Friday, March 23
Starkville
3:00 PM
Mississippi State
vs
Vanderbilt
Mississippi State will put its 7-0 home record on the line on Friday, hosting No. 19 Vanderbilt in a key top-20 match.
No. 13 Bulldogs Host No. 19 Vanderbilt Friday In Key Top-20 Match
March 22, 2018 | Men's Tennis
STARKVILLE, Miss. – Looking to stay undefeated in Southeastern Conference action, the 13th-ranked Mississippi State men's tennis team (10-1, 4-0 SEC) will put its 7-0 record at the A.J. Pitts Tennis Centre on the line Friday, as the Bulldogs host No. 19 Vanderbilt (14-3, 4-1) at 3 p.m.
Friday's match marks the sixth ranked opponent the Bulldogs have faced thus far this season, with State going 4-1 in the previous five matches.
"Vanderbilt is another very solid team that has been playing well," fourth-year head coach Matt Roberts said. "They are a top-20 team and have competed extremely hard against some of the best teams in the country. We played them twice last year so we're pretty familiar with one another. We're expecting another exciting challenge from them in front of our great home crowd at Pitts on Friday."
Last Time Out For MSU…
The last time MSU took the court, it did so in dominant fashion, blanking No. 38 Alabama 4-0 in Tuscaloosa. The match was moved indoors due to persistent rain throughout the day, but the Bulldogs did not let that affect them. State took the doubles point with ranked wins on courts 1 and 2. After MSU's 59th-ranked Florian Broska and Trevor Foshey dropped a tough 6-2 decision on court 3, the Bulldogs battled back to regain momentum. Court 1 saw the Bulldogs' first ranked win of the night when Nuno Borges and Strahinja Rakic picked up their first ranked win of the year in defeating No. 31 Edson Ortiz and Mazen Osama, 6-4. On court 2, Niclas Braun and Giovanni Oradini notched their second ranked win in three contests by downing UA's No. 46 Thibault Cancel and Alexey Nesterov by a 7-5 mark, clinching the doubles point.
Singles was a similar story, with the Bulldogs taking five of six first sets. Fourth-ranked Nuno Borges breezed past No. 92 Mazen Osama in his first set, winning 6-2. Osama battled back to take a 3-0 lead in the second frame, but Borges won six of the last seven games to win his fifth straight match against a ranked foe in taking a 6-2, 6-4 win. At the No. 5 position, Florian Broska moved back into the win column, posting a tight 6-4, 7-5 victory over Nesterov. On court 2, Oradini's clutch play continued, as he won his team-best fourth match-clincher by taking a hard-fought 7-6(5), 6-4 win against Cancel.
MSU In The ITA Rankings…
In this week's Intercollegiate Tennis Association team rankings, MSU moved up two spots to No. 13—tying its highest rank of the season. Six Bulldogs made the cut in the singles and doubles rankings, led by four doubles pairs. Borges and Rakic jumped into the top-60 at No. 58, while Braun and Oradini made their doubles rankings debut at 30th nationally. Broska and Foshey sit at No. 65, while Braun and Foshey are ranked 74th. In singles, Borges moved up to third in the nation, where he is the highest-ranked player in the SEC. Oradini moved back up to 13th—tying his career best, while Rakic was tabbed No. 86 nationally.
About Vanderbilt…
Vanderbilt enters Friday's match coming off a heartbreaking 4-3 loss at home to No. 12 Florida, its only setback in SEC action this spring. Prior to dropping that match to the Gators, the Commodores had reeled off an impressive 10-match win streak, with four of those wins coming against ranked competition. All three of VU's losses have come to top-20 teams by tight 4-3 decisions (at No. 1 Wake Forest, at No. 17 Columbia and vs. No. 12 Florida).
The Commodores are led in singles by 22nd-ranked Cameron Klinger, who has split time with No. 56 Daniel Valent at the 1 and 2 positions. Baker Newman rounds out VU's ranked singles players at No. 100 and he primarily plays on court 3. In doubles, Klinger teams up with Billy Rowe to form the nation's 46th-best tandem. Klinger and Rowe have paired up at the No. 1 spot for Vanderbilt in all but one match and are 8-4 on the year.
What To Note As MSU Hosts Vanderbilt…
Live Stats/Video
For all home matches at the A.J. Pitts Tennis Centre, live video and statistics can be found at www.hailstate.com/livemt.
Friday's Promotions
Next Up For MSU…
The Bulldogs will remain at home to face another top-25 foe in 21st-ranked Kentucky (11-5, 4-1) at 1 p.m. Sunday. Admission is free to all home regular season matches at A.J. Pitts Tennis Centre.
For more information on the Mississippi State men's tennis program, follow "HailStateMT" on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
Friday's match marks the sixth ranked opponent the Bulldogs have faced thus far this season, with State going 4-1 in the previous five matches.
"Vanderbilt is another very solid team that has been playing well," fourth-year head coach Matt Roberts said. "They are a top-20 team and have competed extremely hard against some of the best teams in the country. We played them twice last year so we're pretty familiar with one another. We're expecting another exciting challenge from them in front of our great home crowd at Pitts on Friday."
Last Time Out For MSU…
The last time MSU took the court, it did so in dominant fashion, blanking No. 38 Alabama 4-0 in Tuscaloosa. The match was moved indoors due to persistent rain throughout the day, but the Bulldogs did not let that affect them. State took the doubles point with ranked wins on courts 1 and 2. After MSU's 59th-ranked Florian Broska and Trevor Foshey dropped a tough 6-2 decision on court 3, the Bulldogs battled back to regain momentum. Court 1 saw the Bulldogs' first ranked win of the night when Nuno Borges and Strahinja Rakic picked up their first ranked win of the year in defeating No. 31 Edson Ortiz and Mazen Osama, 6-4. On court 2, Niclas Braun and Giovanni Oradini notched their second ranked win in three contests by downing UA's No. 46 Thibault Cancel and Alexey Nesterov by a 7-5 mark, clinching the doubles point.
Singles was a similar story, with the Bulldogs taking five of six first sets. Fourth-ranked Nuno Borges breezed past No. 92 Mazen Osama in his first set, winning 6-2. Osama battled back to take a 3-0 lead in the second frame, but Borges won six of the last seven games to win his fifth straight match against a ranked foe in taking a 6-2, 6-4 win. At the No. 5 position, Florian Broska moved back into the win column, posting a tight 6-4, 7-5 victory over Nesterov. On court 2, Oradini's clutch play continued, as he won his team-best fourth match-clincher by taking a hard-fought 7-6(5), 6-4 win against Cancel.
MSU In The ITA Rankings…
In this week's Intercollegiate Tennis Association team rankings, MSU moved up two spots to No. 13—tying its highest rank of the season. Six Bulldogs made the cut in the singles and doubles rankings, led by four doubles pairs. Borges and Rakic jumped into the top-60 at No. 58, while Braun and Oradini made their doubles rankings debut at 30th nationally. Broska and Foshey sit at No. 65, while Braun and Foshey are ranked 74th. In singles, Borges moved up to third in the nation, where he is the highest-ranked player in the SEC. Oradini moved back up to 13th—tying his career best, while Rakic was tabbed No. 86 nationally.
About Vanderbilt…
Vanderbilt enters Friday's match coming off a heartbreaking 4-3 loss at home to No. 12 Florida, its only setback in SEC action this spring. Prior to dropping that match to the Gators, the Commodores had reeled off an impressive 10-match win streak, with four of those wins coming against ranked competition. All three of VU's losses have come to top-20 teams by tight 4-3 decisions (at No. 1 Wake Forest, at No. 17 Columbia and vs. No. 12 Florida).
The Commodores are led in singles by 22nd-ranked Cameron Klinger, who has split time with No. 56 Daniel Valent at the 1 and 2 positions. Baker Newman rounds out VU's ranked singles players at No. 100 and he primarily plays on court 3. In doubles, Klinger teams up with Billy Rowe to form the nation's 46th-best tandem. Klinger and Rowe have paired up at the No. 1 spot for Vanderbilt in all but one match and are 8-4 on the year.
What To Note As MSU Hosts Vanderbilt…
- MSU is in its 94th season of tennis, with Matt Roberts in his fourth season at the helm.
- Roberts needs just one more win to reach 70 for his career—all at MSU.
- Since 1970, the Bulldogs hold a commanding 39-14 lead in the series against Vanderbilt, including a stellar 16-5 mark at home.
- The Bulldogs have won two in a row in the series, both coming in 2017. In the regular season, State claimed a 5-2 in Nashville before meeting the Commodores again in Knoxville at the SEC Tournament. In that match, MSU took a 4-1 decision.
- The Bulldogs have won six consecutive SEC matches at A.J. Pitts Tennis Centre.
- Under Roberts, State is a solid 17-5 in home conference matches.
- The Bulldogs have won seven home matches in a row to start off the 2018 season, and have won 10 straight at Pitts dating back to 2017.
- Foshey and Braun have both won seven of their first eight singles matches to start 2018.
- Borges, the reigning SEC Player of the Year, comes into the match having not dropped a match since Oct. 6 and is riding a career-best 16-match winning streak.
Live Stats/Video
For all home matches at the A.J. Pitts Tennis Centre, live video and statistics can be found at www.hailstate.com/livemt.
Friday's Promotions
- FREE Admission
- Toss it for a TV between doubles and singles – Chance to win a FREE TV
- FREE schedule cards, posters and match guides
- Up to 275 Hail State Rewards Points
- 200 Bully's Kids Club Points
- Sorority Host: Kappa Delta
Next Up For MSU…
The Bulldogs will remain at home to face another top-25 foe in 21st-ranked Kentucky (11-5, 4-1) at 1 p.m. Sunday. Admission is free to all home regular season matches at A.J. Pitts Tennis Centre.
For more information on the Mississippi State men's tennis program, follow "HailStateMT" on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
Players Mentioned
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