Five-time All-American Nuno Borges became the third Bulldog to finish No. 1 in singles on Wednesday after reaching the 2019 NCAA Singles final.
Borges Finishes No. 1 As Bulldog Quartet Appears In Final ITA Rankings
May 29, 2019 | Men's Tennis
by Caleb Garner, Graduate Assistant/Communications
STARKVILLE – With another historic season in the books, four Mississippi State men's tennis players earned spots in the final Oracle ITA Rankings on Wednesday, led by senior Nuno Borges, who earned the country's top spot in singles to close his record-breaking career.
The five-time All-America honoree (three singles, two doubles) and three-time SEC Player of the Year becomes the third Bulldog to finish a season ranked No. 1 nationally in singles, joining Thomas Dupre (1997) and Marco Baron (2001). The Maia, Porto, Portugal, native is the only MSU player ever to earn the top billing in singles and doubles to end a season (he did so in doubles with Strahinja Rakic in 2018). Borges reached the NCAA Singles title match last week in Orlando, after having become the first Bulldog ever to advance to the NCAA semis in both 2017 and 2018. He finished his final season with a sparkling 37-3 singles mark that included a program-best 31-match winning streak, with 26 of those 31 wins coming in straight-set fashion.
In his career, Borges amassed a staggering 121 singles triumphs while adding 68 doubles victories to total 189 overall triumphs as a Bulldog, which ranks first all-time in the MSU Men's Tennis record book. He also ranks first in two other wins categories, including total dual match wins (135) and dual match singles victories (81). More impressively, he is State's all-time leader in overall winning percentage (74.4%, 189-65), singles winning percentage (84.0%, 121-23), overall dual match winning percentage (75.8%, 135-43) and singles dual match winning percentage (87.1%, 81-12).
The 2019 ITA National Senior Player of the Year also finished his tenure ranked third nationally in doubles with Rakic after the pair reached the NCAA Doubles quarterfinals and earned All-America laurels for the second year in a row. The tandem was ranked as high as No. 1 in their time as a team, finishing the 2018 campaign at the top spot. Borges and Rakic totaled a 23-11 ledger in 2018-19, including a 16-7 mark in dual matches. In just three years playing together, the tandem amassed the most wins by a doubles pair (57) in program history.
Joining Borges in Wednesday's singles rankings was junior Giovanni Oradini at No. 46. After receiving an invitation into the 2019 NCAA Singles Championship as the first alternate, the Italian made the most of his opportunity in Orlando, reaching the quarterfinals and earning All-American status as an unseeded player for the second year in a row. Oradini posted a 21-13 singles mark in 2018-19, while earning All-SEC First Team honors in addition to being named the ITA Southern Region Player to Watch.
Oradini also made a deep run in this year's NCAA Doubles Championship, teaming up with senior veteran Niclas Braun to reach the semifinals as an unseeded duo to earn an All-American nod and finish ranked 13th in the nation. Braun and Oradini racked up 32 victories this season, including a remarkable 17-2 mark in dual matches. En route to the NCAA semifinals last week in Orlando (joining 1994 NCAA champions Laurent Miquelard and Joc Simmons as the only MSU duos to advance that far), the pair posted a straight-set upset victory over then-top-ranked Jimmy Bendeck and Sven Lah of Baylor in the quarters.
With the NCAA semifinal run, Braun became MSU's 25th All-American all-time, as he and Oradini both earned the honor in doubles for the first time. The tandem ranks second all-time in MSU men's tennis history (behind Borges and Rakic) with 50 wins in two years as a team.
For more information on the Mississippi State men's tennis program, follow "HailStateMT" on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
STARKVILLE – With another historic season in the books, four Mississippi State men's tennis players earned spots in the final Oracle ITA Rankings on Wednesday, led by senior Nuno Borges, who earned the country's top spot in singles to close his record-breaking career.
The five-time All-America honoree (three singles, two doubles) and three-time SEC Player of the Year becomes the third Bulldog to finish a season ranked No. 1 nationally in singles, joining Thomas Dupre (1997) and Marco Baron (2001). The Maia, Porto, Portugal, native is the only MSU player ever to earn the top billing in singles and doubles to end a season (he did so in doubles with Strahinja Rakic in 2018). Borges reached the NCAA Singles title match last week in Orlando, after having become the first Bulldog ever to advance to the NCAA semis in both 2017 and 2018. He finished his final season with a sparkling 37-3 singles mark that included a program-best 31-match winning streak, with 26 of those 31 wins coming in straight-set fashion.
In his career, Borges amassed a staggering 121 singles triumphs while adding 68 doubles victories to total 189 overall triumphs as a Bulldog, which ranks first all-time in the MSU Men's Tennis record book. He also ranks first in two other wins categories, including total dual match wins (135) and dual match singles victories (81). More impressively, he is State's all-time leader in overall winning percentage (74.4%, 189-65), singles winning percentage (84.0%, 121-23), overall dual match winning percentage (75.8%, 135-43) and singles dual match winning percentage (87.1%, 81-12).
The 2019 ITA National Senior Player of the Year also finished his tenure ranked third nationally in doubles with Rakic after the pair reached the NCAA Doubles quarterfinals and earned All-America laurels for the second year in a row. The tandem was ranked as high as No. 1 in their time as a team, finishing the 2018 campaign at the top spot. Borges and Rakic totaled a 23-11 ledger in 2018-19, including a 16-7 mark in dual matches. In just three years playing together, the tandem amassed the most wins by a doubles pair (57) in program history.
Joining Borges in Wednesday's singles rankings was junior Giovanni Oradini at No. 46. After receiving an invitation into the 2019 NCAA Singles Championship as the first alternate, the Italian made the most of his opportunity in Orlando, reaching the quarterfinals and earning All-American status as an unseeded player for the second year in a row. Oradini posted a 21-13 singles mark in 2018-19, while earning All-SEC First Team honors in addition to being named the ITA Southern Region Player to Watch.
Oradini also made a deep run in this year's NCAA Doubles Championship, teaming up with senior veteran Niclas Braun to reach the semifinals as an unseeded duo to earn an All-American nod and finish ranked 13th in the nation. Braun and Oradini racked up 32 victories this season, including a remarkable 17-2 mark in dual matches. En route to the NCAA semifinals last week in Orlando (joining 1994 NCAA champions Laurent Miquelard and Joc Simmons as the only MSU duos to advance that far), the pair posted a straight-set upset victory over then-top-ranked Jimmy Bendeck and Sven Lah of Baylor in the quarters.
With the NCAA semifinal run, Braun became MSU's 25th All-American all-time, as he and Oradini both earned the honor in doubles for the first time. The tandem ranks second all-time in MSU men's tennis history (behind Borges and Rakic) with 50 wins in two years as a team.
For more information on the Mississippi State men's tennis program, follow "HailStateMT" on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
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