Monday, October 22
Tuscaloosa, Ala.
All Day
Mississippi State
vs
ITA Southern Regional Championships
MSU's Niclas Braun went 2-0 on Monday, punching his ticket to both the singles and doubles finals.
Photo by: Blake Williams/MSU Athletics
Bulldog Trio Set For Singles, Doubles Finals At ITA Regionals
October 22, 2018 | Men's Tennis
by Caleb Garner, Graduate Assistant/Communications
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – For the second year in a row, the Mississippi State men's tennis team boasts both singles finalists at the ITA Southern Regional Championships.
Seniors Niclas Braun and Trevor Foshey each battled back from a set down to reach Tuesday's tournament finale, and it was Foshey's third comeback triumph in four matches in the tournament. Monday's victories also marked the fifth straight for both Bulldogs. First serve between the two Bulldogs is set for approximately Noon CT Tuesday at the Alabama Tennis Stadium.
Foshey was first off the court on Monday, taking a 4-6, 6-4, 6-1 victory over host Alabama's Patrick Kaukovalta. The St. Cloud, Fla., native was not a tough out in the first set, battling back from a 5-0 deficit to win the next four games before Kaukovalta took the frame.
In the second, Foshey held strong in a back-and-forth battle, breaking and then holding at 40-30 to force the third. There, the 2018 Southeastern Conference Tournament MVP cruised to victory, taking the set by a 6-1 margin to punch his ticket to Tuesday's final.
Braun's match was a bit tighter. After dropping the first set 6-4 to Tulane's 60th-ranked Ewan Moore, who is seeded seventh in the draw, the 109th-ranked Braun held on a crucial no-ad point to take a 5-4 lead in the second. The Berlin, Germany, native then broke Moore at love to force a third stanza.
In the third, Braun once again broke Moore, this time on a no-ad point to go up 5-3. Moore did not back down, however, breaking back and then holding to knot it up at 5-all. Braun held off Moore, taking the final two games to set up an all-Bulldog singles final against his teammate Foshey.
By reaching the singles final, both Braun and Foshey earn automatic bids to the 2018 Oracle ITA National Fall Championships, held Nov. 7-11 in Surprise, Ariz.
In the doubles semifinals Monday, State's seventh-ranked duo of Braun and partner Giovanni Oradini moved into Monday's doubles final with a victory over Louisiana's Pearse Dolan and Arthur Libaud. The first set saw a tight contest up until the Bulldogs held serve and then broke to take a 4-2 advantage. Braun and Oradini held off the Ragin' Cajuns to take a 6-3 first set.
The second frame saw Braun and Oradini jolt to a quick 5-1 lead. Dolan and Libaud bounced back to take the next three games and cut State's lead to 5-3. But the second-seeded MSU tandem broke the UL pair to take the set and match – 6-3, 6-3.
Braun and Oradini will take on top-seeded and sixth-ranked Loic Cloes and Clement Marzol of South Alabama at 10 a.m. Tuesday to decide who earns an automatic bid to the ITA Fall Championships from the Southern Region in doubles.
For more information on the Mississippi State men's tennis program, follow "HailStateMT" on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
MSU at the 2018 ITA Southern Regional Championships
October 22, 2018 – Tuscaloosa, Alabama (Alabama Tennis Stadium)
Singles - Main Draw
Semifinals – #109 Niclas Braun (MSU) def. #60 Ewan Moore [7] (Tulane) 4-6, 6-4, 7-5; Trevor Foshey (MSU) def. Patrick Kaukovalta (Alabama) 4-6, 6-4, 6-1
Doubles - Main Draw
Semifinals – #7 Braun/Oradini [2] (MSU) def. Pearse Dolan/Arthur Libaud (Louisiana) 6-3, 6-3
ITA national rankings precede names, tournament seeding in brackets.
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – For the second year in a row, the Mississippi State men's tennis team boasts both singles finalists at the ITA Southern Regional Championships.
Seniors Niclas Braun and Trevor Foshey each battled back from a set down to reach Tuesday's tournament finale, and it was Foshey's third comeback triumph in four matches in the tournament. Monday's victories also marked the fifth straight for both Bulldogs. First serve between the two Bulldogs is set for approximately Noon CT Tuesday at the Alabama Tennis Stadium.
Foshey was first off the court on Monday, taking a 4-6, 6-4, 6-1 victory over host Alabama's Patrick Kaukovalta. The St. Cloud, Fla., native was not a tough out in the first set, battling back from a 5-0 deficit to win the next four games before Kaukovalta took the frame.
In the second, Foshey held strong in a back-and-forth battle, breaking and then holding at 40-30 to force the third. There, the 2018 Southeastern Conference Tournament MVP cruised to victory, taking the set by a 6-1 margin to punch his ticket to Tuesday's final.
Braun's match was a bit tighter. After dropping the first set 6-4 to Tulane's 60th-ranked Ewan Moore, who is seeded seventh in the draw, the 109th-ranked Braun held on a crucial no-ad point to take a 5-4 lead in the second. The Berlin, Germany, native then broke Moore at love to force a third stanza.
In the third, Braun once again broke Moore, this time on a no-ad point to go up 5-3. Moore did not back down, however, breaking back and then holding to knot it up at 5-all. Braun held off Moore, taking the final two games to set up an all-Bulldog singles final against his teammate Foshey.
By reaching the singles final, both Braun and Foshey earn automatic bids to the 2018 Oracle ITA National Fall Championships, held Nov. 7-11 in Surprise, Ariz.
In the doubles semifinals Monday, State's seventh-ranked duo of Braun and partner Giovanni Oradini moved into Monday's doubles final with a victory over Louisiana's Pearse Dolan and Arthur Libaud. The first set saw a tight contest up until the Bulldogs held serve and then broke to take a 4-2 advantage. Braun and Oradini held off the Ragin' Cajuns to take a 6-3 first set.
The second frame saw Braun and Oradini jolt to a quick 5-1 lead. Dolan and Libaud bounced back to take the next three games and cut State's lead to 5-3. But the second-seeded MSU tandem broke the UL pair to take the set and match – 6-3, 6-3.
Braun and Oradini will take on top-seeded and sixth-ranked Loic Cloes and Clement Marzol of South Alabama at 10 a.m. Tuesday to decide who earns an automatic bid to the ITA Fall Championships from the Southern Region in doubles.
For more information on the Mississippi State men's tennis program, follow "HailStateMT" on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
MSU at the 2018 ITA Southern Regional Championships
October 22, 2018 – Tuscaloosa, Alabama (Alabama Tennis Stadium)
Singles - Main Draw
Semifinals – #109 Niclas Braun (MSU) def. #60 Ewan Moore [7] (Tulane) 4-6, 6-4, 7-5; Trevor Foshey (MSU) def. Patrick Kaukovalta (Alabama) 4-6, 6-4, 6-1
Doubles - Main Draw
Semifinals – #7 Braun/Oradini [2] (MSU) def. Pearse Dolan/Arthur Libaud (Louisiana) 6-3, 6-3
ITA national rankings precede names, tournament seeding in brackets.
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