Friday, October 5
Tulsa, Okla.
All Day
Mississippi State
vs
ITA All-American Championships
State's second-ranked Nuno Borges earned a hard-fought three-set victory on Friday to advance to the Round of 16 at the ITA All-American Championships.
Top-Seeded Borges Advances To ITA All-American Round Of 16
October 05, 2018 | Men's Tennis
by Caleb Garner, Graduate Assistant/Communications
TULSA, Okla. – Mississippi State's Nuno Borges took another step towards a second major collegiate title on Friday as the senior Bulldog advanced to the singles round of 16 at the ITA All-American Championships.
The top-seeded and second-ranked Borges faced a rematch Friday against UCLA's Keegan Smith—ranked 28th nationally. The two met in the first round of the 2018 NCAA Singles Championship in May, with Borges battling back from a set down to take a three-set thriller.
This match was similar, other than Borges taking a quick 6-1 victory in the first set. But it was Smith who rallied this time, taking the second set 6-3 to force a deciding third. The final frame saw Borges mount a 5-3 lead before Smith broke to get back on serve at 5-4. Borges took control of the next game, however, breaking the talented Bruin sophomore to hold on and advance to the final 16.
In Saturday's round of 16, Borges will face 39th-ranked Majed Kilani of host Tulsa, who moved on by taking a tough 6-4, 6-4 win over USC's No. 31 Daniel Cukierman in the second round. In the first round, Kilani upset Ole Miss' 14th-ranked Tim Sandkaulen 7-5, 6-2.
State's third-seeded and fifth-ranked Giovanni Oradini saw his singles run end Friday, with the junior dropping a tough 6-3, 6-2 decision to Stanford's 48th-ranked Axel Geller in the second round of the main draw.
MSU's 43rd-ranked senior Strahinja Rakic fell in the consolation draw, dropping a tough 6-1, 6-2 decision to Ohio State's 51st-ranked John McNally to close out singles action for the day.
The top-ranked duo in the country, Borges and Rakic, once again battled from behind to notch a victory, taking a 5-7, 6-4, 1-0(7) triumph over Columbia's William Matheson and Jackie Tang in the Round of 16 of the doubles consolation draw. Borges and Rakic will face Illinois' No. 25 Alex Brown and Caleb Chakravarthi in Saturday's quarterfinal match.
State's seventh-ranked tandem of Niclas Braun and Giovanni Oradini also advanced to the quarters of the consolation draw, advancing by default against Oklahoma's No. 14 Alexander Bakshi and Jake Van Emburgh. Braun and Oradini are now set to take on Old Dominion's Aziz Kijametovic and Francois Musitelli, who also advanced by default.
The finalists of each draw advance to the 2018 ITA National Fall Championships in Surprise, Arizona, in November. Borges is the defending singles champion of that event, which was initiated last fall.
For more information on the Mississippi State men's tennis program, follow "HailStateMT" on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
MSU at the 2018 ITA All-American Championships
October 5, 2018 – Tulsa, Oklahoma (Michael D. Case Tennis Center)
Singles Main Draw
Second Round – #2 Nuno Borges [1] (MSU) def. #28 Keegan Smith (UCLA) 6-1, 3-6, 6-4; #48 Axel Geller (Stanford) def. #5 Giovanni Oradini [3] (MSU) 6-3, 6-2
Singles Consolation Draw
First Round – #51 John McNally (Ohio State) def. #43 Strahinja Rakic (MSU) 6-1, 6-2
Doubles Consolation Draw
Round of 16 –#1 Nuno Borges/Strahinja Rakic [1] (MSU) def. William Matheson/Jackie Tang (Columbia) 5-7, 6-4, 1-0(7); #7 Niclas Braun/Giovanni Oradini [5] (MSU) def. #14 Alexander Bakshi/Jake Van Emburgh (Oklahoma), by default
ITA National rankings precede player names; tournament seeding in brackets.
TULSA, Okla. – Mississippi State's Nuno Borges took another step towards a second major collegiate title on Friday as the senior Bulldog advanced to the singles round of 16 at the ITA All-American Championships.
The top-seeded and second-ranked Borges faced a rematch Friday against UCLA's Keegan Smith—ranked 28th nationally. The two met in the first round of the 2018 NCAA Singles Championship in May, with Borges battling back from a set down to take a three-set thriller.
This match was similar, other than Borges taking a quick 6-1 victory in the first set. But it was Smith who rallied this time, taking the second set 6-3 to force a deciding third. The final frame saw Borges mount a 5-3 lead before Smith broke to get back on serve at 5-4. Borges took control of the next game, however, breaking the talented Bruin sophomore to hold on and advance to the final 16.
In Saturday's round of 16, Borges will face 39th-ranked Majed Kilani of host Tulsa, who moved on by taking a tough 6-4, 6-4 win over USC's No. 31 Daniel Cukierman in the second round. In the first round, Kilani upset Ole Miss' 14th-ranked Tim Sandkaulen 7-5, 6-2.
State's third-seeded and fifth-ranked Giovanni Oradini saw his singles run end Friday, with the junior dropping a tough 6-3, 6-2 decision to Stanford's 48th-ranked Axel Geller in the second round of the main draw.
MSU's 43rd-ranked senior Strahinja Rakic fell in the consolation draw, dropping a tough 6-1, 6-2 decision to Ohio State's 51st-ranked John McNally to close out singles action for the day.
The top-ranked duo in the country, Borges and Rakic, once again battled from behind to notch a victory, taking a 5-7, 6-4, 1-0(7) triumph over Columbia's William Matheson and Jackie Tang in the Round of 16 of the doubles consolation draw. Borges and Rakic will face Illinois' No. 25 Alex Brown and Caleb Chakravarthi in Saturday's quarterfinal match.
State's seventh-ranked tandem of Niclas Braun and Giovanni Oradini also advanced to the quarters of the consolation draw, advancing by default against Oklahoma's No. 14 Alexander Bakshi and Jake Van Emburgh. Braun and Oradini are now set to take on Old Dominion's Aziz Kijametovic and Francois Musitelli, who also advanced by default.
The finalists of each draw advance to the 2018 ITA National Fall Championships in Surprise, Arizona, in November. Borges is the defending singles champion of that event, which was initiated last fall.
For more information on the Mississippi State men's tennis program, follow "HailStateMT" on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
MSU at the 2018 ITA All-American Championships
October 5, 2018 – Tulsa, Oklahoma (Michael D. Case Tennis Center)
Singles Main Draw
Second Round – #2 Nuno Borges [1] (MSU) def. #28 Keegan Smith (UCLA) 6-1, 3-6, 6-4; #48 Axel Geller (Stanford) def. #5 Giovanni Oradini [3] (MSU) 6-3, 6-2
Singles Consolation Draw
First Round – #51 John McNally (Ohio State) def. #43 Strahinja Rakic (MSU) 6-1, 6-2
Doubles Consolation Draw
Round of 16 –#1 Nuno Borges/Strahinja Rakic [1] (MSU) def. William Matheson/Jackie Tang (Columbia) 5-7, 6-4, 1-0(7); #7 Niclas Braun/Giovanni Oradini [5] (MSU) def. #14 Alexander Bakshi/Jake Van Emburgh (Oklahoma), by default
ITA National rankings precede player names; tournament seeding in brackets.
Players Mentioned
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