Bulldogs Cap Big Day In Gainesville And Tuscaloosa

Friday, September 22

Gainesville, Fla.

All Day

Mississippi State

Gator Ranked +1

Giovanni Oradini started off his sophomore year with a bang, defeating two ranked foes.

Bulldogs Cap Big Day In Gainesville And Tuscaloosa

September 22, 2017 | Men's Tennis

Crimson Tide Four-In-The-Fall Draws Gator Ranked+1 Blue Draw Gator Ranked+1 Orange Draw

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Mississippi State's Giovanni Oradini is not one to shy away from playing ranked opposition.

The men's tennis sophomore opened up singles play at the Gator Ranked +1 tournament Friday with an exciting 6-2, 6-4 upset victory against 46th-ranked Christian Seraphim of Wake Forest and followed it up with a hard-fought 5-7, 6-4, 6-4 comeback win against 88th-ranked McClain Kessler of host Florida.

His effort contributed to a day in which MSU netters went a combined 11-2 in their first day of the fall 2017 slate at two different locales.

"Today was a great day for the Bulldogs in both Gainesville and Tuscaloosa," MSU head coach Matt Roberts said. "Everyone has been training very hard since we returned from our summer tournaments and today showed that. It was one of those days that's difficult to single out one player since everyone competed so well."

State's 67th-ranked Strahinja Rakic paired up with South Carolina's Paul Jubb in the Orange doubles draw and claimed an 8-6 win against Bar Botzer and Seraphim of Wake Forest. Jubb and Rakic will retake the court in the semifinals on Saturday at 8 a.m. CT against Johannes Ingildsen and Brandon Lancaster (Florida/Louisville).

In singles Friday, Rakic notched a 7-5, 6-3 win against Noe Khlif of Illinois before dropping a 6-3, 6-0 decision to Florida's Duarte Vale, ranked ninth nationally in the Oracle ITA Freshmen-Newcomer Rankings. Rakic will take on 5-8 seed Chris Morin-Kougoucheff of Louisville, ranked 74th nationally, at 12:30 p.m.

Bulldog junior Niclas Braun dropped his first singles match of the year in the Blue draw to No. 71 Jefta Kecic of North Florida, but rebounded with a solid 6-1, 6-3 victory against Louisville's Federico Gomes.

In the Blue doubles draw, Braun and Oradini teamed up to earn an opening round win against Yuval Solomon and Jake Stefanik (Wake Forest/ Kentucky). The third-seeded MSU pair will face second-seeded Alfredo Perez and Duarte Vale of Florida in the semifinals on Saturday at 8 a.m.

Crimson Tide Four-In-The-Fall

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - In addition to Oradini's stellar effort in Gainesville, Bulldog rookie Florian Broska also got his MSU career off to a roaring start Friday.

"[Oradini] had an amazing day beating two ranked players down in Gainesville," Roberts said. "It was also great to see our freshman Broska play great doubles and mentally compete so well in his first college tournament in Tuscaloosa. We are excited to continue our process of improving tomorrow and apply some things we learned today."

The State freshman opened his day pairing up with fellow Bulldog Trevor Foshey in an 8-0 doubles victory against Tulane's Tim Reutzel and Eric Wagner.

In singles action, the freshman downed Notre Dame's Paul Gota and Rice's Eric Rutledge – both in straight sets - on his way to advancing to the semifinal round of the Crimson singles draw. Broska will face Ferran Calvo of Oklahoma on Saturday with that start time slated for 12:30 p.m.

The junior Foshey saw similar success Friday, claiming a 6-4, 7-6(7) decision against Memphis' Matt Story before cruising to a 6-3, 6-1 win versus Rice's Mohamed Abdel-Aziz to advance to Saturday's semifinals. Like Broska, Foshey will take the court at 12:30 to face Jake Van Emburgh of Oklahoma.

MSU at the 2017 Gator Ranked+1
September 22, 2017 - Gainesville, Fla.

DOUBLES
Orange Draw
First Round – Strahinja Rakic/Paul Jubb (MSU/South Carolina) def. Bar Botzer/Christian Seraphim (Wake Forest) 8-6

Blue Draw
First Round – Niclas Braun/Giovanni Oradini (MSU) def. Jake Stefanik/Yuval Solomon (Kentucky/Wake Forest) 8-4

SINGLES
Orange Draw
First Round – No. 67 Strahinja Rakic (MSU) def. Noe Khlif (Illinois) 7-5, 6-3
Quarterfinals – Duarte Vale (Florida) def. No. 67 Rakic (MSU) 6-3, 6-0

First Round – Giovanni Oradini (MSU) def. No. 46 Christian Seraphim (Wake Forest) 6-2, 6-4
Quarterfinals – Oradini (MSU) def. No. 88 McClain Kessler (Florida) 5-7, 6-4, 6-4

Blue Draw
First Round – No. 71 Jefta Kecic (North Florida) def. Niclas Braun (MSU) 7-5, 7-5
First Round (Consolation) – Braun (MSU) def. Federico Gomes (Louisville) 6-1, 6-3

MSU at the 2017 Crimson Tide Four-In-The-Fall Championships
September 22, 2017 - Tuscaloosa, Ala.

DOUBLES
Crimson Draw
First Round – Florian Broska/Trevor Foshey (MSU) def. Tim Reutzel/Eric Wagner (Tulane) 8-0

SINGLES
Crimson Draw
First Round – Florian Broska (MSU) def. Paul Gota (Notre Dame) 6-3, 7-6(5)
Quarterfinals – Broska (MSU) def. Eric Rutledge (Rice), 6-3, 6-3

Houndstooth Draw
First Round – Trevor Foshey (MSU) def. Matt Story (Memphis) 6-4, 7-6(7)
Quarterfinals – Foshey (MSU) def. Mohamed Abdel-Aziz (Rice), 6-3, 6-1

Up Next For MSU

After completing play in Gainesville and Tuscaloosa, the Bulldogs will set their sights on the ITA All-American Championships in Tulsa, Okla. Second-ranked Nuno Borges and five other Bulldogs will compete in the event, with pre-qualifying play beginning on Sept. 30 and the main draw running from Oct. 5-9.

For more information on the Mississippi State men's tennis program, follow "HailStateMT" on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.