Monday, March 11
Columbia, S.C.
12:00 PM
Mississippi State
4
at
3
South Carolina (conclusion)
Niclas Braun clinched No. 10 Mississippi State's 4-3 victory on Monday at No. 29 South Carolina.
Photo by: Trevor Birchett/MSU Athletics
Braun’s Tiebreak Win Lifts No. 10 Bulldogs Over No. 29 South Carolina 4-3 In Columbia
March 11, 2019 | Men's Tennis
by Caleb Garner, Graduate Assistant/Communications
COLUMBIA, S.C. – Over 70 hours of delay was not enough to keep No. 10 Mississippi State out of the win column on Monday, as the Bulldogs posted a dramatic 4-3 victory at No. 29 South Carolina in a match that began Friday afternoon at the Carolina Tennis Center.
MSU (11-3, 3-1 SEC) opened the day with a 1-0 lead after clinching doubles on Friday, but persistent rain on Friday led to a first delay and wet courts on Saturday yet another suspension, forcing the continuation of the match to be rescheduled until Monday. After trailing 3-1, USC (11-3, 1-2) pushed the Bulldogs to the brink, tying up the match at 3-all with the deciding court 4 in the heat of a third-set tiebreaker at that point. There, Bulldog senior Niclas Braun had broken serve to force the tiebreaker and then took it 7-4 to clinch the win in exciting fashion for State.
"I'm really proud of them for handling this adversity all weekend and finishing off a great match today," head coach Matt Roberts said. "They stayed positive and stayed a team through it all. I'm really proud of how they competed today and how gritty they were. They trusted each other and believed in each other, and they got it done. This weekend made us tougher and I'm proud of our team for staying positive and enjoying the challenge."
In the Friday action that was completed, South Carolina struck first in doubles on court 1 when the Gamecock duo of Paul Jubb and Raphael Lambling took a 6-2 decision over State's seventh-ranked pair of Nuno Borges and Strahinja Rakic. State then evened it up shortly thereafter when sixth-ranked Bulldogs Braun and Giovanni Oradini notched a 6-2 victory of their own, downing USC's Jake Beasley and Joseph Brailovsky on court 2.
The point-clincher – which would prove to be huge on Monday - came on court 3, when MSU's duo of Trevor Foshey and Gregor Ramskogler posted a 6-4 triumph over the Gamecocks' pair of Beau Pelletier and Daniel Rodrigues (breaking the final game of the match) to give State the 1-0 lead. Including MSU's doubles victory at Florida on Sunday, the Bulldogs have now won six straight, and 24 of their last 25, doubles points.
Friday's action was halted midway through singles, with both teams each holding a set advantage on a pair of courts and two others still very tight in first sets.
When play was resumed Monday, MSU upped its lead to 2-0 when the senior Foshey earned a straight-set win on court 5 over Pelletier, winning 6-2, 6-4. The Gamecocks would cut that lead in half, however, when Beasley downed State's Florian Broska 7-5, 6-3 at No. 6.
The Bulldogs moved ahead 3-1 when third-ranked All-American Nuno Borges increased his current singles winning streak to 13 matches with a very pivotal 4-6, 6-1, 7-6(6) triumph over 12th-ranked Paul Jubb. Down a set when play stopped Friday, Borges cruised past Jubb in the second 6-1 on Monday to force a third, where he went up a break early in the frame. Jubb then broke Borges to make it 5-all and held to go up 6-5. Borges then held to force the tiebreaker, where he went up 5-2 before Jubb won four straight points to go up 6-5 and serve for the match (trying to even the team match at 2-2). But Borges staved off that match point, taking the final three points, capped by a strong forehand winner to put his team in position to clinch the match with three courts still in action in the third set.
The two-time SEC Player of the Year Borges remained perfect (12-0) in dual matches this spring and is now tied with Bulldog great Thomas Dupré (1995-98) for third all-time in career singles wins (103) at MSU.
USC made it 3-2 when Lambling took a 5-7, 7-5, 6-0 decision from MSU's Rakic on court 3 before the Gamecocks knotted the match at 3-3 with a tight, three-set triumph on court 2 by No. 88 Rodrigues over MSU's 102nd-ranked Oradini. That put all eyes on court 4 to decide who was going to come away victorious.
There, Braun and Brailovsky were locked at a set apiece, with Braun up a break at 5-3. The Gamecock would respond by taking the next three games, serving for the match and the win at 6-5. Knotted at 30-all and down 6-5, Braun went on to break Brailovsky to force the match-clinching tiebreaker.
In the breaker, Braun was calm and collected and never trailed, going up 6-2. Brailovsky would fight back to cut the deficit to 6-4 serving, but the senior Bulldog smacked a forehand winner down the line to send his team home happy with a 4-3 victory.
MSU moved to 21-11 in the series against South Carolina and has won nine of the last 10 meetings, including three in a row.
Next Up For MSU …
The Bulldogs are slated to return to the A.J. Pitts Tennis Centre at 3 p.m. CT this Thursday, March 14, to host No. 17 Alabama. Admission is free to all home regular-season tennis matches at MSU.
For more information on the Mississippi State men's tennis program, follow "HailStateMT" on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
No. 10 Mississippi State 4, No. 29 South Carolina 3
March 11, 2019 (Cont. from 3/8)
Carolina Tennis Center – Columbia, S.C.
Doubles
1. Paul Jubb/Raphael Lambling (USC) def. #7 Nuno Borges/Strahinja Rakic (MSU) 6-2
2. #3 Niclas Braun/Giovanni Oradini (MSU) def. Jake Beasley/Joseph Brailovsky (USC) 6-2
3. Trevor Foshey/Gregor Ramskogler (MSU) def. Beau Pelletier/Daniel Rodrigues (USC) 6-4
Order of finish: 1,2,3
Singles
1. #3 Nuno Borges (MSU) def. #12 Paul Jubb (USC) 4-6, 6-1, 7-6(6)
2. #88 Daniel Rodrigues (USC) def. #102 Giovanni Oradini (MSU) 6-2, 3-6, 6-4
3. Raphael Lambling (USC) def. Strahinja Rakic (MSU) 5-7, 7-5, 6-0
4. Niclas Braun (MSU) def. Joseph Brailovsky (USC) 6-2, 2-6, 7-6(4)
5. Trevor Foshey (MSU) def. Beau Pelletier (USC) 6-2, 6-4
6. Jake Beasley (USC) def. Florian Broska (MSU) 7-5, 6-3
Order of finish: 5,6,1,3,2,4
COLUMBIA, S.C. – Over 70 hours of delay was not enough to keep No. 10 Mississippi State out of the win column on Monday, as the Bulldogs posted a dramatic 4-3 victory at No. 29 South Carolina in a match that began Friday afternoon at the Carolina Tennis Center.
MSU (11-3, 3-1 SEC) opened the day with a 1-0 lead after clinching doubles on Friday, but persistent rain on Friday led to a first delay and wet courts on Saturday yet another suspension, forcing the continuation of the match to be rescheduled until Monday. After trailing 3-1, USC (11-3, 1-2) pushed the Bulldogs to the brink, tying up the match at 3-all with the deciding court 4 in the heat of a third-set tiebreaker at that point. There, Bulldog senior Niclas Braun had broken serve to force the tiebreaker and then took it 7-4 to clinch the win in exciting fashion for State.
"I'm really proud of them for handling this adversity all weekend and finishing off a great match today," head coach Matt Roberts said. "They stayed positive and stayed a team through it all. I'm really proud of how they competed today and how gritty they were. They trusted each other and believed in each other, and they got it done. This weekend made us tougher and I'm proud of our team for staying positive and enjoying the challenge."
In the Friday action that was completed, South Carolina struck first in doubles on court 1 when the Gamecock duo of Paul Jubb and Raphael Lambling took a 6-2 decision over State's seventh-ranked pair of Nuno Borges and Strahinja Rakic. State then evened it up shortly thereafter when sixth-ranked Bulldogs Braun and Giovanni Oradini notched a 6-2 victory of their own, downing USC's Jake Beasley and Joseph Brailovsky on court 2.
The point-clincher – which would prove to be huge on Monday - came on court 3, when MSU's duo of Trevor Foshey and Gregor Ramskogler posted a 6-4 triumph over the Gamecocks' pair of Beau Pelletier and Daniel Rodrigues (breaking the final game of the match) to give State the 1-0 lead. Including MSU's doubles victory at Florida on Sunday, the Bulldogs have now won six straight, and 24 of their last 25, doubles points.
Friday's action was halted midway through singles, with both teams each holding a set advantage on a pair of courts and two others still very tight in first sets.
When play was resumed Monday, MSU upped its lead to 2-0 when the senior Foshey earned a straight-set win on court 5 over Pelletier, winning 6-2, 6-4. The Gamecocks would cut that lead in half, however, when Beasley downed State's Florian Broska 7-5, 6-3 at No. 6.
The Bulldogs moved ahead 3-1 when third-ranked All-American Nuno Borges increased his current singles winning streak to 13 matches with a very pivotal 4-6, 6-1, 7-6(6) triumph over 12th-ranked Paul Jubb. Down a set when play stopped Friday, Borges cruised past Jubb in the second 6-1 on Monday to force a third, where he went up a break early in the frame. Jubb then broke Borges to make it 5-all and held to go up 6-5. Borges then held to force the tiebreaker, where he went up 5-2 before Jubb won four straight points to go up 6-5 and serve for the match (trying to even the team match at 2-2). But Borges staved off that match point, taking the final three points, capped by a strong forehand winner to put his team in position to clinch the match with three courts still in action in the third set.
The two-time SEC Player of the Year Borges remained perfect (12-0) in dual matches this spring and is now tied with Bulldog great Thomas Dupré (1995-98) for third all-time in career singles wins (103) at MSU.
USC made it 3-2 when Lambling took a 5-7, 7-5, 6-0 decision from MSU's Rakic on court 3 before the Gamecocks knotted the match at 3-3 with a tight, three-set triumph on court 2 by No. 88 Rodrigues over MSU's 102nd-ranked Oradini. That put all eyes on court 4 to decide who was going to come away victorious.
There, Braun and Brailovsky were locked at a set apiece, with Braun up a break at 5-3. The Gamecock would respond by taking the next three games, serving for the match and the win at 6-5. Knotted at 30-all and down 6-5, Braun went on to break Brailovsky to force the match-clinching tiebreaker.
In the breaker, Braun was calm and collected and never trailed, going up 6-2. Brailovsky would fight back to cut the deficit to 6-4 serving, but the senior Bulldog smacked a forehand winner down the line to send his team home happy with a 4-3 victory.
MSU moved to 21-11 in the series against South Carolina and has won nine of the last 10 meetings, including three in a row.
Next Up For MSU …
The Bulldogs are slated to return to the A.J. Pitts Tennis Centre at 3 p.m. CT this Thursday, March 14, to host No. 17 Alabama. Admission is free to all home regular-season tennis matches at MSU.
For more information on the Mississippi State men's tennis program, follow "HailStateMT" on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
No. 10 Mississippi State 4, No. 29 South Carolina 3
March 11, 2019 (Cont. from 3/8)
Carolina Tennis Center – Columbia, S.C.
Doubles
1. Paul Jubb/Raphael Lambling (USC) def. #7 Nuno Borges/Strahinja Rakic (MSU) 6-2
2. #3 Niclas Braun/Giovanni Oradini (MSU) def. Jake Beasley/Joseph Brailovsky (USC) 6-2
3. Trevor Foshey/Gregor Ramskogler (MSU) def. Beau Pelletier/Daniel Rodrigues (USC) 6-4
Order of finish: 1,2,3
Singles
1. #3 Nuno Borges (MSU) def. #12 Paul Jubb (USC) 4-6, 6-1, 7-6(6)
2. #88 Daniel Rodrigues (USC) def. #102 Giovanni Oradini (MSU) 6-2, 3-6, 6-4
3. Raphael Lambling (USC) def. Strahinja Rakic (MSU) 5-7, 7-5, 6-0
4. Niclas Braun (MSU) def. Joseph Brailovsky (USC) 6-2, 2-6, 7-6(4)
5. Trevor Foshey (MSU) def. Beau Pelletier (USC) 6-2, 6-4
6. Jake Beasley (USC) def. Florian Broska (MSU) 7-5, 6-3
Order of finish: 5,6,1,3,2,4
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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