Sunday, May 28
Athens, Ga.
All Day
Mississippi State
vs
NCAA Individual Championships
Amazing run at NCAA Singles Championship comes to a close for Nuno Borges.
Photo by: Bill Kallenberg
Borges Caps Historic Run At NCAA Singles Championship
May 28, 2017 | Men's Tennis
ATHENS, Ga. – An amazing season for Mississippi State men's tennis sophomore Nuno Borges came to a close on Sunday, after the Bulldog fell to North Carolina's William Blumberg in the NCAA Singles Championship Semifinals.
On Saturday, Borges became the first Bulldog in program history to reach the semifinals in singles action after his defeat of Wake Forest's Skander Mansouri.
"What an incredible year it was for Nuno," head coach Matt Roberts said. "To do what he did as a sophomore is truly special and it's been fun to watch. I know he wanted to go even further, but he should be very proud of his performance here this week. Nuno won four matches over the best competition that college tennis has to offer and results like this only make you excited for the future."
Borges finished the season with a .837 winning percentage, which is the best for a single season in program history. The sophomore's 36 victories were also significant, ranking as the fourth most wins in a single season at MSU.
Sunday's match pitted Borges, the No. 2 national seed, up against UNC's Blumberg, who was a 9-16 seed. The Tar Heel jumped out to an early 4-1 lead in the opening set following a couple of breaks and held on to take the first set, 6-2.
Borges staged a comeback in the second set after the Bulldog earned a 4-2 advantage, but Blumberg pushed back to recapture the lead at 5-4. Borges fought to force a tiebreaker after falling behind 6-5, but Blumberg would again surge ahead as he took the tiebreaker and with it the 6-2, 7-6(1) decision.
"Hats off to Blumberg today," Roberts said. "He took so much time away from Nuno and made us feel him every point. He is a special player and has a bright future."
Blumberg will face Virginia's No. 8 seed Thai-Son Kwiatkowski on Monday for the NCAA singles crown at 11 a.m. CT.
Up Next
With the season officially in the books for the Maroon & White, focus will shift to the final ITA National Singles and Doubles Rankings, which are to be released on May 31. The final ITA Regional standings will be released on June 7.
Nuno Borges Accomplishments
Social Media
For more information on the Mississippi State men's tennis program, follow "HailStateMT" on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
On Saturday, Borges became the first Bulldog in program history to reach the semifinals in singles action after his defeat of Wake Forest's Skander Mansouri.
"What an incredible year it was for Nuno," head coach Matt Roberts said. "To do what he did as a sophomore is truly special and it's been fun to watch. I know he wanted to go even further, but he should be very proud of his performance here this week. Nuno won four matches over the best competition that college tennis has to offer and results like this only make you excited for the future."
Borges finished the season with a .837 winning percentage, which is the best for a single season in program history. The sophomore's 36 victories were also significant, ranking as the fourth most wins in a single season at MSU.
Sunday's match pitted Borges, the No. 2 national seed, up against UNC's Blumberg, who was a 9-16 seed. The Tar Heel jumped out to an early 4-1 lead in the opening set following a couple of breaks and held on to take the first set, 6-2.
Borges staged a comeback in the second set after the Bulldog earned a 4-2 advantage, but Blumberg pushed back to recapture the lead at 5-4. Borges fought to force a tiebreaker after falling behind 6-5, but Blumberg would again surge ahead as he took the tiebreaker and with it the 6-2, 7-6(1) decision.
"Hats off to Blumberg today," Roberts said. "He took so much time away from Nuno and made us feel him every point. He is a special player and has a bright future."
Blumberg will face Virginia's No. 8 seed Thai-Son Kwiatkowski on Monday for the NCAA singles crown at 11 a.m. CT.
Up Next
With the season officially in the books for the Maroon & White, focus will shift to the final ITA National Singles and Doubles Rankings, which are to be released on May 31. The final ITA Regional standings will be released on June 7.
Nuno Borges Accomplishments
- Nuno Borges qualified for the NCAA Singles Championship as an automatic bid, earning All-America status in the process
- The All-America honor was MSU's first since Romain Bogaerts in 2013
- 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)
- Borges won MSU's third SEC Player of the Year in program history
- Borges was the first SEC POY recipient since Marco Baron in 2001
- As a sophomore, Borges was the youngest Bulldog to ever earn a SEC POY honor
- This season, Borges also earned First Team All-SEC, SEC All-Tournament and SEC Community Service Team honors
- Borges is the only player this season to reach the semifinals of the ITA National Indoors and NCAA Singles Championship
- Borges ranks fourth at MSU for most wins in a single season (36)
- The sophomore finished the season 36-7 overall in singles play and 20-3 in dual-matches
- For his singles career, Borges is 57-13 overall in just three semesters at MSU
- Borges earned 26 ranked singles wins this season
- Borges was 26-6 this season against ranked singles opponents
- Borges owns a 31-11 record for his career against ranked singles foes
- At the No. 1 spot, Borges was 20-3 overall
- In SEC play, Borges was 9-2 this year
- Borges clinched three matches for the Bulldogs this season
- Borges won MSU's Newsom Award, given to the top student-athlete for each team on campus
- Borges is expected to collect Academic All-SEC honors and his second ITA Scholar-Athlete laurel later this year
Social Media
For more information on the Mississippi State men's tennis program, follow "HailStateMT" on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
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