Saturday, May 27
Athens, Ga.
All Day
Mississippi State
vs
NCAA Individual Championships
Nuno Borges made history on Saturday, becoming MSU's first NCAA Singles Semifinalist.
Photo by: Bill Kallenberg
Borges Becomes MSU’s First NCAA Singles Semifinalist
May 27, 2017 | Men's Tennis
ATHENS, Ga. – Mississippi State men's tennis sophomore Nuno Borges continued his remarkable run in Athens after edging out Wake Forest's Skander Mansouri in quarterfinal action on Saturday. With the win, Borges becomes MSU's first player to reach the NCAA Singles Championship Semifinals in program history.
Borges, who is the No. 2 national seed at the tournament, took down 9-16 seed Mansouri in straight sets, 7-6(2), 6-3 as the Bulldog earned his fourth win in four days. Borges is now just the third semifinalist (singles/doubles) in program history, joining the doubles duo of Laurent Miquelard and Joc Simmons who won the NCAA doubles crown in 1994.
"I am really proud of Nuno and what he accomplished today," head coach Matt Roberts said. "We've had a storied history here at Mississippi State and what he's done today is truly special. We couldn't be more happy with his success and we're excited to see how far he can go."
Borges will face North Carolina's 9-16 seed and 16th ranked William Blumberg on Sunday at 11 a.m. CT for a chance to play for a national title. On the other side of the bracket, 9-16 seed Thi-Son Kwiatkowski of Virginia and No. 8 seed Tom Fawcett of Stanford will face off for a trip to the finals. Live stats and video of Sunday's matches at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex will be provided at Georgiadogs.com.
Saturday's quarterfinal contest between Borges and Mansouri was the third of the season, with the two splitting a pair of matches during the fall. This time around however, the stakes were much higher with the two facing off for a trip to the Sunday's semifinals.
The first set would be a neck-and-neck affair until Mansouri broke late to take a 6-5 advantage over Borges. The sophomore Bulldog didn't cave under the pressure however as he broke back to force a tiebreaker.
"We kept doing what we were doing and didn't panic once Nuno fell behind," Roberts said. "Nuno stayed calm and knew his opportunity would come and he pounced on it. He kept pushing Mansouri and knew all the long rallies would pay off eventually."
With the momentum on his side, Borges jumped out to an early 3-1 lead in the tiebreaker. The newfound energy for Borges would prove to be too much for Mansouri as the Bulldog earned a 7-2 victory in the first set tiebreaker.
The second set began much like the first, with each player trading points until Borges would break to take a 4-3 advantage. Borges didn't look back after taking the lead as he rode out the match to win the second set and the match, 7-6(2), 6-3.
"Nuno played with a lot of poise today," Roberts said. "Mansouri was a very physical player and Nuno made him work a lot. Nuno is in great shape and it shows with how much energy he is playing with this late in the season."
The win for Borges improved his record to 36-6 overall this season, while the ranked win was his 26th of the season and 31st of his career. Borges will take on UNC's Blumberg on Sunday who earned an upset of No. 6 seed Alfredo Perez of Florida to add to his run to the semifinals.
"Blumberg is a tough player and very athletic," Roberts said. "He makes a lot of balls and is very competitive, so Sunday's match will be a very contested one."
Up Next
Borges fights for a trip to the NCAA Singles Championship Final as he takes on UNC's Blumberg on Sunday 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.
Borges, who is the No. 2 national seed at the tournament, took down 9-16 seed Mansouri in straight sets, 7-6(2), 6-3 as the Bulldog earned his fourth win in four days. Borges is now just the third semifinalist (singles/doubles) in program history, joining the doubles duo of Laurent Miquelard and Joc Simmons who won the NCAA doubles crown in 1994.
"I am really proud of Nuno and what he accomplished today," head coach Matt Roberts said. "We've had a storied history here at Mississippi State and what he's done today is truly special. We couldn't be more happy with his success and we're excited to see how far he can go."
Borges will face North Carolina's 9-16 seed and 16th ranked William Blumberg on Sunday at 11 a.m. CT for a chance to play for a national title. On the other side of the bracket, 9-16 seed Thi-Son Kwiatkowski of Virginia and No. 8 seed Tom Fawcett of Stanford will face off for a trip to the finals. Live stats and video of Sunday's matches at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex will be provided at Georgiadogs.com.
Saturday's quarterfinal contest between Borges and Mansouri was the third of the season, with the two splitting a pair of matches during the fall. This time around however, the stakes were much higher with the two facing off for a trip to the Sunday's semifinals.
The first set would be a neck-and-neck affair until Mansouri broke late to take a 6-5 advantage over Borges. The sophomore Bulldog didn't cave under the pressure however as he broke back to force a tiebreaker.
"We kept doing what we were doing and didn't panic once Nuno fell behind," Roberts said. "Nuno stayed calm and knew his opportunity would come and he pounced on it. He kept pushing Mansouri and knew all the long rallies would pay off eventually."
With the momentum on his side, Borges jumped out to an early 3-1 lead in the tiebreaker. The newfound energy for Borges would prove to be too much for Mansouri as the Bulldog earned a 7-2 victory in the first set tiebreaker.
The second set began much like the first, with each player trading points until Borges would break to take a 4-3 advantage. Borges didn't look back after taking the lead as he rode out the match to win the second set and the match, 7-6(2), 6-3.
"Nuno played with a lot of poise today," Roberts said. "Mansouri was a very physical player and Nuno made him work a lot. Nuno is in great shape and it shows with how much energy he is playing with this late in the season."
The win for Borges improved his record to 36-6 overall this season, while the ranked win was his 26th of the season and 31st of his career. Borges will take on UNC's Blumberg on Sunday who earned an upset of No. 6 seed Alfredo Perez of Florida to add to his run to the semifinals.
"Blumberg is a tough player and very athletic," Roberts said. "He makes a lot of balls and is very competitive, so Sunday's match will be a very contested one."
Up Next
Borges fights for a trip to the NCAA Singles Championship Final as he takes on UNC's Blumberg on Sunday 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 is the first singles player for the men's or women's tennis programs to reach the NCAA Singles Championship Semifinals
- Overall, the men have had three semifinalists (Borges 2017, Miquelard/Simmons 1994) and the women have had two (Claire Pollard/Jackie Holden 1989)
- MSU's men's and women's tennis programs have won two national titles, both in doubles play (Miquelard/Simmons 1994; Pollard/Holden 1989)
- Borges is the only player this season to reach the semifinals of the ITA National Indoors and NCAA Singles Championship
- Borges owns 26 ranked singles wins this season
- Borges has earned a 31-10 record for his career against ranked singles foes
- Borges ranks fourth at MSU for most wins in a single season (36)
Social Media
For more information on the Mississippi State men's tennis program, follow "HailStateMT" on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
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