Mississippi State
Tulane
No. 26 MSU Rallies Past No. 27 Tulane, 4-3
February 21, 2016 | Men's Tennis
NEW ORLEANS, La. – Behind a late third-set victory from Rishab Agarwal, the 26th ranked Mississippi State men's tennis team (8-2) downed No. 27 Tulane (4-3) on the road to cap off a perfect Saturday.
The win against the Green Wave extended MSU's eight-match win streak this season, with the Bulldogs last loss coming almost a month ago.
“I am very pleased with how the team never went away today,” head coach Matt Roberts said. “As we got deeper into the match, the guys showed great confidence in each other and showed how we are trusting each other more and more in tough situations.”
The Bulldogs were in a very tough situation early on against the Green Wave, as State fell behind 3-1 before storming back to win the next three matches in the win.
To begin the day, the Bulldogs dropped the doubles point to Tulane after MSU's pair of Agarwal and Vaughn Hunter fell to Constantin Schmitz and Sebastian Rey, 6-2. Tulane's seventh-ranked tandem of Dominik Koepfer and Chi-Shan Jao defeated MSU's Nuno Borges and Niclas Braun, 6-4, to clinch the point for the Green Wave.
Before Saturday's win, the Bulldogs were winless when dropping the doubles point (0-2) and undefeated when winning the doubles point (7-0).
In singles action, 41st-ranked Mate Cutura fell to Koepfer, the nation's No. 1 player, 6-0, 6-2. Freshman Braun would earn MSU's first point of the afternoon, after earning a 7-5, 6-1 victory against Tulane's Alex Van Cott. The Green Wave would respond however, claiming a seemingly insurmountable third point after MSU's Trevor Foshey dropped a three-set decision to Jao, 6-2, 3-6, 6-3. The Bulldogs were down, but not out.
Facing a 3-1 deficit, freshman Borges would earn a three-set victory against Tulane's Schmitz. The win would come after Borges, dropped the opening set 5-7, before coming back to claim the match in the next two sets, 6-3, 6-2. The win for Borges improved his dual-match record to 7-0 on the season.
With the lead narrowed, freshman Strahinja Rakic would also have to go the full distance for a win. Rakic downed Tyler Schick, 7-6(5), 3-6, 6-1 to even the score at three a piece between the Bulldogs and Green Wave.
In a winner-take-all match, Agarwal and Tulane's Rey would go the full distance for a three-set match. The first two sets would go into tie-breaker decisions, with Agarwal taking the first set, 7-6(3) while the second set went to Rey, 7-6(4). In an adrenaline-filled third set, Agarwal would down Rey, 6-3, to cap the comeback for MSU and clinch the 4-3 win.
Agarwal's win earned the junior his eighth-straight victory of the year, while improving his dual-match record to a team best 8-1.
Looking past this Saturday, the Bulldogs will be idle until they kick off SEC play with a road swing against Georgia and South Carolina on March 4 and 6.
For more information on the Mississippi State men's tennis program, follow “HailStateMT” on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
No. 26 Mississippi State 4, No. 27 Tulane 3
February 20, 2016 – City Park Pepsi Tennis Center – New Orleans, La.
Doubles
1. No. 7 Chi-Shan Jao/Dominik Koepfer (Tulane) def. Nuno Borges/Niclas Braun (MSU) 6-4
2. Ian Van Cott/Alex Van Cott (Tulane) vs. Mate Cutura/Trevor Foshey (MSU 4-4, (susp.)
3. Constantin Schmitz/Sebastian Rey (Tulane) def. Rishab Agarwal/Vaughn Hunter (MSU) 6-2
Singles
1. No. 1 Dominik Koepfer (Tulane) def. No. 41 Mate Cutura (MSU) 6-0, 6-2
2. Nuno Borges (MSU) def. Constantin Schmitz (Tulane) 2-6, 6-3, 6-2
3. Rishab Agarwal (MSU) def. Sebastian Rey (Tulane) 7-6, 6-7, 6-3
4. Niclas Braun (MSU def. Alex Van Cott (Tulane) 7-5, 6-1
5. Chi-Shan Jao (Tulane) def. Trevor Foshey (MSU) 6-2, 4-6, 6-3
6. Strahinja Rakic (MSU) def. Tyler Schick (Tulane 7-6, 4-6, 6-1
Order of finish… Doubles… 3, 1… Singles… 1, 4, 2, 5, 6, 3
