Sunday, March 10
Gainesville, Fla.
12:00 PM
Mississippi State
2
at
5
Florida
MSU's Nuno Borges continued his climb up the career win charts at MSU on Sunday at No. 9 Florida.
Photo by: Blake Williams/MSU Athletics
No. 10 MSU Drops Tough 5-2 Decision At No. 9 Florida
March 10, 2019 | Men's Tennis
by Caleb Garner, Graduate Assistant/Communications
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – On a warm Sunday afternoon, No. 10 Mississippi State held an early 1-0 lead against No. 9 Florida, but could not quite hold on, dropping a hard-fought 5-2 decision in men's tennis to the Gators at the Alfred A. Ring Tennis Complex.
The Bulldogs (10-3, 2-1 SEC) started the match like it had nearly every time this season – by taking the doubles point. However, UF (9-2, 3-0) rattled off five singles victories to offset the deficit and take the victory.
"Our guys competed their tails off today and I'm proud of how we gave ourselves very good chances down the stretch," head coach Matt Roberts said. "We had momentum on a few singles courts with the doubles point in hand, and needed to close out those sets if we were going to upset Florida on their courts."
In a tightly-contested doubles point, the homestanding Gators earned an early advantage when Oliver Crawford and Sam Riffice upended State's Trevor Foshey and Gregor Ramskogler by a 6-1 margin on court 3. The Bulldogs' seventh-ranked tandem of Nuno Borges and Strahinja Rakic posted a 6-3 victory on court 1 to even things up and put all eyes on court 2 to decide the doubles point. Borges and Rakic's triumph moved them into first place all-time at MSU in career wins by a doubles pair with 48.
On court 2, MSU's third-ranked duo of Niclas Braun and Giovanni Oradini handled the service game of UF's Johannes Ingildsen and Alfredo Perez quite well down the stretch. Down 3-2, Braun and Oradini won the final four games to take a 6-3 victory and give the Bulldogs a 1-0 lead going into singles. MSU has now won six straight doubles points and has done so in 24 of its last 25 outings, including its match at South Carolina, which is slated to resume on Monday.
The Gators responded strongly in singles, tallying five first sets before knotting the score up at 1-all when Lucas Greif took a 6-0, 6-3 decision against MSU's Foshey on court 5. On court 3, UF's Riffice posted the same outcome, downing Rakic 6-0, 6-3 to put the Gators up 2-1.
Andy Andrade, ranked 54th nationally, then made it 3-1 Florida when he claimed a tight 6-4, 7-5 affair against MSU's 102nd-ranked Oradini on court 2.
MSU's second point came when the third-ranked Bulldog Borges notched a tough 6-4, 7-6(1) triumph over the 24th-ranked Gator Crawford at the No. 1 position. Borges broke Crawford early in the first frame and held on to take the set, but the second set was much tighter with both sides holding serve effectively. In the second-set tiebreaker, Borges stormed out of the gate, winning the first five points and cruised to a 7-1 win in the breaker to take the match. The two-time SEC Player of the Year Borges remained perfect (11-0) in dual matches this spring while extending his overall singles win streak to 12 contests.
The win moved Borges into the MSU top 10 in career wins, where he is tied with Matt Pledger (1994-97) for ninth all-time with 162. In dual match singles wins, Borges now holds sole possession of second place in the record books (67), passing Mark Thompson (1977-80). He also is now tied with Artem Ilyushin (2009-12) for ninth in career dual match doubles victories (47).
Florida's No. 79 Ingildsen would clinch the win for the Gators in an exciting three-setter on court 4, battling back from a break down in the third set to take a 6-2, 3-6, 6-4 decision over MSU's Braun.
On court 6, Florida's Duarte Vale closed out the match by taking a three-set affair from State's Florian Broska 7-5, 4-6, 6-1.
"Florida plays very well at home with the conditions there and we made some great mid-match adjustments today," Roberts said. "We just didn't take our chances when we needed to. We have a resilient group of young men that play so hard for each other and for MSU. This match will only make us better and we look forward to going back to South Carolina to finish our match tomorrow."
Next Up For MSU …
MSU will return to Columbia, South Carolina, to resume its match against the Gamecocks (11-2, 1-1), which was suspended on Friday, and again Saturday, due to persistent rain and wet courts at the Carolina Tennis Center. The continuation of the match is set for Noon CT on Monday in Columbia, with MSU leading 1-0 midway through singles.
For more information on the Mississippi State men's tennis program, follow "HailStateMT" on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
No. 9 Florida 5, No. 10 Mississippi State 2
March 10, 2019
Alfred A. Ring Tennis Complex – Gainesville, Fla.
Doubles
1. #7 Nuno Borges/Strahinja Rakic (MSU) def. #73 McClain Kessler/Duarte Vale (UF) 6-3
2. #3 Niclas Braun/Giovanni Oradini (MSU) def. Johannes Ingildsen/Alfredo Perez (UF) 6-3
3. Oliver Crawford/Sam Riffice (UF) def. Trevor Foshey/Gregor Ramskogler (MSU) 6-1
Order of finish: 3,1,2
Singles
1. #3 Nuno Borges (MSU) def. #24 Oliver Crawford (UF) 6-4, 7-6(1)
2. #54 Andy Andrade (UF) def. #102 Giovanni Oradini (MSU) 6-4, 7-5
3. #48 Sam Riffice (UF) def. Strahinja Rakic (MSU) 6-0, 6-3
4. #79 Johannes Ingildsen (UF) def. Niclas Braun (MSU) 6-2, 3-6, 6-4
5. Lucas Greif (UF) def. Trevor Foshey (MSU) 6-0, 6-3
6. Duarte Vale (UF) def. Florian Broska (MSU) 7-5, 4-6, 6-1
Order of finish: 5,3,2,4,1,6
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – On a warm Sunday afternoon, No. 10 Mississippi State held an early 1-0 lead against No. 9 Florida, but could not quite hold on, dropping a hard-fought 5-2 decision in men's tennis to the Gators at the Alfred A. Ring Tennis Complex.
The Bulldogs (10-3, 2-1 SEC) started the match like it had nearly every time this season – by taking the doubles point. However, UF (9-2, 3-0) rattled off five singles victories to offset the deficit and take the victory.
"Our guys competed their tails off today and I'm proud of how we gave ourselves very good chances down the stretch," head coach Matt Roberts said. "We had momentum on a few singles courts with the doubles point in hand, and needed to close out those sets if we were going to upset Florida on their courts."
In a tightly-contested doubles point, the homestanding Gators earned an early advantage when Oliver Crawford and Sam Riffice upended State's Trevor Foshey and Gregor Ramskogler by a 6-1 margin on court 3. The Bulldogs' seventh-ranked tandem of Nuno Borges and Strahinja Rakic posted a 6-3 victory on court 1 to even things up and put all eyes on court 2 to decide the doubles point. Borges and Rakic's triumph moved them into first place all-time at MSU in career wins by a doubles pair with 48.
On court 2, MSU's third-ranked duo of Niclas Braun and Giovanni Oradini handled the service game of UF's Johannes Ingildsen and Alfredo Perez quite well down the stretch. Down 3-2, Braun and Oradini won the final four games to take a 6-3 victory and give the Bulldogs a 1-0 lead going into singles. MSU has now won six straight doubles points and has done so in 24 of its last 25 outings, including its match at South Carolina, which is slated to resume on Monday.
The Gators responded strongly in singles, tallying five first sets before knotting the score up at 1-all when Lucas Greif took a 6-0, 6-3 decision against MSU's Foshey on court 5. On court 3, UF's Riffice posted the same outcome, downing Rakic 6-0, 6-3 to put the Gators up 2-1.
Andy Andrade, ranked 54th nationally, then made it 3-1 Florida when he claimed a tight 6-4, 7-5 affair against MSU's 102nd-ranked Oradini on court 2.
MSU's second point came when the third-ranked Bulldog Borges notched a tough 6-4, 7-6(1) triumph over the 24th-ranked Gator Crawford at the No. 1 position. Borges broke Crawford early in the first frame and held on to take the set, but the second set was much tighter with both sides holding serve effectively. In the second-set tiebreaker, Borges stormed out of the gate, winning the first five points and cruised to a 7-1 win in the breaker to take the match. The two-time SEC Player of the Year Borges remained perfect (11-0) in dual matches this spring while extending his overall singles win streak to 12 contests.
The win moved Borges into the MSU top 10 in career wins, where he is tied with Matt Pledger (1994-97) for ninth all-time with 162. In dual match singles wins, Borges now holds sole possession of second place in the record books (67), passing Mark Thompson (1977-80). He also is now tied with Artem Ilyushin (2009-12) for ninth in career dual match doubles victories (47).
Florida's No. 79 Ingildsen would clinch the win for the Gators in an exciting three-setter on court 4, battling back from a break down in the third set to take a 6-2, 3-6, 6-4 decision over MSU's Braun.
On court 6, Florida's Duarte Vale closed out the match by taking a three-set affair from State's Florian Broska 7-5, 4-6, 6-1.
"Florida plays very well at home with the conditions there and we made some great mid-match adjustments today," Roberts said. "We just didn't take our chances when we needed to. We have a resilient group of young men that play so hard for each other and for MSU. This match will only make us better and we look forward to going back to South Carolina to finish our match tomorrow."
Next Up For MSU …
MSU will return to Columbia, South Carolina, to resume its match against the Gamecocks (11-2, 1-1), which was suspended on Friday, and again Saturday, due to persistent rain and wet courts at the Carolina Tennis Center. The continuation of the match is set for Noon CT on Monday in Columbia, with MSU leading 1-0 midway through singles.
For more information on the Mississippi State men's tennis program, follow "HailStateMT" on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
No. 9 Florida 5, No. 10 Mississippi State 2
March 10, 2019
Alfred A. Ring Tennis Complex – Gainesville, Fla.
Doubles
1. #7 Nuno Borges/Strahinja Rakic (MSU) def. #73 McClain Kessler/Duarte Vale (UF) 6-3
2. #3 Niclas Braun/Giovanni Oradini (MSU) def. Johannes Ingildsen/Alfredo Perez (UF) 6-3
3. Oliver Crawford/Sam Riffice (UF) def. Trevor Foshey/Gregor Ramskogler (MSU) 6-1
Order of finish: 3,1,2
Singles
1. #3 Nuno Borges (MSU) def. #24 Oliver Crawford (UF) 6-4, 7-6(1)
2. #54 Andy Andrade (UF) def. #102 Giovanni Oradini (MSU) 6-4, 7-5
3. #48 Sam Riffice (UF) def. Strahinja Rakic (MSU) 6-0, 6-3
4. #79 Johannes Ingildsen (UF) def. Niclas Braun (MSU) 6-2, 3-6, 6-4
5. Lucas Greif (UF) def. Trevor Foshey (MSU) 6-0, 6-3
6. Duarte Vale (UF) def. Florian Broska (MSU) 7-5, 4-6, 6-1
Order of finish: 5,3,2,4,1,6
Players Mentioned
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