeded Mansouri and Seraphim. The Demon Deacons grabbed the opening set, before overtaking the Bulldog duo in the second set to win, 6-1, 7-5. Braun and Foshey finished their sophomore campaign with a 20-14 record overall, while earning 11 ranked wins in the process. On Thursday, 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 will seek to become MSU's first NCAA Singles Semifinalist in program history as he takes on Wake Forest's Mansouri in a rubber match on Saturday at 11 a.m. CT.
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 25 ranked singles wins this season
- Borges has earned a 30-10 record for his career against ranked singles foes
- On Saturday, Borges will seek to become MSU's first player to advance past the NCAA Singles Championship Quarterfinals in program history
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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