Friday, March 23
Starkville
3:00 PM
Mississippi State
4
vs
2
Vanderbilt
Florian Broska notched his first career match-clincher on Friday as the Bulldogs continued their winning ways by defeating No. 19 Vanderbilt.
Photo by: Trevor Birchett/MSU Athletics
No. 13 Bulldogs Keep Rolling; Down No. 19 Vanderbilt 4-2 For Seventh Straight
March 23, 2018 | Men's Tennis
STARKVILLE, Miss. – On Friday at the A.J. Pitts Tennis Centre, the 13th-ranked Mississippi State men's tennis team (11-1, 5-0 SEC) continued its hot streak, earning a hard-fought 4-2 win against No. 19 Vanderbilt (14-4, 4-2).
MSU improved to 8-0 at home in 2018, and has started conference play 5-0 for the second consecutive year.
"That was just a really great college tennis match," fourth-year head coach Matt Roberts said. "Vanderbilt is a well-coached team that always competes very hard and it was a great day to compete in front of an outstanding home crowd. Vanderbilt was very mentally tough and they hung around today. I am very proud of how our guys competed and put us in a position to win today against a tough team."
The Bulldogs got off to yet another hot start in doubles. On court 2, 30th-ranked Bulldog tandem Niclas Braun and Giovanni Oradini picked up their sixth consecutive win by defeating Vanderbilt's Lachlan McPhee and Panu Virtanen, 6-3. The duo never trailed in the match en route to moving to 6-0 in dual match play this spring.
On court 1, MSU's 58th-ranked pair of Nuno Borges and Strahinja Rakic notched its second straight ranked victory, defeating VU's No. 46 Cameron Klinger and Billy Rowe 7-6(2) in a back-and-forth battle. The Bulldog duo dominated the tiebreaker, building a 5-1 lead before winning the tiebreaker and clinching the doubles point for MSU. At the No. 3 spot, 65th-ranked Florian Broska and Trevor Foshey were up 5-4 against Baker Newman and Daniel Valent when their match was suspended at the clincher. State has now won doubles in seven of its last eight matches.
"I am very proud of how we played in doubles," Roberts said. "We've been working on doubles a lot and that helped us early. We're playing very loose and confident there right now."
State carried the into momentum in singles, picking up four of six first sets. On court 3, the 86th-ranked Rakic knocked off Vanderbilt's 100th-ranked Newman in straight-set fashion, 6-3, 6-0, to put the Bulldogs up 2-0. Braun would then notch his fourth-straight win with a 6-3, 6-4 victory over Rowe at the No. 4 spot to put MSU up 3-0.
The Commodores battled back and picked up their first point of the day when No. 22 Klinger upset MSU's third-ranked Borges by a tight 7-5, 6-3 mark on court 1, ending Borges' remarkable 16-match win streak that dated back to October. VU inched a little closer with a win on court 6, as George Harwell earned a tight 6-3, 7-5 win over Foshey.
To conclude the day, the Bulldogs clinched the victory when Broska took down Commodore Maxwell Freeman on court 5 in an exciting three-setter 6-2, 4-6, 6-1. No. 13 Bulldog Giovanni Oradini was up 6-1 in a second-set tiebreaker at the time of Broska's clincher, and his match against 56th-ranked Valent went unfinished with Oradini taking the first set 6-4 before Valent forced the breaker in the second frame.
"It always helps to see a guy making a huge push and being up big in the tiebreaker," the Bulldog rookie said. "It helps you play loose because you don't really have to think as hard—I just had to hit the ball. Even before the tiebreaker, I saw him competing really hard."
With the win, Roberts notched his 70th career win as head coach, with all of them coming at MSU. State moved to 40-14 against VU since 1970 and 17-5 at home. The Bulldogs have also claimed the last three matches in the series.
"I want to thank all of the fans for their great support today," Roberts said. "It makes a huge difference for the guys and we look forward to another great atmosphere on Sunday."
Next Up For MSU…
MSU will remain at home for another top-25 matchup on Sunday, taking on No. 21 Kentucky (11-5, 4-1) at 1 p.m. at the Pitts Tennis Centre. The Wildcats were facing Auburn in a Friday night match before making the trip over to Starkville for Sunday's tilt. Admission is free to the match and all home regular-season matches.
For more information on the Mississippi State men's tennis program, follow "HailStateMT" on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
No. 13 Mississippi State 4, No. 19 Vanderbilt 2
A.J. Pitts Tennis Centre
Starkville, Miss.
March 23, 2018
Doubles
1. #58 Nuno Borges/Strahinja Rakic (MSU) def. #46 Cameron Klinger/Billy Rowe (VU) 7-6(2)
2. #30 Niclas Braun/Giovanni Oradini (MSU) def. Lachlan McPhee/Panu Virtanen (VU) 6-3
3. #65 Florian Broska/Trevor Foshey (MSU) vs. Baker Newman/Daniel Valent (VU) 5-4 (susp.)
Order of finish: 2, 1
Singles
1. #22 Cameron Klinger (VU) def. #3 Nuno Borges (MSU) 7-5, 6-3
2. #13 Giovanni Oradini (MSU) vs. #56 Daniel Valent (VU) 6-4, 6-6 (6-1) (susp.)
3. #86 Strahinja Rakic (MSU) def. #100 Baker Newman (VU) 6-3, 6-0
4. Niclas Braun (MSU) def. Billy Rowe (VU) 6-3, 6-4
5. Florian Broska (MSU) def. Maxwell Freeman (VU) 6-2, 4-6, 6-1
6. George Harwell (VU) def. Trevor Foshey (MSU) 6-3, 7-5
Order of finish: 3, 4, 1, 6, 5
MSU improved to 8-0 at home in 2018, and has started conference play 5-0 for the second consecutive year.
"That was just a really great college tennis match," fourth-year head coach Matt Roberts said. "Vanderbilt is a well-coached team that always competes very hard and it was a great day to compete in front of an outstanding home crowd. Vanderbilt was very mentally tough and they hung around today. I am very proud of how our guys competed and put us in a position to win today against a tough team."
The Bulldogs got off to yet another hot start in doubles. On court 2, 30th-ranked Bulldog tandem Niclas Braun and Giovanni Oradini picked up their sixth consecutive win by defeating Vanderbilt's Lachlan McPhee and Panu Virtanen, 6-3. The duo never trailed in the match en route to moving to 6-0 in dual match play this spring.
On court 1, MSU's 58th-ranked pair of Nuno Borges and Strahinja Rakic notched its second straight ranked victory, defeating VU's No. 46 Cameron Klinger and Billy Rowe 7-6(2) in a back-and-forth battle. The Bulldog duo dominated the tiebreaker, building a 5-1 lead before winning the tiebreaker and clinching the doubles point for MSU. At the No. 3 spot, 65th-ranked Florian Broska and Trevor Foshey were up 5-4 against Baker Newman and Daniel Valent when their match was suspended at the clincher. State has now won doubles in seven of its last eight matches.
"I am very proud of how we played in doubles," Roberts said. "We've been working on doubles a lot and that helped us early. We're playing very loose and confident there right now."
State carried the into momentum in singles, picking up four of six first sets. On court 3, the 86th-ranked Rakic knocked off Vanderbilt's 100th-ranked Newman in straight-set fashion, 6-3, 6-0, to put the Bulldogs up 2-0. Braun would then notch his fourth-straight win with a 6-3, 6-4 victory over Rowe at the No. 4 spot to put MSU up 3-0.
The Commodores battled back and picked up their first point of the day when No. 22 Klinger upset MSU's third-ranked Borges by a tight 7-5, 6-3 mark on court 1, ending Borges' remarkable 16-match win streak that dated back to October. VU inched a little closer with a win on court 6, as George Harwell earned a tight 6-3, 7-5 win over Foshey.
To conclude the day, the Bulldogs clinched the victory when Broska took down Commodore Maxwell Freeman on court 5 in an exciting three-setter 6-2, 4-6, 6-1. No. 13 Bulldog Giovanni Oradini was up 6-1 in a second-set tiebreaker at the time of Broska's clincher, and his match against 56th-ranked Valent went unfinished with Oradini taking the first set 6-4 before Valent forced the breaker in the second frame.
"It always helps to see a guy making a huge push and being up big in the tiebreaker," the Bulldog rookie said. "It helps you play loose because you don't really have to think as hard—I just had to hit the ball. Even before the tiebreaker, I saw him competing really hard."
With the win, Roberts notched his 70th career win as head coach, with all of them coming at MSU. State moved to 40-14 against VU since 1970 and 17-5 at home. The Bulldogs have also claimed the last three matches in the series.
"I want to thank all of the fans for their great support today," Roberts said. "It makes a huge difference for the guys and we look forward to another great atmosphere on Sunday."
Next Up For MSU…
MSU will remain at home for another top-25 matchup on Sunday, taking on No. 21 Kentucky (11-5, 4-1) at 1 p.m. at the Pitts Tennis Centre. The Wildcats were facing Auburn in a Friday night match before making the trip over to Starkville for Sunday's tilt. Admission is free to the match and all home regular-season matches.
For more information on the Mississippi State men's tennis program, follow "HailStateMT" on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
No. 13 Mississippi State 4, No. 19 Vanderbilt 2
A.J. Pitts Tennis Centre
Starkville, Miss.
March 23, 2018
Doubles
1. #58 Nuno Borges/Strahinja Rakic (MSU) def. #46 Cameron Klinger/Billy Rowe (VU) 7-6(2)
2. #30 Niclas Braun/Giovanni Oradini (MSU) def. Lachlan McPhee/Panu Virtanen (VU) 6-3
3. #65 Florian Broska/Trevor Foshey (MSU) vs. Baker Newman/Daniel Valent (VU) 5-4 (susp.)
Order of finish: 2, 1
Singles
1. #22 Cameron Klinger (VU) def. #3 Nuno Borges (MSU) 7-5, 6-3
2. #13 Giovanni Oradini (MSU) vs. #56 Daniel Valent (VU) 6-4, 6-6 (6-1) (susp.)
3. #86 Strahinja Rakic (MSU) def. #100 Baker Newman (VU) 6-3, 6-0
4. Niclas Braun (MSU) def. Billy Rowe (VU) 6-3, 6-4
5. Florian Broska (MSU) def. Maxwell Freeman (VU) 6-2, 4-6, 6-1
6. George Harwell (VU) def. Trevor Foshey (MSU) 6-3, 7-5
Order of finish: 3, 4, 1, 6, 5
Players Mentioned
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
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