Sunday, April 15
Baton Rouge, La.
12:00 PM
Mississippi State
at
LSU
MSU will close out the 2018 regular season on Sunday at LSU.
No. 7 Bulldogs To Close Out Regular Season Sunday At LSU
April 14, 2018 | Men's Tennis
STARKVILLE, Miss. – One match remains in the regular season for the seventh-ranked Mississippi State men's tennis team (16-2, 10-1 SEC) on Sunday, as the Bulldogs look to finish on a strong note against LSU (9-14, 2-9). Match time is set for Noon at the LSU Tennis Complex in Baton Rouge.
"Sunday's match is an excellent opportunity for us to finish strong going into the postseason," fourth-year head coach Matt Roberts said.
Last Time Out For MSU…
The last time the Bulldogs took the court, they took early momentum in doubles at No. 5 Texas A&M. MSU once again took court 2 with a dominant 6-2 victory by 44th-ranked Niclas Braun and Giovanni Oradini against TAMU's Jordi Arconada and Patrick Kypson. Moments later, the Bulldogs would clinch the doubles point when Florian Broska and Trevor Foshey took a 6-3 decision against No. 89 A.J. Catanzariti and Valentin Vacherot at the No. 3 spot. MSU's 42nd-ranked Nuno Borges and Strahinja Rakic were up 5-4 in a tight battle against TAMU's Juan Carlos Aguilar and Arthur Rinderknech on court 1.
Texas A&M knotted things up at 1-all with a 6-2, 6-2 singles win on court 3 by the 41st-ranked Arconada against MSU's 78th-ranked Rakic. State reclaimed the lead when third-ranked Nuno Borges topped sixth-ranked Patrick Kypson by a 6-3, 6-3 mark at No. 1. The Aggies made it 2-all when No. 52 Vacherot downed Braun on court 4, 6-4, 6-2. TAMU took the lead for good when No. 10 Rinderknech notched a tight 7-6(0), 6-3 win against MSU's 19th-ranked Oradini on court 2. The Aggies then clinched the win on court 5 when 105th-ranked freshman Juan Carlos Aguilar won a closely-contested battle against Bulldog rookie Broska by 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 mark. To close out the day, TAMU's Barnaby Smith earned the final singles win of the day with a 6-4, 6-7(3), 7-5 decision against MSU's Foshey.
MSU In The ITA Rankings…
In this week's Intercollegiate Tennis Association team rankings, MSU remained at No. 7 nationally—its highest rank since 1999 when the Bulldogs started the season at No. 3. Five Bulldogs made the cut in the most recent singles and doubles rankings released April 10. In singles, the All-American Borges rose to third in the nation, where he is the highest-ranked player in the SEC. Oradini is ranked 19th nationally, while Rakic moved up to No. 78 in the country. In doubles, three Bulldog duos highlight the rankings, led by Borges and Rakic at the pair's career-best No. 42. Two spots behind is the dynamic duo of Braun and Oradini at No. 44, still unbeaten on the season. Braun and Foshey round out the list at No. 90.
About LSU…
LSU enters Sunday's match having ended a nine-match losing skid with an exciting 4-3 win against Auburn on Friday at home. The Tigers boast one ranked singles player, with Shane Monroe coming in at No. 91 in the nation.
What To Note As MSU Faces LSU…
Live Stats/Video
Live video for Sunday's match can be found at lsusports.net. Live stats can be found at lsustats.com.
Next Up For MSU…
After returning from Baton Rouge, the Bulldogs will begin preparations for the 2018 SEC Championship, to be held April 25-29 in Tuscaloosa, Ala.
For more information on the Mississippi State men's tennis program, follow "HailStateMT" on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
"Sunday's match is an excellent opportunity for us to finish strong going into the postseason," fourth-year head coach Matt Roberts said.
Last Time Out For MSU…
The last time the Bulldogs took the court, they took early momentum in doubles at No. 5 Texas A&M. MSU once again took court 2 with a dominant 6-2 victory by 44th-ranked Niclas Braun and Giovanni Oradini against TAMU's Jordi Arconada and Patrick Kypson. Moments later, the Bulldogs would clinch the doubles point when Florian Broska and Trevor Foshey took a 6-3 decision against No. 89 A.J. Catanzariti and Valentin Vacherot at the No. 3 spot. MSU's 42nd-ranked Nuno Borges and Strahinja Rakic were up 5-4 in a tight battle against TAMU's Juan Carlos Aguilar and Arthur Rinderknech on court 1.
Texas A&M knotted things up at 1-all with a 6-2, 6-2 singles win on court 3 by the 41st-ranked Arconada against MSU's 78th-ranked Rakic. State reclaimed the lead when third-ranked Nuno Borges topped sixth-ranked Patrick Kypson by a 6-3, 6-3 mark at No. 1. The Aggies made it 2-all when No. 52 Vacherot downed Braun on court 4, 6-4, 6-2. TAMU took the lead for good when No. 10 Rinderknech notched a tight 7-6(0), 6-3 win against MSU's 19th-ranked Oradini on court 2. The Aggies then clinched the win on court 5 when 105th-ranked freshman Juan Carlos Aguilar won a closely-contested battle against Bulldog rookie Broska by 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 mark. To close out the day, TAMU's Barnaby Smith earned the final singles win of the day with a 6-4, 6-7(3), 7-5 decision against MSU's Foshey.
MSU In The ITA Rankings…
In this week's Intercollegiate Tennis Association team rankings, MSU remained at No. 7 nationally—its highest rank since 1999 when the Bulldogs started the season at No. 3. Five Bulldogs made the cut in the most recent singles and doubles rankings released April 10. In singles, the All-American Borges rose to third in the nation, where he is the highest-ranked player in the SEC. Oradini is ranked 19th nationally, while Rakic moved up to No. 78 in the country. In doubles, three Bulldog duos highlight the rankings, led by Borges and Rakic at the pair's career-best No. 42. Two spots behind is the dynamic duo of Braun and Oradini at No. 44, still unbeaten on the season. Braun and Foshey round out the list at No. 90.
About LSU…
LSU enters Sunday's match having ended a nine-match losing skid with an exciting 4-3 win against Auburn on Friday at home. The Tigers boast one ranked singles player, with Shane Monroe coming in at No. 91 in the nation.
What To Note As MSU Faces LSU…
- MSU is in its 94th season of tennis, with Matt Roberts in his fourth season at the helm.
- On Sunday at Ole Miss, Roberts earned his 75thcareer win as head coach—all at MSU.
- In the series against LSU since 1969, the Tigers own a 35-17-1 lead, including a 16-6-1 mark in Baton Rouge. However, the Bulldogs have dominated the series of late, winning two in a row and eight of the last 10 meetings.
- In 2017, the Bulldogs had little trouble dispatching the Tigers, taking a 5-2 victory in Starkville.
- On the road against SEC foes under Roberts, the Bulldogs are 18-12 overall and 4-1 this season.
- When the Bulldogs have won doubles in 2018, they are 11-2 and have won 12 of the last 14 doubles points.
- At the No. 2 position in doubles MSU is a perfect 16-0.
- Niclas Braun and Giovanni Oradini have won 12 consecutive matches in doubles—all in dual match play—and 13 of their last 14 matches.
- Strahinja Rakic has won seven of his last nine matches.
- Nuno Borges has won a team-best 17 matches against ranked foes.
Live Stats/Video
Live video for Sunday's match can be found at lsusports.net. Live stats can be found at lsustats.com.
Next Up For MSU…
After returning from Baton Rouge, the Bulldogs will begin preparations for the 2018 SEC Championship, to be held April 25-29 in Tuscaloosa, Ala.
For more information on the Mississippi State men's tennis program, follow "HailStateMT" on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
Players Mentioned
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