No. 3 Bulldogs Battle No. 15 TCU At ITA National Team Indoors

by Caleb Garner, Graduate Assistant/Communications

STARKVILLE – Riding a six-match winning streak to open a season for the first time since 2014, the No. 3 Mississippi State men's tennis team is set for its second appearance in three seasons at the 2019 ITA National Team Indoor Championship.

The second-seeded Bulldogs (6-0) are making their 12^th total appearance in the event all-time and open up action at 9 a.m. Friday against No. 15 TCU (4-2) at the Midtown Athletic Club in Chicago, Illinois. All 16 teams in the field are guaranteed at least three matches in the event which culminates with the championship match on Monday.

"Our four seniors have worked their tails off for a chance to play in this amazing event," head coach Matt Roberts said. "We have a great opportunity this weekend to continue growing as a team and play against the best teams in the country. TCU is an outstanding team that always competes for championships in the Big 12 and is consistently in the top 16 in the nation every year. They're going to give us a great challenge, and I know our guys are excited and ready for it."

MSU In The Oracle ITA Rankings …
The Bulldogs are currently ranked third nationally—matching the program's highest ranking ever and the highest since 1999. In the ITA national singles rankings, two-time All-American Nuno Borges leads four State players at No. 5 in the nation. Niclas Braun (career-best No. 64), Giovanni Oradini (No. 66) and Trevor Foshey (No. 98) round out MSU's current ranked singles players. State boasts a pair of ranked doubles tandems in sixth-ranked Braun and Giovanni Oradini and No. 34 Borges and Strahinja Rakic.

Know The Foe: TCU
TCU enters Friday's match having won four of its last five matches, most recently dropping a very close 4-3 decision to No. 4 Florida in Fort Worth. Against the Gators, the Horned Frogs held a 3-1 lead before UF stormed back to take the victory. TCU boasts three ranked singles players, led by eighth-ranked Alex Rybakov, who is 3-1 this season at the No. 1 position. No. 75 Alastair Gray and No. 83 Bertus Kruger round out the ranked Horned Frogs in singles. Kruger teams up with Reese Stalder to form TCU's lone ranked doubles tandem, coming at 48^th nationally.

Need To Know …

Mississippi State is playing its 95^th season of men's tennis, with Matt Roberts in his fifth season at the helm.
State has started 6-0 for the first time since 2014.
The Bulldogs are making their second appearance in three seasons at the ITA National Team Indoor Championship – the program's 12^th all-time.
MSU's No. 3 national ranking last week matches its highest in program history and marks the 14^th straight week the Bulldogs appeared in the top 25 of the Oracle ITA Rankings.
The Bulldogs hold a 3-2 lead in the series against TCU (since 1969), having won three in a row. The last meeting was in 2012 in Starkville.
State has won 17 straight doubles points dating back to 2018, a mark that leads the Southeastern Conference and is the best among all current top 25 teams.
Nuno Borges is currently sixth all-time at MSU in career singles wins (96) and dual match singles wins (61).
Borges and Strahinja Rakic are third all-time in career doubles pairing wins (42).
Niclas Braun is currently seventh in career doubles wins (76) at MSU.

Live Scoring/Video
Live scoring will be available for all matches at National Indoors, while live video will be available on three to four courts during every match. For draws and other information regarding the event, visit the ITA's tournament headquarters.

Last Time Out For MSU …
On Feb. 9, the Bulldogs picked up a strong top-20 win in Lubbock, Texas, against No. 19 Tulane, who is also playing in this weekend's National Indoors. State started out by winning its 17^th straight doubles point in a tight battle. Sixth-ranked Braun and Oradini notched a 6-4 victory at No. 2 against Tim Ruetzel and Hamish Stewart to set up a dramatic 7-6(1) triumph on court 3 by undefeated Bulldogs Foshey and Ramskogler. In singles, the fifth-ranked Borges built MSU's lead to 2-0 before No. 66 Oradini made it 3-0. The Green Wave then earned its lone point with a tough, three-set win on court 3 against Rakic. With the match still hanging in the balance, 64^th-ranked senior Niclas Braun battled back from a set down to take a 6-7(3), 6-4, 6-2 match-clinching victory.

Next Up For MSU …
After taking on TCU, the Bulldogs will return to the court Saturday at 9 a.m. to take on either No. 8 North Carolina, seeded seventh, or No. 9 Baylor, who is seeded 10^th.

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

Mississippi State University Athletics

No. 3 Bulldogs Battle No. 15 TCU At ITA National Team Indoors

Players Mentioned

Nuno Borges

Niclas Braun

Trevor Foshey

Giovanni Oradini

Strahinja Rakic

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