2018-19 Men's Tennis Roster
Roster
Strahinja Rakic
- Height:
- 6-0
- Weight:
- null
- Class:
- Senior
- Hometown:
- Belgrade, Serbia
- High School/Previous School:
- Peta Ekonomska Skola Rakovica
Career
Singles Record: 71-52 // 54-36 dual // 25-17 SEC
Doubles Record: 60-38 // 44-24 dual // 19-12 SEC
Highest Singles Ranking: 43rd (9/11/18)
Highest Doubles Ranking: 1st (5/3/18; 5/30/18; 9/11/18)
Awards/Honors
ITA All-American Championships Consolation Doubles Finalist (2018)
ITA All-American, Doubles, 2x (2018, 2019)
NCAA Doubles Quarterfinalist, 2x (2018, 2019)
NCAA Doubles Automatic Qualifier, 2x – No. 1 seed (2018), No. 3 seed (2019)
All-SEC First Team, 2x (2018, 2019)
All-SEC Second Team (2017)
ITA Southern Regional Singles Champion (2017)
ITA Scholar-Athlete (2017)
SEC Player of the Week (3/28/18)
Senior (2018-19)
Singles Record: 4-15 // 2-7 dual // 0-0 SEC
Doubles Record: 13-7 // 6-2 dual // 0-0 SEC
Highest Singles Ranking: 43rd (9/11/18)
Highest Doubles Ranking: 1st (9/11/18)
Awards/Honors
ITA Doubles All-American (2019)
NCAA Doubles Quarterfinalist (2019)
NCAA Doubles Automatic Qualifier – No. 3 seed (2019)
All-SEC First Team (2019)
ITA All-American Championships Consolation Doubles Finalist (2018)
FALL:
- Began the fall ranked first nationally in doubles alongside Nuno Borges, becoming the first Bulldog pair to open the season with the top ranking since Laurent Miquelard and Joc Simmons opened the fall at the top spot.
- In singles, began the fall at a career-high 43rd nationally.
- Finished in the consolation doubles final of the 2018 ITA All-American Championships with Borges.
- Finished the fall ranked 36th in the country in doubles with Borges.
SPRING:
- Finished his standout career ranked third nationally in doubles with Nuno Borges after reaching the NCAA Doubles quarterfinals for the second year in a row as the SEC’s automatic qualifier.
- Reeled off a pair of straight-set wins to reach the doubles quarters, defeating TCU’s 15th-ranked Alastair Gray and Alex Rybakov in the first round (5/21) and Cal’s 28th-ranked Jacob Brumm and Yuta Kikuchi in the Round of 16 (5/22)
- Teams up with Borges to form MSU’s winningest doubles pair in program history (57)
- Clinched a team-leading 11 doubles points for the Bulldogs at the No. 1 position alongside Nuno Borges.
- Defeated of No. 9 Richard Ciamarra and Tristan McCormick of Notre Dame to clinch doubles at the ITA National Team Indoor Championship (2/17)
- Clinched both of MSU’s doubles points in SEC opening-weekend victories over Vanderbilt (3/1) and Kentucky (3/2).
- Locked up the doubles point for MSU against Alabama (3/14) with a 6-3 win over No. 17 Patrick Kaukovalta and Mazen Osama.
- Concluded his singles season winning four in a row and seven of his last eight decisions, with five of those victories coming in straight sets.
- Defeated Georgia’s Robert Loeb 6-1, 6-1 at No. 4 singles in MSU’s 4-3 win over UGA (3/24).
- Upended LSU’s 107th-ranked Boris Kozlov 6-2, 0-6, 6-3 to clinch the Bulldogs’ 4-0 win to end the regular season in Baton Rouge (4/14)
- Clinched MSU’s SEC semifinal win over South Carolina by defeating Raphael Lambling 7-5, 1-6, 6-3 (4/20)
- Posted a 6-3, 7-5 victory over Tennessee’s Scott Jones to give State a 3-1 lead in the SEC Championship final and set up Nuno Borges’ clincher moments later (4/21).
- Defeated TCU’s Reese Stalder 6-3, 6-2 in the Round of 16 of the NCAA Team Championship to end his career in singles on a winning note.
Junior (2017-18)
Singles Record: 22-11 // 14-7 dual // 8-2 SEC
Doubles Record: 20-8 // 16-5 dual // 6-3 SEC
Highest Singles Ranking:54th (11/15/17)
Highest Doubles Ranking:1st (5/3/18; 5/30/18)
Awards/Honors
ITA All-American, Doubles (2018)
NCAA Doubles Quarterfinalist (2018)
NCAA Doubles Automatic Qualifier – No. 1 seed (2018)
All-SEC First Team (2018)
ITA Southern Regional Singles Champion (2017)
SEC Player of the Week (3/28/18)
FALL:
- Went 8-4 in singles play, with a pair of wins against ranked opposition.
- Earned his best singles ranking of his MSU career, coming in at 54th nationally on Nov. 15.
- Won six consecutive matches Oct. 21-24 on his way to winning the singles crown at the ITA Southern Regional Championships
SPRING:
- Went 16-5 in dual match doubles play alongside Nuno Borges, splitting time at the No. 1 position (12-5) and the No. 2 spot (4-0).
- Clinched four doubles points for the Bulldogs, splitting time between the No. 1 and 2 doubles positions.
- Spent the entire spring at the No. 3 singles spot, going 14-7 in dual matches and 8-2 vs. SEC foes—earning First Team All-SEC honors
- Embarked on a six-match singles win streak from March 11 to April 8.
- In doubles, went on a three-match win streak with all three wins against ranked foes, including the match-clinching victory against Vanderbilt’s 46th-ranked Cameron Klinger and Billy Rowe on March 23.
- Alongside Borges, downed 56th-ranked Grey Hamilton and Tim Sandkaulen 6-2 to help clinch doubles for MSU.
- Won six straight matches in doubles from April 8 to May 11, including a pair of top 10 wins in the SEC Tournament
- Climbed from unranked in March to the No. 1 ranking in the ITA doubles rankings prior to the NCAA Team Championship.
- Borges and Rakic currently rank seventh in program history for career wins by a doubles pair (34), needing just two to tie for sixth place on the leaderboard.
- Reached the NCAA quarterfinals in doubles, becoming the first Bulldog duo to do so since 2000.
- Borges and Rakic became the first Bulldog duo to finish the season ranked No. 1 in program history.
Sophomore (2016-17)
Singles: 20-13 // 15-10 Dual Match // 4-6 SEC
Doubles: 14-11 // 11-9 Dual Match // 3-4 SEC
Highest Singles Ranking: 110th (3/21/17)
Awards/Honors
All-SEC Second Team (2017)
FALL:
- Won five singles matches in his first fall action as a Bulldog
- Defeated No. 35 Jordan Daigle of LSU (Oct. 15) at the ITA Southern Regional to earn his first ranked win of the season
- Fell in the quarterfinals of the ITA Southern Regional to teammate and eventual champion, Nuno Borges
- With partner Borges, won three matches in doubles action over the fall
- Earned a ranked win in his first doubles match of the fall season
SPRING:
- Strahinja Rakic capped his sophomore campaign with a 20-13 record overall in singles action
- The 20 wins ranked second on the team behind Nuno Borges
- Rakic earned a 15-10 mark in dual-matches, which also ranked second on the team behind Borges
- The Bulldog earned a season-long win streak of five matches from Feb. 19-March 7
- At the No. 3 position in singles, Rakic earned a team-best 12-6 record at the spot
- Earned two ranked wins in the spring, upsetting No. 110 Sebastian Rey of Tulane (Feb. 24) and No. 123 AJ Catanzariti of Texas A&M (April 7)
- The Bulldog clinched four matches for the Maroon & White in 2017
- Rakic's first clincher came against Auburn (March 5) as he capped MSU's comeback over the Tigers on the road
- Rakic also clinched against Vanderbilt (March 16), Tennessee (April 1) and the NCAA victory over SMU (May 12)
- In doubles action, the Bulldog earned a 14-11 record overall with partner Borges
- The 14 wins were second most on the team, behind Niclas Braun and Trevor Foshey's 20
- The duo of Rakic and Borges also compiled an 11-9 record in dual-match play as well
- The tandem of Rakic and Borges clinched two doubles points for the Bulldogs, both coming in postseason action
- The first doubles point was against South Carolina (April 28) at the SEC Tournament, while the other came over SMU (May 12) at the NCAA Tournament
- Rakic finished the 2017 season ranked 119th overall in singles play
- The Bulldog finished the year as the No. 10 singles player in the final ITA Southern Regional rankings
Freshman (2015-16)
Singles: 16-9 // 13-7 Dual Match // 7-4 SEC
Doubles: 1-6 // 1-3 Dual Match // 1-3 SEC
SPRING:
- Went 10-4 out of the No. 5 spot in singles
- Had a six-match winning streak from Jan. 31 to Feb. 20
- Went 13-7 in dual matches, including 7-4 against SEC opponents
- Had a stretch in Mar. 6 and April 3 where he won seven out of nine singles matches
- Earned a 4-3 mark in three-set matches
Pre-Mississippi State
- Attended Peta Ekonomska Skola Rakovica in Belgrade, Serbia.
- Compiled 10 singles and 25 doubles wins on the ITF Pro Circuit
- Earned his career-best ATP ranking of 1297 on August of 2014
Personal
- Native of Belgrade, Serbia
- Born March 30, 1996
- Majoring in finance
- Son of Milenko and Tatjana Rakic
