Friday, March 9
Starkville
3:00 PM
Mississippi State
5
vs
2
Florida
Niclas Braun clinched the victory for the Bulldogs with a gutsy performance on Friday vs. No. 9 Florida.
Gutsy Effort Propels No. 27 MSU Men's Tennis Past No. 9 Florida, 5-2
March 09, 2018 | Men's Tennis
STARKVILLE, Miss. – Battling adversity was key for the 27th-ranked Mississippi State men's tennis team on Friday, as the Bulldogs (8-1, 2-0 SEC) bounced back from dropping a hard-fought doubles point to dominate singles and defeat No. 9 Florida (7-5, 2-1), 5-2, at A.J. Pitts Tennis Centre.
Despite dropping the doubles point to the ninth-ranked Gators, State won five of six first sets in singles competition en route to picking up its fourth consecutive victory and its fifth straight home Southeastern Conference win.
"This match was about the values we preach on a day-to-day basis in our program," fourth-year head coach Matt Roberts said. "If the guys focus on that, they have to trust that good things are going to happen. They focused on those values, and a good thing happened today. I'm very proud of the guys and we can't wait to get back to work tomorrow to get ready for a great South Carolina team."
Doubles play Friday afternoon was about as tight as it could possibly be. Florida's 10th-ranked duo of Oliver Crawford and Chase Perez-Blanco defeated MSU's No. 59 pair of Florian Broska and Trevor Foshey by a 6-2 mark at the No. 3 spot to start off the match by giving the Gators an early advantage. On court 2, State's Niclas Braun and Giovanni Oradini gave the Bulldogs a clutch 6-4 victory in which the tandem won the final three games in an upset of No. 12 McClain Kessler and Duarte Vale to make court 1 the deciding court.
Facing the top-ranked doubles pair in the country, Bulldogs Nuno Borges and Strahinja Rakic did not back down from the challenge. The Bulldog pair made things tough on Florida's Johannes Ingildsen and Alfredo Perez in a back-and-forth battle that took a tiebreaker to decide the match and the doubles point. Ingildsen and Perez eventually took the doubles point to give Florida a 1-0 lead with a 7-6(3) victory.
But State roared back in singles and evened it up at 1-all with Nuno Borges' 15th win of the year and 14th-straight. The fourth-ranked All-American Bulldog battled back from a 3-0 deficit in the first set to take the match 7-5, 6-2 over the Gators's seventh-ranked Perez in a top-10 showdown on court 1.
MSU's 23rd-ranked Oradini moved back into the win column with his 11th ranked victory of the season, this time over Ingildsen, who is ranked sixth nationally, on court 2. After winning the first set 6-3, Oradini overcame a 3-1 deficit in the second to win five of the final six games and the match 6-3, 6-4 to put the Bulldogs in the lead for good. It was the highest-ranked player the sophomore had ever defeated.
Following Oradini's rally, State's Foshey and Braun would both pull out three-set victories - after dropping their second sets - to clinch the win for the Bulldogs.
On court 6, Foshey picked up the seventh win in his last eight matches with a hard-fought 6-2, 1-6, 6-3 victory over UF's Perez-Blanco. Like Oradini, the St. Cloud, Fla., native battled back from a 3-1 deficit for his win. Moments later, Braun would give the Bulldogs the clincher at No. 4, gutting out a tough three-set battle against 68th-ranked Vale and for a 6-4, 2-6, 6-1 triumph, which was his highest-ranked victory in his three seasons at State.
After the clincher, a pair of three-setters finished up the day's activity, with MSU's 82nd-ranked Rakic dropping a tight 6-4, 6-7(6), 1-0(4) decision to Florida's No. 93 Crawford at the No. 3 spot. To round out the day, the MSU rookie Broska notched his first career win against a ranked opponent with a tight three-set win against the Gators' 101st-ranked Andy Andrade by a 7-5, 5-7, 7-6(4) mark on court 5.
MSU's win against the Gators was its first since a 4-3 win in the 2015 SEC Tournament in College Station, Texas, and the first regular-season win against UF since 2013. It was the Bulldogs' first win against Florida in Starkville since 2001. Under Roberts, the Bulldogs are now 16-5 at home against SEC foes.
"We reinforce to our guys that if they stay calm and problem solve through all the adversity tonight, good things are going to happen," Roberts said. "They're starting to commit to that every day and today showed it. Losing the doubles point and then coming out and pushing it in singles led to winning against a top-10 team. Today showed what our standard is for our values, our culture and for our development."
Next Up For MSU…
MSU will round out its three-match homestand to open league action on Sunday, hosting No. 28 South Carolina at 1 p.m. at the Pitts Tennis Centre. USC will come to Starkville at 12-3 (2-1 SEC) after a victory at Auburn Friday night. Admission to all regular-season home matches at the Pitts Tennis Centre is free.
For more information on the Mississippi State men's tennis program, follow "HailStateMT" on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
No. 27 Mississippi State 5, No. 9 Florida 2
A.J. Pitts Tennis Centre
Starkville, Miss.
March 9, 2018
Doubles
1. #1 Johannes Ingildsen/Alfredo Perez (UF) def. Nuno Borges/Strahinja Rakic (MSU) 7-6(3)
2. Niclas Braun/Giovanni Oradini (MSU) def. #12 McClain Kessler/Duarte Vale (UF) 6-4
3. #10 Oliver Crawford/Chase Perez-Blanco (UF) def. #59 Florian Broska/Trevor Foshey (MSU) 6-2
Order of finish: 3, 2, 1
Singles
1. #4 Nuno Borges (MSU) def. #7 Alfredo Perez (UF) 7-5, 6-2
2. #23 Giovanni Oradini (MSU) def. #6 Johannes Ingildsen (UF) 6-3, 6-4
3. #93 Oliver Crawford (UF) def. #82 Strahinja Rakic (MSU) 6-4, 6-7(6), 1-0(4)
4. Niclas Braun (MSU) def. #68 Duarte Vale (UF) 6-4, 2-6, 6-1
5. Florian Broska (MSU) def. #101 Andy Andrade (UF) 7-5, 5-7, 7-6(4)
6. Trevor Foshey (MSU) def. Chase Perez-Blanco (UF) 6-2, 1-6, 6-3
Order of finish: 1, 2, 6, 4, 3, 5
Despite dropping the doubles point to the ninth-ranked Gators, State won five of six first sets in singles competition en route to picking up its fourth consecutive victory and its fifth straight home Southeastern Conference win.
"This match was about the values we preach on a day-to-day basis in our program," fourth-year head coach Matt Roberts said. "If the guys focus on that, they have to trust that good things are going to happen. They focused on those values, and a good thing happened today. I'm very proud of the guys and we can't wait to get back to work tomorrow to get ready for a great South Carolina team."
Doubles play Friday afternoon was about as tight as it could possibly be. Florida's 10th-ranked duo of Oliver Crawford and Chase Perez-Blanco defeated MSU's No. 59 pair of Florian Broska and Trevor Foshey by a 6-2 mark at the No. 3 spot to start off the match by giving the Gators an early advantage. On court 2, State's Niclas Braun and Giovanni Oradini gave the Bulldogs a clutch 6-4 victory in which the tandem won the final three games in an upset of No. 12 McClain Kessler and Duarte Vale to make court 1 the deciding court.
Facing the top-ranked doubles pair in the country, Bulldogs Nuno Borges and Strahinja Rakic did not back down from the challenge. The Bulldog pair made things tough on Florida's Johannes Ingildsen and Alfredo Perez in a back-and-forth battle that took a tiebreaker to decide the match and the doubles point. Ingildsen and Perez eventually took the doubles point to give Florida a 1-0 lead with a 7-6(3) victory.
But State roared back in singles and evened it up at 1-all with Nuno Borges' 15th win of the year and 14th-straight. The fourth-ranked All-American Bulldog battled back from a 3-0 deficit in the first set to take the match 7-5, 6-2 over the Gators's seventh-ranked Perez in a top-10 showdown on court 1.
MSU's 23rd-ranked Oradini moved back into the win column with his 11th ranked victory of the season, this time over Ingildsen, who is ranked sixth nationally, on court 2. After winning the first set 6-3, Oradini overcame a 3-1 deficit in the second to win five of the final six games and the match 6-3, 6-4 to put the Bulldogs in the lead for good. It was the highest-ranked player the sophomore had ever defeated.
Following Oradini's rally, State's Foshey and Braun would both pull out three-set victories - after dropping their second sets - to clinch the win for the Bulldogs.
On court 6, Foshey picked up the seventh win in his last eight matches with a hard-fought 6-2, 1-6, 6-3 victory over UF's Perez-Blanco. Like Oradini, the St. Cloud, Fla., native battled back from a 3-1 deficit for his win. Moments later, Braun would give the Bulldogs the clincher at No. 4, gutting out a tough three-set battle against 68th-ranked Vale and for a 6-4, 2-6, 6-1 triumph, which was his highest-ranked victory in his three seasons at State.
After the clincher, a pair of three-setters finished up the day's activity, with MSU's 82nd-ranked Rakic dropping a tight 6-4, 6-7(6), 1-0(4) decision to Florida's No. 93 Crawford at the No. 3 spot. To round out the day, the MSU rookie Broska notched his first career win against a ranked opponent with a tight three-set win against the Gators' 101st-ranked Andy Andrade by a 7-5, 5-7, 7-6(4) mark on court 5.
MSU's win against the Gators was its first since a 4-3 win in the 2015 SEC Tournament in College Station, Texas, and the first regular-season win against UF since 2013. It was the Bulldogs' first win against Florida in Starkville since 2001. Under Roberts, the Bulldogs are now 16-5 at home against SEC foes.
"We reinforce to our guys that if they stay calm and problem solve through all the adversity tonight, good things are going to happen," Roberts said. "They're starting to commit to that every day and today showed it. Losing the doubles point and then coming out and pushing it in singles led to winning against a top-10 team. Today showed what our standard is for our values, our culture and for our development."
Next Up For MSU…
MSU will round out its three-match homestand to open league action on Sunday, hosting No. 28 South Carolina at 1 p.m. at the Pitts Tennis Centre. USC will come to Starkville at 12-3 (2-1 SEC) after a victory at Auburn Friday night. Admission to all regular-season home matches at the Pitts Tennis Centre is free.
For more information on the Mississippi State men's tennis program, follow "HailStateMT" on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
No. 27 Mississippi State 5, No. 9 Florida 2
A.J. Pitts Tennis Centre
Starkville, Miss.
March 9, 2018
Doubles
1. #1 Johannes Ingildsen/Alfredo Perez (UF) def. Nuno Borges/Strahinja Rakic (MSU) 7-6(3)
2. Niclas Braun/Giovanni Oradini (MSU) def. #12 McClain Kessler/Duarte Vale (UF) 6-4
3. #10 Oliver Crawford/Chase Perez-Blanco (UF) def. #59 Florian Broska/Trevor Foshey (MSU) 6-2
Order of finish: 3, 2, 1
Singles
1. #4 Nuno Borges (MSU) def. #7 Alfredo Perez (UF) 7-5, 6-2
2. #23 Giovanni Oradini (MSU) def. #6 Johannes Ingildsen (UF) 6-3, 6-4
3. #93 Oliver Crawford (UF) def. #82 Strahinja Rakic (MSU) 6-4, 6-7(6), 1-0(4)
4. Niclas Braun (MSU) def. #68 Duarte Vale (UF) 6-4, 2-6, 6-1
5. Florian Broska (MSU) def. #101 Andy Andrade (UF) 7-5, 5-7, 7-6(4)
6. Trevor Foshey (MSU) def. Chase Perez-Blanco (UF) 6-2, 1-6, 6-3
Order of finish: 1, 2, 6, 4, 3, 5
Players Mentioned
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