Mississippi State
UAB
No. 29 MSU Claims Shutout Wins Against UAB and Morehead State
February 14, 2016 | Men's Tennis
STARKVILLE, Miss. – In a dominating display of tennis, the 29th-ranked Mississippi State men's tennis team (7-2) sweep two foes on Saturday to continue its hot streak at the A.J. Pitts Tennis Centre.
The pair of wins against UAB (3-3) and Morehead State (0-4) were both shutout wins, with the Bulldogs wining 4-0 and 7-0 respectively.
“These guys are learning,” head coach Matt Roberts said. “We are seeing things each week and applying them. We've grown a lot since our last time away from home at the ITA Kickoff Weekend. “
Since the beginning of MSU's homestand on Jan, 30, State has outscored opponents 34-3 in the seven-match win streak.
Much of the success can be attributed to MSU's ability to win doubles matches. The Bulldogs are 7-0 when winning the doubles point and 0-2 when they drop it. The biggest contributor for State is the freshmen duo of Nuno Borges and Niclas Braun. The pair picked up another win on Saturday, after defeating UAB's Christian Coetzee and Luiz Pinto, 6-0 to improve their dual-match record to 7-1 on the season.
The duo of Mate Cutura and Trevor Foshey clinched the doubles point against the Blazers on Saturday, after downing the tandem of Mitchell Martell and Kenton Paron, 7-5.
In singles action the Bulldogs made quick work of UAB, picking up wins from Borges, Strahinja Rakic and Luka Sucevic to earn the win 4-0. For Rakic and Sucevic, the pair would earn a total of two singles wins each on Saturday to aide in the Maroon and White cause.
“The Serbians stepped up today,” Roberts said of Rakic and Sucevic. “Luka worked a lot on his forehand this week in practice so it was great to see him put that to use and play with a lot of confidence today. He's been very coachable this week, as well as Strahinja. For Strahinja, he has had really good body language lately. We've been pushing him in practice to be more physical, as you can see his forehand is used for a lot more offense and he was really aggressive today.”
The Serbians outscored singles opponents a combined 48-13 on Saturday.
To kick off the second leg of Saturday's doubleheader the Bulldogs claimed the doubles point yet again after MSU's tandems of Vaughn Hunter and Sucevic, along with Rishab Agarwal and Cutura, defeated Morehead State foes. The team of Hunter and Sucevic won 6-4, while Agarwal and Cutura won 6-0.
State would earn four quick wins in singles play against the Eagles, with Sucevic, Braun, Rakic and Foshey earning wins. For Foshey, it was his first dual-match victory of the season. In the No. 1 spot, Borges would grind out a win against Morehead State's Ritchie Kruuenberg, 6-3, 6-2.
In the final match of the evening, Agarwal bounced back to win against Morehead State's Gabriel Ruiz, 6-4, 5-7, 1-0(4). The junior is now a team best 7-1 in dual-match play this season after the win.
After this Saturday's doubleheader, the Maroon and White hit the road for a ranked bout with No. 30 Tulane in New Orleans, La., at 1 p.m. CT. The match will be the Bulldogs' first true road match of the season.
“Our guys are hungry,” Roberts said looking forward to the match. “They know ranked wins will help us move up in the rankings. It will be a good test for us on the road and our guys are looking forward to it.”
For more information on the Mississippi State men's tennis program, follow “HailStateMT” on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
Mississippi State 4, UAB 0
Saturday, February 13, 2016 – A.J. Pitts Tennis Centre – Starkville, Miss.
Doubles
1. Nuno Borges/Niclas Braun (MSU) def. Christian Coetzee/Luiz Pinto (UAB) 6-0
2. Mate Cutura/Trevor Foshey (MSU) def. Mitchell Martell/Kenton Paron (UAB) 7-5
3. Vaughn Hunter/Luka Sucevic vs. Eric Komati/Stepan Vancurik (UAB) 6(6)-6(2) (susp.)
Singles
1. Rishab Agarwal (MSU) vs. Mitchell Martell (UAB) 6-4, 1-1 (susp.)
2. Nuno Borges (MSU) def. Christian Coetzee (UAB) 6-1, 6-3
3. Eric Komati (UAB) vs. Niclas Braun (MSU) 6-3, 1-1 (susp.)
4. Oliver Poysti (UAB) vs. Vaughn Hunter (UAB) 6-2, 3-4 (susp.)
5. Strahinja Rakic (MSU) def. Luiz Pinto (UAB) 6-1, 6-1
6. Luka Sucevic (MSU) def. Kenton Parton (UAB) 6-2, 6-2
Order of finish… Doubles… 1, 2… Singles… 2, 5, 6
Mississippi State 7, Morehead State 0
Doubles
Order of match finish…3,2
1. Nuno Borges/Niclas Braun (MSU) vs. Ritchie Kruuenberg/Gabriel Ruiz (Morehead) 5-2 (susp.)
2. Vaughn Hunter/Luka Sucevic (MSU) def. Nick Mercer/Ognjen Sunjevaric (Morehead) 6-4
3. Rishab Agarwal/Mate Cutura (MSU) def. Garrett Mandrell/Enrique Samundio (Morehead) 6-0
Singles
Order of match finish…6,3,5,4,1, 2
1. Nuno Borges (MSU) def. Ritchie Kruuenberg (Morehead) 6-3, 6-2
2. Rishab Agarwal (MSU) def. Gabriel Ruiz (Morehead) 6-4, 5-7, 1-0(4)
3. Niclas Braun (MSU) def. Nick Mercer (Morehead) 6-1, 6-0
4. Trevor Foshey (MSU) def. Enrique Samundio (Morehead) 6-3, 6-0
5. Strahinja Rakic (MSU) def. Garret Mandrell (Morehead) 6-2, 6-3
6. Luka Sucevic (MSU) def. Tyler Edlin (Morehead) 6-2, 6-0
