Mississippi State
Samford
Bulldogs Earn Pair Of 4-0 Wins To Sweep Saturday?s Doubleheader
February 06, 2016 | Men's Tennis
STARKVILLE, Miss. – Behind the play of freshman Nuno Borges, who picked up three-combined wins on Saturday, the 29th-ranked Mississippi State men's tennis team (5-2) blanked two foes during Saturday's doubleheader at the A.J. Pitts Tennis Centre.
The Bulldogs earned back-to-back 4-0 victories on the day, the first coming against Samford (1-2) and then the afternoon cap against Alabama State (0-1).
“Our doubles continued to improve and did a great job today, despite not having Mate Cutura on the court,” head coach Matt Roberts said. “He's a big part of our doubles lineup and with us to play very well today without him was very impressive. We are mixing up some teams and they're understanding it now.”
One of the most impressive tandems for State this season has been the freshmen duo of Borges and Niclas Braun, who have complied at 6-1 record in doubles. The two once again paced the Bulldogs in doubles action, winning both matches by a margin of 6-1 on Saturday. The pair knocked off Samford's Trey Carter and Leonard Gerch in the first match of the day, before defeating Alabama State's Patrik Cvik and Jarred Thompson in the second leg of Saturday's doubleheader.
The duo of Trevor Foshey and Vaughn Hunter clinched both doubles points on Saturday, earning a 6-2 win against Samford and ASU's pairs. Foshey and Hunter defeated Justin Ghavami and Fares Kilani first followed by the victory against Adam Coyne and Ronald Mataba on Saturday. Both matches for the duo of Rishab Agarwal and Luka Sucevic were suspended.
In singles action, Borges earned a straight-set victory for his first win in the No. 1 spot after downing Samford's Fares Kilani 6-2, 6-1. Borges' match against ASU's Karlo Skvorc was suspended in the freshman's favor at 6-4, 2-2.
“Nuno is learning how to be aggressive,” Roberts said of the freshman from Portugal. “We are pushing him to be that way and to use his forehand and finish at the net. It's uncomfortable for players at first when you teach them a new way to play, but he's improving so fast. He played unreal today.”
Winning a combined two matches on the day was junior Agarwal, both coming in singles action. Agarwal defeated Samford's Trey Carter, 6-3, 4-6, 6-0, before downing ASU's Takura Mlambo, 6-1, 6-1. Both matches were the clinching victories for the Bulldogs.
Named SEC Freshman of the Week this past week, Braun won his only singles match of the day against Samford's Leonard Gerch, 6-0, 6-2, while fellow freshman Strahinja Rakic picked up his lone singles win of the day against ASU's Jarred Thompson, 6-2, 6-0.
Saturday's doubleheader wins marked the second-straight weekend in a row that the Bulldogs sweep action at home. The Bulldogs are in the middle of a seven-game homestretch that will feature tough non-conference foes traveling to MSU's home at the A.J. Pitts Tennis Centre.
“These are the type of matches we need right now,” Roberts said following the sweep. “We get tough opponents that we can train hard against at our home and at the same time our players can focus on school also with not traveling. We get in a lot of rehab and weight room training. This is exactly what we need before going into SEC play next month.”
Next Saturday the Maroon and White will host their final doubleheader of the season, as the Bulldogs welcome UAB and Morehead State at 11 a.m. and 5 p.m. CT on Feb. 13 to the A.J. Pitts Tennis Centre.
For more information on the Mississippi State men's tennis program, follow “HailStateMT” on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
No. 29 Mississippi State 4, Samford 0
Saturday, February 6, 2016 – A.J. Pitts Tennis Centre – Starkville, Miss.
Doubles
1. Nuno Borges/Niclas Braun (MSU) def. Trey Carter/Leonard Gerch (SAM) 6-1
2. Trevor Foshey/Vaughn Hunter (MSU) def. Justin Ghavami/Fares Kilani (SAM) 6-2
3. Rishab Agarwal/Luka Sucevic (MSU) vs. Jake Faundez/Eduardo Louirdo 4-4 (susp.)
Singles
1. Nuno Borges (MSU) def. Fares Kilani (SAM) 6-2, 6-1
2. Rishab Agarwal (MSU) def. Trey Carter (SAM) 6-3, 4-6, 6-0
3. Vaughn Hunter (MSU) vs. Justin Ghavami (SAM) 6-3, 6(4)-7, 0-1 (susp.)
4. Niclas Braun (MSU) def. Leonard Gerch (SAM) 6-0, 6-2
5. Strahinja Rakic (MSU) vs. Eduardo Lourido (SAM) 7-5, 3-5 (susp.)
6. Luka Sucevic (MSU) vs. Jake Faundez (SAM) 6-2, 5-7, 5-1 (susp.)
Order of finish… Doubles… 1, 2… Singles… 4, 1, 2
Mississippi State 4, Alabama State 0
Saturday, February 6, 2016 – A.J. Pitts Tennis Centre – Starkville, Miss.
Doubles
1. Nuno Borges/Niclas Braun (MSU) def. Patrik Cvik/Jarred Thompson (ASU) 6-1
2. Trevor Foshey/Vaughn Hunter (MSU) def. Adam Coyne/Ronald Mataba (ASU) 6-2
3. Rishab Agarwal/Luka Sucevic (MSU) vs. Takura Mlambo/Karlo Skvorc (ASU) 5-3 (susp.)
Singles
1. Rishab Agarwal (MSU) def. Takura Mlambo (ASU) 6-1, 6-1
2. Vaughn Hunter (MSU) vs. Ronald Mataba (ASU) 6-3, 2-1 (susp.)
3. Nuno Borges (MSU) vs. Karlo Skvorc (ASU) 6-4, 2-2 (susp.)
4. Strahinja Rakic (MSU) def. Jarred Thompson (ASU) 6-2, 6-0
5. Luka Sucevic (MSU) def. Adam Coyne (ASU) 6-2, 6-0
6. Lucas Sanchez (MSU) vs. Patrik Cvik (ASU) 6-3, 2-1 (susp.)
Order of finish… Doubles… 1, 2… Singles… 5, 4, 1
