Bulldogs Review 2018 Fall Accomplishments

by Caleb Garner, Graduate Assistant/Communications

STARKVILLE – With the spring season on the horizon, Mississippi State men's tennis has wrapped up its fall campaign and now looks to continue the momentum from the end of the fall into another challenging dual match slate in the spring.

Key contributors from the bottom half of MSU's 2018 singles lineup—Niclas Braun, Florian Broska and Trevor Foshey—played some of their best tennis throughout the fall, with Braun and Foshey advancing to the 2018 Oracle ITA National Fall Championships by meeting in the singles final of the ITA Southern Region Championships. Broska notched a pair of ranked victories in October to make his debut in the ITA singles rankings at No. 78 earlier this month, while Foshey earned his first-ever ranking at No. 93.

The highlights of this fall were our lower lineup guys stepping up and playing top of the lineup tennis," said head coach Matt Roberts, entering his fifth year at the helm. "With Florian having multiple ranked wins and Niclas and Trevor playing each other in the regional finals, it showed that our lower lineup players are building themselves and their self-belief. With these guys stepping up like they did, it gives the team so much confidence moving into the spring season.

Senior two-time All-American Nuno Borges capped off the fall by skyrocketing up the ATP World Tour rankings to a career-best 460—making him the second-highest ranked active collegiate player. That climb was fueled by a straight-set triumph in the 2018 USTA Pensacola Futures Championships, ending the fall with a combined 14-4 mark—9-3 in ITF Futures and ATP Challengers and an impressive 5-1 mark in his lone collegiate tournament of the fall at the prestigious 2018 ITA All-American Championships. He also took down a world top-300 foe in the second round of qualifying at the ATP Charlottesville Challenger in Jan Choinski (ATP 271).

Additionally, senior All-American Strahinja Rakic closed out his fall on a strong note, finishing in the Round of 16 of the USTA Birmingham Futures after advancing through four rounds of qualifying that featured victories over Florida's McClain Kessler and two-time NCAA Division II national champion Kiranpal Pannu.

Niclas Braun and Giovanni Oradini once more showcased solid doubles play, finishing with a team-best 10-4 mark as a tandem this autumn and reaching the quarterfinals of the Oracle ITA National Fall Championships.

I was also impressed with the way Nuno competed all semester and the finish Strahinja had in the Birmingham Futures," Roberts said. "Nuno almost won another national championship and beat some very highly ranked full-time pro players, while Strahinja did some great things in Birmingham. Niclas and Giovanni also played some amazing doubles and will be a rock for us again in our doubles lineup.

State returns all six singles starters from its incredible 2018 season, which saw the Bulldogs wins the SEC Tournament crown and advance to the NCAA quarterfinals for the first time since 1998. MSU went a combined 26-23 in singles this fall. In doubles, all three starting duos from 2018 saw action, going 13-7 led by Braun and Oradini's team-best 10-4 ledger.

A pair of newcomers—Gregor Ramskogler and Stedman Strickland—each notched their first MSU wins over the fall, including Ramskogler going 5-4 overall in singles.

Building a player's confidence is a process and this fall was instrumental in helping them build a new level of self-belief and determination through adverse moments on the court," Roberts said. "We are ready to finish strong in the classroom and carry this momentum into our dual match season.

Notable Maroon Moments From Fall 2018 …

In his lone collegiate tournament of the fall, senior All-American Nuno Borges reached the singles final at the 2018 ITA All-American Championships.
Borges most notably closed out the fall by cruising through the competition at the Pensacola Futures without dropping a set en route to claiming the singles title—the fourth ITF futures singles title of his career. By winning in Pensacola, combined with his quarterfinal finish at the USTA Harlingen Futures, Borges climbed to a career-best No. 460 in the end-of-year ATP rankings.
With his five wins in Tulsa, Borges moved into a tie for eighth all-time in career singles wins (89) in the MSU record books.
In other Futures action, Strahinja Rakic closed out the fall with a great run at the Birmingham Futures, reaching the Round of 16 after advancing through four qualifying rounds.
2018 SEC Tournament MVP Trevor Foshey enjoyed the best fall season of his career, compiling an 8-5 mark and reaching the singles final of the 2018 ITA Southern Region Championships. In his run to the tournament final, Foshey upset then-14^th-ranked Tim Sandkaulen of Ole Miss in comeback fashion.
Sticking with the Bulldogs' success in the regional championships, MSU swept both the singles and doubles titles, with Niclas Braun claiming the singles crown while he and Giovanni Oradini took the doubles title.
Braun and Oradini led the Bulldogs with a 10-4 mark and finished seventh nationally in the end-of-fall ITA rankings.
Braun's 10 doubles wins in the fall helped him crack State's top-10 in career doubles victories, surpassing Romain Ambert for ninth all-time (70).
MSU placed four players and two doubles tandems in the end-of-fall ITA rankings, for a total of six different players. The Bulldogs were one of just six teams boasting six or more different ranked players in either singles or doubles and one of just nine with four or more ranked in singles. In both categories, State was one of just two Southeastern Conference teams to accomplish the feat.
Two Bulldogs – Foshey and sophomore Florian Broska – earned the first singles rankings of their careers, at 93^rd and 78^th, respectively.

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

Mississippi State University Athletics

Bulldogs Review 2018 Fall Accomplishments

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Players Mentioned

Nuno Borges

Niclas Braun

Florian Broska

Trevor Foshey

Giovanni Oradini

Strahinja Rakic

Gregor Ramskogler

Stedman Strickland

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