Five-time All-American Nuno Borges becomes MSU's second ITA National Player of the Year, joining Thomas Dupre, who won the award in 1997.
MSU’s Borges Named ITA National Player Of The Year
June 03, 2019 | Men's Tennis
by Caleb Garner, Graduate Assistant/Communications
STARKVILLE – A dominant senior season continued to receive national praise on Monday, as Mississippi State's Nuno Borges was named the 2019 Intercollegiate Tennis Association Men's Tennis Player of the Year.
The five-time All-America honoree (three singles honors, two doubles) and three-time SEC Player of the Year becomes the second Bulldog to earn the honor, joining Thomas Dupre, who took home the prestigious laurel in 1997 after finishing ranked No. 1 in singles. Last week, Borges became the third Bulldog ever to finish a season ranked No. 1 nationally in singles, joining 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). He was also the only player in collegiate tennis to finish in the top 10 in both singles and doubles this season.
Borges reached the NCAA Singles title match on May 25 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 four-year career at State, 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 status 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.
Borges was also recognized off the court numerous times in his career, highlighted by the 2018 ITA National Arthur Ashe Jr. Leadership & Sportsmanship award, as we as being named the SEC Scholar-Athlete of the Year in men's tennis in both 2018 and 2019.
For more information on the Mississippi State men's tennis program, follow "HailStateMT" on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
STARKVILLE – A dominant senior season continued to receive national praise on Monday, as Mississippi State's Nuno Borges was named the 2019 Intercollegiate Tennis Association Men's Tennis Player of the Year.
The five-time All-America honoree (three singles honors, two doubles) and three-time SEC Player of the Year becomes the second Bulldog to earn the honor, joining Thomas Dupre, who took home the prestigious laurel in 1997 after finishing ranked No. 1 in singles. Last week, Borges became the third Bulldog ever to finish a season ranked No. 1 nationally in singles, joining 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). He was also the only player in collegiate tennis to finish in the top 10 in both singles and doubles this season.
Borges reached the NCAA Singles title match on May 25 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 four-year career at State, 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 status 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.
Borges was also recognized off the court numerous times in his career, highlighted by the 2018 ITA National Arthur Ashe Jr. Leadership & Sportsmanship award, as we as being named the SEC Scholar-Athlete of the Year in men's tennis in both 2018 and 2019.
For more information on the Mississippi State men's tennis program, follow "HailStateMT" on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
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