Sunday, April 1
Knoxville, Tenn.
12:00 PM
Mississippi State
at
Tennessee
The Bulldogs look to continue their record start in SEC play with another top-20 match at No. 19 Tennessee on Sunday.
No. 12 Bulldogs Continue Road Swing Sunday At No. 19 Tennessee
March 31, 2018 | Men's Tennis
STARKVILLE, Miss. – Looking to continue its current nine-match winning streak, the 12th-ranked Mississippi State men's tennis team (13-1, 7-0 SEC) travels to face No. 19 Tennessee (17-5, 6-2) at noon CT Sunday in Knoxville.
The Bulldogs are looking to move to 14-1 overall for the first time since 1997 when they face the Volunteers. Admission to the match at Barksdale Tennis Stadium is free.
"Tennessee is another very good team in this league that is playing extremely well right now," fourth-year head coach Matt Roberts said. "They've had some big wins this year, so they're going to give us their best. Sunday is going to be another great test of how we handle adversity and of our toughness on the road, and I know our team is ready for the challenge."
Rakic Named Player Of The Week…
On Wednesday, MSU junior Strahinja Rakic captured SEC Player of the Week honors after going 4-0 last weekend in MSU wins against No. 19 Vanderbilt and No. 21 Kentucky. The Belgrade, Serbia, native highlighted his weekend with a pair of ranked doubles wins and one ranked singles victory. In doubles, he teamed up with Nuno Borges to down VU's 46th-ranked Cameron Klinger and Billy Rowe and Kentucky's 31st-ranked duo of Gus Benson and Cesar Bourgois. In singles, he was one of the first off the court both days, taking a win against 100th-ranked Commodore Baker Newman and UK's Enzo Wallart. He became the second Bulldog named to the award in three weeks, and it was his first career SEC weekly award.
Last Time Out For MSU…
The last time the Bulldogs took the court, they moved to 7-0 in SEC play for the first time in program history with a dominant 4-0 victory at No. 20 Georgia. The Bulldogs started off by taking the doubles point for the fifth straight match. MSU took a quick advantage when No. 30 Niclas Braun and Giovanni Oradini earned a 6-3 victory on court 2 against Alex Phillips and Jan Zielinksi. State clinched the point when No. 65 Florian Broska and Trevor Foshey took a tight 6-4 win over UGA's Alex Diaz and Emil Reinberg on court 3. At the clincher, 58th-ranked Nuno Borges and Strahinja Rakic were knotted up at 5-all with Wayne Montgomery and Nathan Ponwith on court 1 when the point was clinched.
State continued that momentum into singles play, claiming five of six first sets. MSU's 13th-ranked Oradini earned a dominant 6-1, 6-2 win against UGA's 55th-ranked Reinberg on court 2. Moments later, the third-ranked All-American Bulldog Borges moved back into the win column with an impressive 6-2, 6-2 win against Montgomery, who is ranked 15th nationally. Just under a half an hour later, Foshey would complete a dramatic comeback to clinch the match for State. Down 5-2 in the first set, Foshey went on to win 11 of the last 12 games to win 7-5, 6-1 to seal the deal. Rakic was up 6-4, 5-2 (40-15) at the clincher on court 3, while Braun and Broska were both in tight battles on courts 4 and 5 respectively when the match concluded.
MSU In The ITA Rankings…
In this week's Intercollegiate Tennis Association team rankings, MSU moved up a spot to 12th nationally—its highest rank of the season as well as the highest since 2014. Six Bulldogs made the cut in the most recent singles and doubles rankings released March 20, 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, the All-American 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 Tennessee…
Tennessee enters Sunday's match having won two in a row and six of its last seven. On Friday, the Volunteers notched a 6-1 win against Auburn in Knoxville. UT boasts one ranked singles player, Timo Stodder, who is ranked 16th nationally.
In doubles, the Volunteers have one ranked duo, with Preston Touliatos and Luis Valero sitting at No. 15 in the nation.
What To Note As MSU Faces Tennessee…
Live Stats/Video
Live Video: https://hailst.at/2GKoMBJ
Live Scoring: https://hailst.at/2GI24de
Next Up For MSU…
After returning from Knoxville, the Bulldogs will host No. 43 Arkansas (9-11, 2-6) in State's final home regular season match of the 2018 season on Friday, April 6 at 3 p.m.
For more information on the Mississippi State men's tennis program, follow "HailStateMT" on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
The Bulldogs are looking to move to 14-1 overall for the first time since 1997 when they face the Volunteers. Admission to the match at Barksdale Tennis Stadium is free.
"Tennessee is another very good team in this league that is playing extremely well right now," fourth-year head coach Matt Roberts said. "They've had some big wins this year, so they're going to give us their best. Sunday is going to be another great test of how we handle adversity and of our toughness on the road, and I know our team is ready for the challenge."
Rakic Named Player Of The Week…
On Wednesday, MSU junior Strahinja Rakic captured SEC Player of the Week honors after going 4-0 last weekend in MSU wins against No. 19 Vanderbilt and No. 21 Kentucky. The Belgrade, Serbia, native highlighted his weekend with a pair of ranked doubles wins and one ranked singles victory. In doubles, he teamed up with Nuno Borges to down VU's 46th-ranked Cameron Klinger and Billy Rowe and Kentucky's 31st-ranked duo of Gus Benson and Cesar Bourgois. In singles, he was one of the first off the court both days, taking a win against 100th-ranked Commodore Baker Newman and UK's Enzo Wallart. He became the second Bulldog named to the award in three weeks, and it was his first career SEC weekly award.
Last Time Out For MSU…
The last time the Bulldogs took the court, they moved to 7-0 in SEC play for the first time in program history with a dominant 4-0 victory at No. 20 Georgia. The Bulldogs started off by taking the doubles point for the fifth straight match. MSU took a quick advantage when No. 30 Niclas Braun and Giovanni Oradini earned a 6-3 victory on court 2 against Alex Phillips and Jan Zielinksi. State clinched the point when No. 65 Florian Broska and Trevor Foshey took a tight 6-4 win over UGA's Alex Diaz and Emil Reinberg on court 3. At the clincher, 58th-ranked Nuno Borges and Strahinja Rakic were knotted up at 5-all with Wayne Montgomery and Nathan Ponwith on court 1 when the point was clinched.
State continued that momentum into singles play, claiming five of six first sets. MSU's 13th-ranked Oradini earned a dominant 6-1, 6-2 win against UGA's 55th-ranked Reinberg on court 2. Moments later, the third-ranked All-American Bulldog Borges moved back into the win column with an impressive 6-2, 6-2 win against Montgomery, who is ranked 15th nationally. Just under a half an hour later, Foshey would complete a dramatic comeback to clinch the match for State. Down 5-2 in the first set, Foshey went on to win 11 of the last 12 games to win 7-5, 6-1 to seal the deal. Rakic was up 6-4, 5-2 (40-15) at the clincher on court 3, while Braun and Broska were both in tight battles on courts 4 and 5 respectively when the match concluded.
MSU In The ITA Rankings…
In this week's Intercollegiate Tennis Association team rankings, MSU moved up a spot to 12th nationally—its highest rank of the season as well as the highest since 2014. Six Bulldogs made the cut in the most recent singles and doubles rankings released March 20, 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, the All-American 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 Tennessee…
Tennessee enters Sunday's match having won two in a row and six of its last seven. On Friday, the Volunteers notched a 6-1 win against Auburn in Knoxville. UT boasts one ranked singles player, Timo Stodder, who is ranked 16th nationally.
In doubles, the Volunteers have one ranked duo, with Preston Touliatos and Luis Valero sitting at No. 15 in the nation.
What To Note As MSU Faces Tennessee…
- MSU is in its 94th season of tennis, with Matt Roberts in his fourth season at the helm.
- Tennessee leads the overall series since 1971, 34-19, but the Bulldogs have won three straight.
- In Knoxville, UT is 16-7 since 1971. MSU's last win in Knoxville came in 2015—a 4-3 decision.
- In 2017, the Bulldogs notched a solid 6-1 win in Starkville against UT.
- Against ranked foes under Roberts, MSU is 42-26. Against ranked opponents this season, the Bulldogs are 7-1.
- On the road in the SEC under Roberts, MSU is 16-11.
- When the Bulldogs clinch doubles, they are 9-1 and have won eight of the last nine doubles points.
- At the No. 2 position in doubles MSU is a perfect 12-0.
- Niclas Braun and Giovanni Oradini have won eight consecutive matches in doubles—all in dual match play.
- Braun has won nine of 10 matches to start the season and has won five straight.
- Nuno Borges and Strahinja Rakic have won three straight in doubles—all against ranked foes.
Live Stats/Video
Live Video: https://hailst.at/2GKoMBJ
Live Scoring: https://hailst.at/2GI24de
Next Up For MSU…
After returning from Knoxville, the Bulldogs will host No. 43 Arkansas (9-11, 2-6) in State's final home regular season match of the 2018 season on Friday, April 6 at 3 p.m.
For more information on the Mississippi State men's tennis program, follow "HailStateMT" on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
Players Mentioned
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