Head Coach Matt Roberts, Nuno Borges and Florian Broska all earned ITA Southern Regional awards on Monday.
Roberts Named ITA Southern Region Coach Of The Year; Borges, Broska Also Honored
May 21, 2018 | Men's Tennis
STARKVILLE, Miss. – After leading the Mississippi State men's tennis team to its best record since 1979, a trio of Bulldogs have earned Intercollegiate Tennis Association Regional Awards, announced by the organization on Monday.
Fourth-year head coach Matt Roberts led the charge, being named ITA Southern Region Coach of the Year for the second year in a row after guiding the Maroon and White to a stellar 23-3 mark that included State's first Southeastern Conference tournament title since 1996 and its first trip to the NCAA quarterfinals since 1998.
Roberts was also named SEC Coach of the Year earlier this month after leading the Bulldogs to the conference tournament crown. Overall, he is 82-29 in his four seasons at the helm. His 82 wins rank fourth all-time at MSU, while his 73.9 winning percentage ranks second in program history.
"It's an honor to receive this award, as there are many outstanding coaches in the Southern Region," Roberts said. "This is a great honor to receive as a coach. I feel blessed to have the opportunity to build our players into better men as a coach and mentor at Mississippi State. The guys are committed to each other and our program values and their hard work has been rewarded with their incredible season. Hail State!"
Singles and doubles All-American Nuno Borges was also honored for his outstanding work on and off the court, earning the Southern Region's Arthur Ashe, Jr. Leadership and Sportsmanship Award. The two-time SEC Player of the Year and 2018 Scholar-Athlete of the Year becomes the fourth Bulldog to earn the regional award and the first since Romain Ambert in 2003.
The second-ranked Borges enters this week's NCAA Singles Championship as the No. 3 overall seed, while partnering up with Strahinja Rakic to form the top-seeded tandem in the doubles draw as well.
To round out the list of Bulldogs earning regional awards, MSU rookie Florian Broska was named ITA Southern Region Rookie of the Year after a stellar first season on campus. Broska tallied 20 wins overall in 2017-18, with 13 of his 14 dual match wins coming at the No. 5 singles spot. He was named to the All-SEC Freshman Team after going 8-2 in league action.
"I'm very proud of all that we have accomplished on and off the court this season," Roberts added. "Nuno is a textbook example of what it takes to be a student-athlete at MSU, while Florian has been an outstanding addition for us in singles and doubles. I'm very proud of them and all of our players for all of their hard work this season."
The ITA's national award winners in each category will be announced this week.
Up Next For MSU…
The Bulldogs now set their sights on the 2018 NCAA Individual Championships in Winston-Salem, N.C., with Borges and sophomore Giovanni Oradini opening up play Wednesday in the singles championship. Borges and Rakic are set to open up the doubles draw Thursday.
For more information on the Mississippi State men's tennis program, follow "HailStateMT" on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
Fourth-year head coach Matt Roberts led the charge, being named ITA Southern Region Coach of the Year for the second year in a row after guiding the Maroon and White to a stellar 23-3 mark that included State's first Southeastern Conference tournament title since 1996 and its first trip to the NCAA quarterfinals since 1998.
Roberts was also named SEC Coach of the Year earlier this month after leading the Bulldogs to the conference tournament crown. Overall, he is 82-29 in his four seasons at the helm. His 82 wins rank fourth all-time at MSU, while his 73.9 winning percentage ranks second in program history.
"It's an honor to receive this award, as there are many outstanding coaches in the Southern Region," Roberts said. "This is a great honor to receive as a coach. I feel blessed to have the opportunity to build our players into better men as a coach and mentor at Mississippi State. The guys are committed to each other and our program values and their hard work has been rewarded with their incredible season. Hail State!"
Singles and doubles All-American Nuno Borges was also honored for his outstanding work on and off the court, earning the Southern Region's Arthur Ashe, Jr. Leadership and Sportsmanship Award. The two-time SEC Player of the Year and 2018 Scholar-Athlete of the Year becomes the fourth Bulldog to earn the regional award and the first since Romain Ambert in 2003.
The second-ranked Borges enters this week's NCAA Singles Championship as the No. 3 overall seed, while partnering up with Strahinja Rakic to form the top-seeded tandem in the doubles draw as well.
To round out the list of Bulldogs earning regional awards, MSU rookie Florian Broska was named ITA Southern Region Rookie of the Year after a stellar first season on campus. Broska tallied 20 wins overall in 2017-18, with 13 of his 14 dual match wins coming at the No. 5 singles spot. He was named to the All-SEC Freshman Team after going 8-2 in league action.
"I'm very proud of all that we have accomplished on and off the court this season," Roberts added. "Nuno is a textbook example of what it takes to be a student-athlete at MSU, while Florian has been an outstanding addition for us in singles and doubles. I'm very proud of them and all of our players for all of their hard work this season."
The ITA's national award winners in each category will be announced this week.
Up Next For MSU…
The Bulldogs now set their sights on the 2018 NCAA Individual Championships in Winston-Salem, N.C., with Borges and sophomore Giovanni Oradini opening up play Wednesday in the singles championship. Borges and Rakic are set to open up the doubles draw Thursday.
For more information on the Mississippi State men's tennis program, follow "HailStateMT" on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
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