Strahinja Raki went a combined 4-0 this past weekend en route to his first career SEC Player of the Week honor
Rakic Named SEC Player Of The Week After 4-0 Weekend
March 28, 2018 | Men's Tennis
STARKVILLE, Miss. – For the second time during the 2018 dual match season, a member of the Mississippi State men's tennis team has received Southeastern Conference weekly honors.
Junior Strahinja Rakic earned SEC Player of the Week laurels after a stellar weekend on the court that saw him go 4-0 combined, helping lead the Bulldogs to a pair of key ranked victories in SEC action over No. 19 Vanderbilt and No. 21 Kentucky. The award marks the 86th-ranked Rakic's first career SEC Player of the Week award and his first career SEC weekly award. His award marks the second by an MSU player in three weeks, with sophomore Giovanni Oradini claiming the same honor two weeks ago.
"It's a tremendous honor to be named SEC Player of the Week," Rakic said. "I want to thank my coaches and teammates for pushing me on and off the court this past week in practice and all season. Our success all starts with the team and I am glad to be part of this amazing team."
In both matches, Rakic came through in the clutch moments for the Bulldogs on multiple occasions, going a combined 4-0 on the weekend in doubles and singles, and was one of the first players off the court in both matches.
Against the Commodores on March 23, Rakic and partner Nuno Borges played their first match since climbing into the ITA doubles rankings at 58th nationally a few days prior. The Bulldog duo continued its upward trend, earning a second consecutive ranked victory by downing 46th-ranked Commodore pair of Cameron Klinger and Billy Rowe—a tandem that had won seven of its last eight matches—by a tight 7-6(2) margin at the No. 1 position.
Despite a back-and-forth battle leading to the doubles point-deciding tiebreaker, Rakic and Borges kicked it into high gear and dominated the breaker, winning 7-2 and clinching the point for MSU. It was the tandem's third clincher of the year, all coming in SEC play.
Against the Commodores in singles, he continued his momentum from doubles with a dominating 6-3, 6-0 triumph over VU's 100th-ranked Baker Newman on court 3. Before Rakic's win, Newman had won five of his last six singles matches.
The Belgrade, Serbia, standout's hot streak carried over to Sunday's match against a feisty Kentucky team. He and Borges once again displayed their dominance in doubles, this time taking down UK's 31st-ranked Gus Benson and Cesar Bourgois in a 6-3 decision at the No. 1 spot. The win marked the duo's third straight win—all against ranked opponents. The win against the Wildcat duo marked Rakic's 25th career win in doubles play and 20th in dual matches. When he and Borges win, the Bulldogs are a sparkling 8-1.
In singles against the Wildcats, Rakic once again finished his match quickly, taking down UK's Enzo Wallart 6-3, 6-4 at the No. 3 position. Rakic's win put the Bulldogs ahead for good, giving them a 2-1 lead early en route to MSU's ninth-straight win at home in 2018.
Similar to his doubles win streak, Rakic also upped his singles win streak to three matches and now stands at 15-7 on the year and is third among the SEC's No. 3 singles players with a 4-1 conference record.
"I am extremely proud of how Strahinja played this weekend," head coach Matt Roberts said. "He worked very hard this past week and all of that hard work paid off on match day. He executed his game plan very well and excelled in key moments. He's playing with a lot of confidence right now in both singles and doubles."
Next Up For MSU…
State will hit the road this weekend for another pair of top-20 matches, facing No. 20 Georgia at 4 p.m. CT on Friday in Athens before traveling to Knoxville to take on No. 19 Tennessee at noon on Sunday.
For more information on the Mississippi State men's tennis program, follow "HailStateMT" on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
Junior Strahinja Rakic earned SEC Player of the Week laurels after a stellar weekend on the court that saw him go 4-0 combined, helping lead the Bulldogs to a pair of key ranked victories in SEC action over No. 19 Vanderbilt and No. 21 Kentucky. The award marks the 86th-ranked Rakic's first career SEC Player of the Week award and his first career SEC weekly award. His award marks the second by an MSU player in three weeks, with sophomore Giovanni Oradini claiming the same honor two weeks ago.
"It's a tremendous honor to be named SEC Player of the Week," Rakic said. "I want to thank my coaches and teammates for pushing me on and off the court this past week in practice and all season. Our success all starts with the team and I am glad to be part of this amazing team."
In both matches, Rakic came through in the clutch moments for the Bulldogs on multiple occasions, going a combined 4-0 on the weekend in doubles and singles, and was one of the first players off the court in both matches.
Against the Commodores on March 23, Rakic and partner Nuno Borges played their first match since climbing into the ITA doubles rankings at 58th nationally a few days prior. The Bulldog duo continued its upward trend, earning a second consecutive ranked victory by downing 46th-ranked Commodore pair of Cameron Klinger and Billy Rowe—a tandem that had won seven of its last eight matches—by a tight 7-6(2) margin at the No. 1 position.
Despite a back-and-forth battle leading to the doubles point-deciding tiebreaker, Rakic and Borges kicked it into high gear and dominated the breaker, winning 7-2 and clinching the point for MSU. It was the tandem's third clincher of the year, all coming in SEC play.
Against the Commodores in singles, he continued his momentum from doubles with a dominating 6-3, 6-0 triumph over VU's 100th-ranked Baker Newman on court 3. Before Rakic's win, Newman had won five of his last six singles matches.
The Belgrade, Serbia, standout's hot streak carried over to Sunday's match against a feisty Kentucky team. He and Borges once again displayed their dominance in doubles, this time taking down UK's 31st-ranked Gus Benson and Cesar Bourgois in a 6-3 decision at the No. 1 spot. The win marked the duo's third straight win—all against ranked opponents. The win against the Wildcat duo marked Rakic's 25th career win in doubles play and 20th in dual matches. When he and Borges win, the Bulldogs are a sparkling 8-1.
In singles against the Wildcats, Rakic once again finished his match quickly, taking down UK's Enzo Wallart 6-3, 6-4 at the No. 3 position. Rakic's win put the Bulldogs ahead for good, giving them a 2-1 lead early en route to MSU's ninth-straight win at home in 2018.
Similar to his doubles win streak, Rakic also upped his singles win streak to three matches and now stands at 15-7 on the year and is third among the SEC's No. 3 singles players with a 4-1 conference record.
"I am extremely proud of how Strahinja played this weekend," head coach Matt Roberts said. "He worked very hard this past week and all of that hard work paid off on match day. He executed his game plan very well and excelled in key moments. He's playing with a lot of confidence right now in both singles and doubles."
Next Up For MSU…
State will hit the road this weekend for another pair of top-20 matches, facing No. 20 Georgia at 4 p.m. CT on Friday in Athens before traveling to Knoxville to take on No. 19 Tennessee at noon on Sunday.
For more information on the Mississippi State men's tennis program, follow "HailStateMT" on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
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