No. 7 Bulldogs Set To Battle No. 12 Longhorns In NCAA Round of 16

STARKVILLE, Miss. – After a dominant showing in the NCAA First and Second rounds this past weekend at home, the No. 6 national seed and seventh-ranked Mississippi State men's tennis team is set for its next challenge.

In its first Round of 16 appearance since 2016 and its third in the last six seasons, the Bulldogs (22-2) will take on 11th-seeded and 12th-ranked Texas (19-6) at Noon ET (11 a.m. CT) on Friday at the Wake Forest Tennis Complex in Winston-Salem, N.C. The Bulldogs will be playing on the complex's lower courts. In the event of rain, the Bulldogs and Longhorns will square off at 1 p.m. ET (Noon CT) at North Carolina's indoor facility at the Cone-Kenfield Tennis Center in Chapel Hill. Follow @HailStateMT on Twitter for updates.

"One of our goals this season was to get to the final site, and I'm very proud of what our team has accomplished so far to get here," fourth-year head coach Matt Roberts said. "It's awesome to be here in Winston-Salem and we are ready to take the courts on Friday against a very good Texas team."

The winner moves on to take on either third-seeded Ohio State or 34th-ranked Minnesota, who play at the same time on Friday, in the national quarterfinals on Sunday at Noon ET. MSU will be looking to advance to the NCAA quarters for the first time since 1998 when State reached the national semifinals.

State reached the Round of 16 by posting a pair of 4-0 shutouts this past weekend at home at the A.J. Pitts Tennis Centre, first against Tennessee Tech on May 11 and following that up a day later with a near-identical win against South Alabama. Giovanni Oradini clinched both matches for the Bulldogs, with Niclas Braun and Trevor Foshey also earning singles victories in both matches.

MSU In The ITA Rankings…

In the most latest Intercollegiate Tennis Association team rankings released on May 3, MSU jumped back up to No. 7 nationally. Five Bulldogs made the cut in the most recent singles and doubles rankings. In singles, two-time All-American and SEC Player of the Year Nuno Borges remained at No. 2 in the nation, tying his career-best, while earning the No. 3 seed in the 2018 NCAA Singles Championship. Sophomore Giovanni Oradini is ranked 23rd nationally, while junior Strahinja Rakic is ranked No. 84 in the country. In doubles, a trio of Bulldog duos grace the rankings, led by Borges and Rakic now in the nation's top spot, making them the ninth and 10th Bulldogs (men or women) to earn a No. 1 ranking in singles or doubles. Rakic also earned All-America status when he and Borges grabbed the No. 1 seed in this year's NCAA Doubles Championship. The dynamic duo of Niclas Braun and Oradini are up 23 spots to No. 38, while Braun and Trevor Foshey sit at 87th nationally.

About Texas…

The Longhorns are entering the Round of 16 for the fifth consecutive season after blanking both Bryant and No. 34 Cal in the First and Second Rounds in Austin. UT enters the match riding a five-match win streak and has won seven of its last eight outings, capturing the Big 12 tournament title after finishing second in the league in the regular season.

Texas boasts five ranked singles players, led by Yuya Ito at 52nd nationally. Harrison Scott comes in at the No. 89 spot, followed at 93rd by Leonardo Telles. Rodrigo Banzer and Christian Sigsgaard round out the ranked Longhorns in singles at 104th and 110th, respectively.

Banzer and Telles pair up to form the nation's 12th-ranked doubles tandem, while Scott and Sigsgaard are ranked No. 39.

Tickets

Tickets for the 2018 NCAA Tennis Championships can be purchased through the Wake Forest ticket office.

Live Video/Stats

All matches at the Wake Forest Tennis Complex will feature live scoringand live video. In the event matches are played indoors at UNC, live scoringand live videoare also available.

What To Note As MSU Faces Texas…

MSU is in its 94th season of tennis, with Matt Roberts in his fourth season at the helm.
State is a top 16 national seed for the first time since 2013; its No. 6 NCAA seeding is the program's highest since being No. 4 in 1998.
The Bulldogs and Longhorns have met seven times in total, with Texas holding a 4-3 advantage in the series. All but two of the matches have come in neutral site matches. The last meeting between the teams came in the 2014 NCAA Second Round in Austin, with the homestanding Longhorns coming away with a 4-1 win.
State is one of a nation-best five SEC teams in the Round of 16.
Under Roberts in the NCAA Championship, the Bulldogs are 6-3 in four trips. In total, the Bulldogs are making their 27th appearance in the team championship, their eighth in a row and 23^rdin the last 28 years.
When the Bulldogs have won doubles in 2018, they are 17-2 and have won 18 of the last 20 doubles points.
Top-ranked Nuno Borges and Strahinja Rakic have won eight of their last 10 matches as a tandem.
Niclas Braun and Giovanni Oradini have won 16 of their last 17 doubles matches.
Borges has won six of his last eight matches, while also leading the team with 19 ranked singles wins.
Florian Broska has won three straight, including a stellar 10 of his last 11.
Oradini has won four in a row in singles, and 11 of his last 13.
Trevor Foshey has won three in a row and five of his last six.
Three Bulldogs earned bids to the upcoming NCAA Singles and Doubles Championships—Borges (singles and doubles automatic), Rakic (doubles w/ Borges automatic) and Oradini (singles at-large)

Next Up For MSU…

Should the Bulldogs advance, they will face one of two teams out of the Big Ten—either third-ranked Ohio State (31-2) or 34th-ranked Minnesota (17-8), who will also take the court at Noon ET on Friday.

For more information on the Mississippi State men's tennis program, follow "HailStateMT" on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

No. 7 Bulldogs Set To Battle No. 12 Longhorns In NCAA Round of 16

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Nuno Borges

Niclas Braun

Florian Broska

Trevor Foshey

Giovanni Oradini

Strahinja Rakic

Mississippi State University Athletics

No. 7 Bulldogs Set To Battle No. 12 Longhorns In NCAA Round of 16

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Nuno Borges

Niclas Braun

Florian Broska

Trevor Foshey

Giovanni Oradini

Strahinja Rakic

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