Friday, February 15
Chicago, Ill. (Midtown Athletic Club)
9:00 AM
Mississippi State
1
vs
4
TCU
Nuno Borges and Strahinja Rakic helped No. 3 Mississippi State extend its doubles point streak to an NCAA-best 18 matches on Friday.
Photo by: Trevor Birchett/MSU Athletics
No. 3 MSU Drops 4-1 Decision To No. 15 TCU In ITA National Indoor Opener
February 15, 2019 | Men's Tennis
by Caleb Garner, Graduate Assistant/Communications
CHICAGO – Despite extending its NCAA-leading doubles point streak to 18 matches, the No. 3 Mississippi State men's tennis team dropped a tough 4-1 decision to No. 15 TCU in the opening round of the 2019 ITA National Team Indoor Championship Friday morning.
The Bulldogs (6-1) notched a pair of hard-fought victories in doubles action to earn a quick 1-0 lead, but the Horned Frogs (5-2) surged back to take all six first sets in singles and go on to earn the win at the Midtown Athletic Club.
"TCU played great," head coach Matt Roberts said. "We got outplayed in singles today. We were exposed with our service games indoors, and TCU came after us. They served big and transitioned well. We fought well, it's what we do best—we battle and we fight. We feel good as a team. We're a close-knit group and we just have to get cleaner indoors. We have to play bigger and hold serve."
State's duo of Trevor Foshey and Gregor Ramskogler gave MSU a quick advantage in doubles action, taking a 6-2 victory over TCU's Luc Fomba and Sander Jong on court 3. The Horned Frogs evened up the doubles count shortly after on court 2, with No. 48 Bertus Kruger and Reese Stalder posting a 6-3 win against MSU's sixth-ranked Niclas Braun and Giovanni Oradini, setting up an exciting finish on court 1.
There, a tight battle waged between MSU's No. 34 Nuno Borges and Strahinja Rakic and TCU's Alastair Gray and Alex Rybakov, with both sides holding serve effectively to force a match tiebreaker. In the breaker, Borges and Rakic stormed out of the gate to a 4-1 lead before Gray and Rybakov cut the lead to 4-3. The Bulldog duo fought right back to go up 6-4, before the Horned Frog pair made it 6-5. Then, State's tandem buckled down, breaking at 6-5 to take the match and keep MSU's doubles point streak alive at a nation-leading 18 matches dating back to the 2018 campaign.
"I'm really happy with our doubles," Roberts said. "I loved how we fought in doubles today. Nuno and Strahinja were clutch in closing out the breaker."
TCU would respond quite strongly in singles, however, taking all six first sets.
The Horned Frogs knotted things up at 1-all when Stalder earned a 6-1, 6-4 victory against Rakic on court 3. Moments later, Jong replicated Stalder's outcome with an identical score against MSU's Florian Broska on court 6 to put TCU up 2-1.
Kruger, ranked 83rd nationally, put the Horned Frogs within striking distance of the win with a tight 7-5, 6-3 triumph against State's 64th-ranked Braun on court 4.
With second-set tiebreakers going on courts 1 and 5, TCU's Fomba finished first, taking a 6-4, 7-6(3) decision against the 98th-ranked Bulldog Foshey at No. 5 after Foshey had broken back at 5-4 down in the second set to force the breaker. The Horned Frogs' eighth-ranked Rybakov led No. 5 Borges 7-6(5), 6-6 (1-0) on court 1, while Gray and MSU's No. 66 Oradini were locked in a three-set battle on court 2 with Gray up 6-2, 3-6, 3-2 but Oradini up 40-love, when play was suspended.
"We'll get better," Roberts said. "We need matches indoors, we need these situations and we need to be pushed. Tomorrow's a great day for us to get better and learn from it."
Next Up For MSU …
The Bulldogs will return to the courts at the Midtown Athletic Club at 9 a.m. Saturday, taking on No. 9 Baylor in the first match of the consolation draw. The Bears, seeded 10th, fell 4-0 to No. 8 North Carolina on Friday in their tourney opener.
For more information on the Mississippi State men's tennis program, follow "HailStateMT" on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
No. 15 TCU 4, No. 3 Mississippi State 1
February 15, 2019
Midtown Athletic Club – Chicago, Illinois
Doubles
1. #34 Nuno Borges/Strahinja Rakic (MSU) def. Alastair Gray/Alex Rybakov (TCU) 7-6(5)
2. #48 Bertus Kruger/Reese Stalder (TCU) def. #6 Niclas Braun/Giovanni Oradini (MSU) 6-3
3. Trevor Foshey/Gregor Ramskogler (MSU) def. Luc Fomba/Sander Jong (TCU) 6-2
Order of finish: 3,2,1
Singles
1. #8 Alex Rybakov (TCU) vs. #5 Nuno Borges (MSU) 7-6(5), 6-6 (1-0) (susp.)
2. #66 Giovanni Oradini (MSU) vs. #75 Alastair Gray (TCU) 2-6, 6-3, 2-3 (susp.)
3. Reese Stalder (TCU) def. Strahinja Rakic (MSU) 6-4, 6-1
4. #83 Bertus Kruger (TCU) def. #64 Niclas Braun (MSU) 7-5, 6-3
5. Luc Fomba (TCU) def. #98 Trevor Foshey (MSU) 6-4, 7-6(3)
6. Sander Jong (TCU) def. Florian Broska (MSU) 6-1, 6-4
Order of finish: 3,6,4,5
CHICAGO – Despite extending its NCAA-leading doubles point streak to 18 matches, the No. 3 Mississippi State men's tennis team dropped a tough 4-1 decision to No. 15 TCU in the opening round of the 2019 ITA National Team Indoor Championship Friday morning.
The Bulldogs (6-1) notched a pair of hard-fought victories in doubles action to earn a quick 1-0 lead, but the Horned Frogs (5-2) surged back to take all six first sets in singles and go on to earn the win at the Midtown Athletic Club.
"TCU played great," head coach Matt Roberts said. "We got outplayed in singles today. We were exposed with our service games indoors, and TCU came after us. They served big and transitioned well. We fought well, it's what we do best—we battle and we fight. We feel good as a team. We're a close-knit group and we just have to get cleaner indoors. We have to play bigger and hold serve."
State's duo of Trevor Foshey and Gregor Ramskogler gave MSU a quick advantage in doubles action, taking a 6-2 victory over TCU's Luc Fomba and Sander Jong on court 3. The Horned Frogs evened up the doubles count shortly after on court 2, with No. 48 Bertus Kruger and Reese Stalder posting a 6-3 win against MSU's sixth-ranked Niclas Braun and Giovanni Oradini, setting up an exciting finish on court 1.
There, a tight battle waged between MSU's No. 34 Nuno Borges and Strahinja Rakic and TCU's Alastair Gray and Alex Rybakov, with both sides holding serve effectively to force a match tiebreaker. In the breaker, Borges and Rakic stormed out of the gate to a 4-1 lead before Gray and Rybakov cut the lead to 4-3. The Bulldog duo fought right back to go up 6-4, before the Horned Frog pair made it 6-5. Then, State's tandem buckled down, breaking at 6-5 to take the match and keep MSU's doubles point streak alive at a nation-leading 18 matches dating back to the 2018 campaign.
"I'm really happy with our doubles," Roberts said. "I loved how we fought in doubles today. Nuno and Strahinja were clutch in closing out the breaker."
TCU would respond quite strongly in singles, however, taking all six first sets.
The Horned Frogs knotted things up at 1-all when Stalder earned a 6-1, 6-4 victory against Rakic on court 3. Moments later, Jong replicated Stalder's outcome with an identical score against MSU's Florian Broska on court 6 to put TCU up 2-1.
Kruger, ranked 83rd nationally, put the Horned Frogs within striking distance of the win with a tight 7-5, 6-3 triumph against State's 64th-ranked Braun on court 4.
With second-set tiebreakers going on courts 1 and 5, TCU's Fomba finished first, taking a 6-4, 7-6(3) decision against the 98th-ranked Bulldog Foshey at No. 5 after Foshey had broken back at 5-4 down in the second set to force the breaker. The Horned Frogs' eighth-ranked Rybakov led No. 5 Borges 7-6(5), 6-6 (1-0) on court 1, while Gray and MSU's No. 66 Oradini were locked in a three-set battle on court 2 with Gray up 6-2, 3-6, 3-2 but Oradini up 40-love, when play was suspended.
"We'll get better," Roberts said. "We need matches indoors, we need these situations and we need to be pushed. Tomorrow's a great day for us to get better and learn from it."
Next Up For MSU …
The Bulldogs will return to the courts at the Midtown Athletic Club at 9 a.m. Saturday, taking on No. 9 Baylor in the first match of the consolation draw. The Bears, seeded 10th, fell 4-0 to No. 8 North Carolina on Friday in their tourney opener.
For more information on the Mississippi State men's tennis program, follow "HailStateMT" on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
No. 15 TCU 4, No. 3 Mississippi State 1
February 15, 2019
Midtown Athletic Club – Chicago, Illinois
Doubles
1. #34 Nuno Borges/Strahinja Rakic (MSU) def. Alastair Gray/Alex Rybakov (TCU) 7-6(5)
2. #48 Bertus Kruger/Reese Stalder (TCU) def. #6 Niclas Braun/Giovanni Oradini (MSU) 6-3
3. Trevor Foshey/Gregor Ramskogler (MSU) def. Luc Fomba/Sander Jong (TCU) 6-2
Order of finish: 3,2,1
Singles
1. #8 Alex Rybakov (TCU) vs. #5 Nuno Borges (MSU) 7-6(5), 6-6 (1-0) (susp.)
2. #66 Giovanni Oradini (MSU) vs. #75 Alastair Gray (TCU) 2-6, 6-3, 2-3 (susp.)
3. Reese Stalder (TCU) def. Strahinja Rakic (MSU) 6-4, 6-1
4. #83 Bertus Kruger (TCU) def. #64 Niclas Braun (MSU) 7-5, 6-3
5. Luc Fomba (TCU) def. #98 Trevor Foshey (MSU) 6-4, 7-6(3)
6. Sander Jong (TCU) def. Florian Broska (MSU) 6-1, 6-4
Order of finish: 3,6,4,5
Players Mentioned
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
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