Friday, May 24
Orlando, Fla. (USTA National Campus)
All Day
Mississippi State
vs
NCAA Individual Championships
Nuno Borges became MSU's first-ever NCAA Singles finalist with a straight-set win in Friday's semifinal match.
Borges Becomes MSU’s First-Ever NCAA Singles Finalist With Straight-Set Triumph
May 24, 2019 | Men's Tennis
by Caleb Garner, Graduate Assistant/Communications
ORLANDO, Fla. – They say the third time's the charm.
That old adage rang true for Mississippi State senior Nuno Borges in Friday's NCAA Singles semifinal match against third-seeded and fourth-ranked Alex Rybakov of TCU, an opponent he had faced three times earlier this season.
In the first two meetings, Borges fell in the first clash and was down a set in the second when play was suspended. Those came before the Bulldog took a May 11 affair in straight sets in Starkville during the team's NCAA Round of 16 matchup with TCU. The five-time All-American replicated that feat in Friday's fourth bout, defeating the Horned Frog 7-5, 6-3 to advance to Saturday's 2019 NCAA Singles final at the USTA National Campus.
There he will meet another familiar foe in South Carolina's fifth-ranked and fourth-seeded Paul Jubb, who took a tight 4-6, 6-4, 6-2 battle against 10th-ranked Aleks Kovacevic of Illinois in Friday's other semifinal. Match time for the epic showdown between the conference foes is slated for 4 p.m. ET Saturday with live coverage on Tennis Channel.
The two SEC foes have met twice, both this spring, with Borges coming away with wins in three-set fashion after dropping the opening frame in each. Most recently, he notched a 4-6, 6-3, 6-1 decision on April 20 in the SEC Tournament semifinals in Gainesville, Florida.
Borges, who was MSU's first-ever singles semifinalist as a sophomore in 2017, continued to make history Friday in becoming the first-ever NCAA singles finalist in Mississippi State Tennis history.
"Today was about seeing who could apply the game plan better," Borges said. "We knew each other pretty well, so I knew I had to stick to my game plan and stay tough. I think, at the end, he was a little more tired than I was, so that helped me."
The first set saw Borges take an early 2-0 lead, breaking Rybakov on a deciding point. But the TCU senior broke back in the next game on deciding point as well. The players traded breaks once again and then both sides would hold serve until 6-5 when Borges got the break he needed in the final game of the set. Down 40-15, he went on to take the next three points, breaking Rybakov's serve when the TCU standout's shot fell in the doubles alley.
In the second set, Borges continued the momentum, holding on another deciding point to take a 1-0 lead in the frame. But Rybakov held and then broke Borges on a deciding point – one of eight in the match – to take a 2-1 lead. The three-time SEC Player of the Year would break back on a deciding point to knot up the set score at 2-all. After holding to go up 3-2, Borges got back in the driver's seat, breaking Rybakov again to go up 4-2 then holding to take a 5-2 lead.
Rybakov would hold at love to keep his senior season alive, but Borges served out the victory, delivering a forehand pass well out of Rybakov's reach. When it was all said and done, Borges simply raised his arms to the sky and let out a sigh of relief after winning his 31st consecutive singles bout.
About an hour later, State's 32nd-ranked Niclas Braun and Giovanni Oradini were set for an All-SEC showdown in the doubles semifinals against Alabama's 11th-ranked Patrick Kaukovalta and Mazen Osama.
The Crimson Tide claimed the first set by a 6-2 mark, but the Bulldogs buckled down for a much tighter second set.
There, neither team broke serve until the very end. Alabama broke the Bulldogs at 30-40 to take a 6-5 lead, at which point Kaukovalta and Osama would go on to serve it out, taking a 6-2, 7-5 victory to advance to Saturday's NCAA Doubles final.
With their run this week in Orlando, Braun and Oradini – MSU's No. 2 team this spring - became only the second MSU tandem ever to reach the NCAA semifinals, joining Laurent Miquelard and Joc Simmons who claimed the 1994 NCAA Doubles Championship in South Bend, Indiana. Braun and Oradini capped off their time as a doubles pair with the second most wins by a duo in program history (50) while dropping only 11 matches in their two seasons.
The senior Braun finishes his stellar career ranked second in career doubles wins (93) and first in dual match doubles wins (60), while also ranking second all-time at State in overall victories (178), second only to his teammate Borges (190).
For more information on the Mississippi State men's tennis program, follow "HailStateMT" on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
MSU at the 2019 NCAA Singles & Doubles Championships
May 24, 2019 – Orlando, Florida (USTA National Campus)
Singles
Semifinals – #1 Nuno Borges (MSU) [1] def. #4 Alex Rybakov (TCU) [3] 7-5, 6-3
Doubles
Semifinals – #11 Patrick Kaukovalta/Mazen Osama (Alabama) def. #32 Niclas Braun/Giovanni Oradini (MSU) 6-2, 7-5
Saturday's Schedule
USTA National Campus – Court 3
4 p.m. ET – Singles Final: #1 Nuno Borges [1] vs. #5 Paul Jubb (South Carolina) [4]
Tennis Channel | Live Stats
Numbers preceding names indicate current national rankings
Numbers in brackets are NCAA Championship seedings
ORLANDO, Fla. – They say the third time's the charm.
That old adage rang true for Mississippi State senior Nuno Borges in Friday's NCAA Singles semifinal match against third-seeded and fourth-ranked Alex Rybakov of TCU, an opponent he had faced three times earlier this season.
In the first two meetings, Borges fell in the first clash and was down a set in the second when play was suspended. Those came before the Bulldog took a May 11 affair in straight sets in Starkville during the team's NCAA Round of 16 matchup with TCU. The five-time All-American replicated that feat in Friday's fourth bout, defeating the Horned Frog 7-5, 6-3 to advance to Saturday's 2019 NCAA Singles final at the USTA National Campus.
There he will meet another familiar foe in South Carolina's fifth-ranked and fourth-seeded Paul Jubb, who took a tight 4-6, 6-4, 6-2 battle against 10th-ranked Aleks Kovacevic of Illinois in Friday's other semifinal. Match time for the epic showdown between the conference foes is slated for 4 p.m. ET Saturday with live coverage on Tennis Channel.
The two SEC foes have met twice, both this spring, with Borges coming away with wins in three-set fashion after dropping the opening frame in each. Most recently, he notched a 4-6, 6-3, 6-1 decision on April 20 in the SEC Tournament semifinals in Gainesville, Florida.
Borges, who was MSU's first-ever singles semifinalist as a sophomore in 2017, continued to make history Friday in becoming the first-ever NCAA singles finalist in Mississippi State Tennis history.
"Today was about seeing who could apply the game plan better," Borges said. "We knew each other pretty well, so I knew I had to stick to my game plan and stay tough. I think, at the end, he was a little more tired than I was, so that helped me."
The first set saw Borges take an early 2-0 lead, breaking Rybakov on a deciding point. But the TCU senior broke back in the next game on deciding point as well. The players traded breaks once again and then both sides would hold serve until 6-5 when Borges got the break he needed in the final game of the set. Down 40-15, he went on to take the next three points, breaking Rybakov's serve when the TCU standout's shot fell in the doubles alley.
In the second set, Borges continued the momentum, holding on another deciding point to take a 1-0 lead in the frame. But Rybakov held and then broke Borges on a deciding point – one of eight in the match – to take a 2-1 lead. The three-time SEC Player of the Year would break back on a deciding point to knot up the set score at 2-all. After holding to go up 3-2, Borges got back in the driver's seat, breaking Rybakov again to go up 4-2 then holding to take a 5-2 lead.
Rybakov would hold at love to keep his senior season alive, but Borges served out the victory, delivering a forehand pass well out of Rybakov's reach. When it was all said and done, Borges simply raised his arms to the sky and let out a sigh of relief after winning his 31st consecutive singles bout.
About an hour later, State's 32nd-ranked Niclas Braun and Giovanni Oradini were set for an All-SEC showdown in the doubles semifinals against Alabama's 11th-ranked Patrick Kaukovalta and Mazen Osama.
The Crimson Tide claimed the first set by a 6-2 mark, but the Bulldogs buckled down for a much tighter second set.
There, neither team broke serve until the very end. Alabama broke the Bulldogs at 30-40 to take a 6-5 lead, at which point Kaukovalta and Osama would go on to serve it out, taking a 6-2, 7-5 victory to advance to Saturday's NCAA Doubles final.
With their run this week in Orlando, Braun and Oradini – MSU's No. 2 team this spring - became only the second MSU tandem ever to reach the NCAA semifinals, joining Laurent Miquelard and Joc Simmons who claimed the 1994 NCAA Doubles Championship in South Bend, Indiana. Braun and Oradini capped off their time as a doubles pair with the second most wins by a duo in program history (50) while dropping only 11 matches in their two seasons.
The senior Braun finishes his stellar career ranked second in career doubles wins (93) and first in dual match doubles wins (60), while also ranking second all-time at State in overall victories (178), second only to his teammate Borges (190).
For more information on the Mississippi State men's tennis program, follow "HailStateMT" on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
MSU at the 2019 NCAA Singles & Doubles Championships
May 24, 2019 – Orlando, Florida (USTA National Campus)
Singles
Semifinals – #1 Nuno Borges (MSU) [1] def. #4 Alex Rybakov (TCU) [3] 7-5, 6-3
Doubles
Semifinals – #11 Patrick Kaukovalta/Mazen Osama (Alabama) def. #32 Niclas Braun/Giovanni Oradini (MSU) 6-2, 7-5
Saturday's Schedule
USTA National Campus – Court 3
4 p.m. ET – Singles Final: #1 Nuno Borges [1] vs. #5 Paul Jubb (South Carolina) [4]
Tennis Channel | Live Stats
Numbers preceding names indicate current national rankings
Numbers in brackets are NCAA Championship seedings
Players Mentioned
Men's Tennis | Matt Roberts Michigan State Presser
Saturday, May 03
Men's Tennis | Matt Roberts & Niccolo Baroni
Friday, May 02
Men's Tennis | Matt Roberts - NCAA Selection Show
Monday, April 28
Mississippi State Men's Tennis vs. Arkansas Recap - 04/07/21
Thursday, April 08