
Niclas Braun won the four final games in his third set to propel No. 8 Mississippi State past No. 19 Tennessee on Friday.
Photo by: Trevor Birchett/MSU Athletics
Braun’s Third-Set Heroics Propel No. 8 Bulldogs Past No. 19 Tennessee
March 22, 2019 | Men's Tennis
by Caleb Garner, Graduate Assistant/Communications
STARKVILLE – Down a break at 4-2 in the third set, senior Niclas Braun put together some late-match heroics to lift No. 8 Mississippi State to an exciting 4-3 victory over No. 19 Tennessee on Friday at the A.J. Pitts Tennis Centre.
Braun won 14 points in a row - and 16 of the last 18 points - to win his match against Scott Jones of the Volunteers (11-6, 2-4 SEC) on court 3, which extended the Bulldogs' (14-3, 6-1) home winning streak to 23 matches. Thirteen of those matches have come in SEC play.
"Today was just a great college tennis match," head coach Matt Roberts said. "Hats off to Tennessee. They competed really well today and they're a well-coached team. Luckily, the match came down to one of our rocks, Niclas Braun. He was down 4-2 in the third set and won 16 of the last 18 points in his comeback. He's such a tough guy and he kept telling himself good things. I'm proud of him and the rest of our guys for how they competed today, and we look forward to another great match against Georgia on Sunday."
MSU had to battle hard to take the doubles point, with courts 1 and 3 going to match tiebreakers, and the point would end up proving quite large in the match's outcome.
State got an advantage when its fourth-ranked duo of Braun and Giovanni Oradini posted a 6-3 triumph over Tennessee's Martim Prata and Adam Walton on court 2. On court 3, MSU's Trevor Foshey and Gregor Ramskogler led 5-3 on serve, but UT's Pat Harper and Jones took three of the next four games to force a 6-all tiebreaker, just when court 1 was also forced into a breaker.
Foshey and Ramskogler mounted a 5-1 lead in the breaker at No. 3, but Harper and Jones responded by taking three of the next four points to make it 6-4 with the Volunteers going back on serve. State returned nicely to take the point and clinch yet another doubles point.
At the clincher, the eighth-ranked Bulldog tandem of Nuno Borges and Strahinja Rakic trailed 6-4 in their tiebreaker to No. 31 Timo Stodder and Preston Touliatos. MSU has now won 27 of its last 28 doubles points, including eight in a row.
The Volunteers took four first sets in singles action, but State went up 3-0 early with straight-set wins on courts 1 and 5 just minutes apart.
MSU's second-ranked All-American Borges took a 6-3, 6-3 triumph over No. 66 Stodder at No. 1 singles (Borges' 16th consecutive victory) just before Foshey completed a 6-2, 6-4 decision against UT's Touliatos on court 5 to give the Bulldogs a commanding 3-0 lead. However, the Bulldogs would have to have some three-set magic at one of the last four positions if they wanted to come away victorious.
The Volunteers would cap off three straight-wins on courts 2, 4 and 6 to knot up the match at 3-all with the final court – court 3 – deadlocked at a set apiece where the match would be decided.
On court 2, Tennessee's 87th-ranked Walton fended off the Bulldogs 94th-ranked Oradini 6-4, 6-4. Moments later, the Volunteers cut MSU's lead to 3-2 with a tight 7-6(5), 6-4 win by Luca Wiedenmann over Rakic on court 4. UT then set up the exciting finish when Andrew Rogers downed State's Florian Broska in a hard-fought 6-3, 7-6(8) battle on court 6 to even the score at 3-3.
All eyes then turned to court 3, where Braun was knotted up at a set apiece with Jones after dropping the first set 6-4. After Braun took the second frame 7-5, Jones quickly went up a break at 1-0 and held serve to 4-2. Then, the dramatic comeback began.
Braun surged back to go up 5-4 and broke Jones at 30-40 when the Volunteer's shot went just long. Braun closed out by taking 16 of the final 18 points in the contest, including 14 in a row to start that trend. With the win, Braun won his fifth straight match-clincher for the Bulldogs.
Next Up For MSU …
MSU continues its home stretch with another marquee SEC battle against No. 22 Georgia at 1 p.m. on Sunday. The Athens-based Bulldogs dropped a tight 4-3 decision at Ole Miss Friday night. Admission to Sunday's match is free.
For more information on the Mississippi State men's tennis program, follow "HailStateMT" on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
No. 8 Mississippi State 4, No. 19 Tennessee 3
March 22, 2019
A.J. Pitts Tennis Centre – Starkville, Miss.
Doubles
1. #8 Nuno Borges/Strahinja Rakic (MSU) vs. #31 Timo Stodder/Preston Touliatos (UT) 6-6 (4-6) (susp.)
2. #4 Niclas Braun/Giovanni Oradini (MSU) def. Martim Prata/Adam Walton (UT) 6-3
3. Trevor Foshey/Gregor Ramskogler (MSU) def. Pat Harper/Scott Jones (UT) 7-6(4)
Order of finish: 3,2
Singles
1. #2 Nuno Borges (MSU) def. #66 Timo Stodder (UT) 6-3, 6-3
2. #87 Adam Walton (UT) def. #94 Giovanni Oradini (MSU) 6-4, 6-4
3. Niclas Braun (MSU) def. Scott Jones (UT) 4-6, 7-5, 6-4
4. Luca Wiedenmann (UT) def. Strahinja Rakic (MSU) 7-6(5), 6-4
5. Trevor Foshey (MSU) def. Preston Touliatos (UT) 6-2, 6-4
6. Andrew Rogers (UT) def. Florian Broska (MSU) 6-3, 7-6(8)
Order of finish: 1,5,2,4,6,3
STARKVILLE – Down a break at 4-2 in the third set, senior Niclas Braun put together some late-match heroics to lift No. 8 Mississippi State to an exciting 4-3 victory over No. 19 Tennessee on Friday at the A.J. Pitts Tennis Centre.
Braun won 14 points in a row - and 16 of the last 18 points - to win his match against Scott Jones of the Volunteers (11-6, 2-4 SEC) on court 3, which extended the Bulldogs' (14-3, 6-1) home winning streak to 23 matches. Thirteen of those matches have come in SEC play.
"Today was just a great college tennis match," head coach Matt Roberts said. "Hats off to Tennessee. They competed really well today and they're a well-coached team. Luckily, the match came down to one of our rocks, Niclas Braun. He was down 4-2 in the third set and won 16 of the last 18 points in his comeback. He's such a tough guy and he kept telling himself good things. I'm proud of him and the rest of our guys for how they competed today, and we look forward to another great match against Georgia on Sunday."
MSU had to battle hard to take the doubles point, with courts 1 and 3 going to match tiebreakers, and the point would end up proving quite large in the match's outcome.
State got an advantage when its fourth-ranked duo of Braun and Giovanni Oradini posted a 6-3 triumph over Tennessee's Martim Prata and Adam Walton on court 2. On court 3, MSU's Trevor Foshey and Gregor Ramskogler led 5-3 on serve, but UT's Pat Harper and Jones took three of the next four games to force a 6-all tiebreaker, just when court 1 was also forced into a breaker.
Foshey and Ramskogler mounted a 5-1 lead in the breaker at No. 3, but Harper and Jones responded by taking three of the next four points to make it 6-4 with the Volunteers going back on serve. State returned nicely to take the point and clinch yet another doubles point.
At the clincher, the eighth-ranked Bulldog tandem of Nuno Borges and Strahinja Rakic trailed 6-4 in their tiebreaker to No. 31 Timo Stodder and Preston Touliatos. MSU has now won 27 of its last 28 doubles points, including eight in a row.
The Volunteers took four first sets in singles action, but State went up 3-0 early with straight-set wins on courts 1 and 5 just minutes apart.
MSU's second-ranked All-American Borges took a 6-3, 6-3 triumph over No. 66 Stodder at No. 1 singles (Borges' 16th consecutive victory) just before Foshey completed a 6-2, 6-4 decision against UT's Touliatos on court 5 to give the Bulldogs a commanding 3-0 lead. However, the Bulldogs would have to have some three-set magic at one of the last four positions if they wanted to come away victorious.
The Volunteers would cap off three straight-wins on courts 2, 4 and 6 to knot up the match at 3-all with the final court – court 3 – deadlocked at a set apiece where the match would be decided.
On court 2, Tennessee's 87th-ranked Walton fended off the Bulldogs 94th-ranked Oradini 6-4, 6-4. Moments later, the Volunteers cut MSU's lead to 3-2 with a tight 7-6(5), 6-4 win by Luca Wiedenmann over Rakic on court 4. UT then set up the exciting finish when Andrew Rogers downed State's Florian Broska in a hard-fought 6-3, 7-6(8) battle on court 6 to even the score at 3-3.
All eyes then turned to court 3, where Braun was knotted up at a set apiece with Jones after dropping the first set 6-4. After Braun took the second frame 7-5, Jones quickly went up a break at 1-0 and held serve to 4-2. Then, the dramatic comeback began.
Braun surged back to go up 5-4 and broke Jones at 30-40 when the Volunteer's shot went just long. Braun closed out by taking 16 of the final 18 points in the contest, including 14 in a row to start that trend. With the win, Braun won his fifth straight match-clincher for the Bulldogs.
Next Up For MSU …
MSU continues its home stretch with another marquee SEC battle against No. 22 Georgia at 1 p.m. on Sunday. The Athens-based Bulldogs dropped a tight 4-3 decision at Ole Miss Friday night. Admission to Sunday's match is free.
For more information on the Mississippi State men's tennis program, follow "HailStateMT" on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
No. 8 Mississippi State 4, No. 19 Tennessee 3
March 22, 2019
A.J. Pitts Tennis Centre – Starkville, Miss.
Doubles
1. #8 Nuno Borges/Strahinja Rakic (MSU) vs. #31 Timo Stodder/Preston Touliatos (UT) 6-6 (4-6) (susp.)
2. #4 Niclas Braun/Giovanni Oradini (MSU) def. Martim Prata/Adam Walton (UT) 6-3
3. Trevor Foshey/Gregor Ramskogler (MSU) def. Pat Harper/Scott Jones (UT) 7-6(4)
Order of finish: 3,2
Singles
1. #2 Nuno Borges (MSU) def. #66 Timo Stodder (UT) 6-3, 6-3
2. #87 Adam Walton (UT) def. #94 Giovanni Oradini (MSU) 6-4, 6-4
3. Niclas Braun (MSU) def. Scott Jones (UT) 4-6, 7-5, 6-4
4. Luca Wiedenmann (UT) def. Strahinja Rakic (MSU) 7-6(5), 6-4
5. Trevor Foshey (MSU) def. Preston Touliatos (UT) 6-2, 6-4
6. Andrew Rogers (UT) def. Florian Broska (MSU) 6-3, 7-6(8)
Order of finish: 1,5,2,4,6,3
Players Mentioned
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