Thursday, March 9
Starkville
3:00 PM
Mississippi State
vs
Alabama
Bulldogs and Tide clash on Thursday at 3 p.m. CT.
SEC Home Clash Up Next For No. 16 MSU Thursday
March 08, 2017 | Men's Tennis
STARKVILLE, Miss. – After a pair of shutout wins on Tuesday, the 16th-ranked Mississippi State men's tennis team (10-3, 1-0 SEC) sets its sights on Thursday as the Bulldogs host Alabama (6-8, 0-2 SEC) in their Southeastern Conference home opener at 3 p.m. CT.
Thursday's match at the A.J. Pitts Tennis Centre will close MSU's current three-match homestand as the Bulldogs hit the road next weekend for a pair of SEC matches against Vanderbilt and Kentucky on Thursday and Saturday.
"We're excited to play our first home SEC match of the season tomorrow afternoon," head coach Matt Roberts said. "We know our great fans will be out in full force at A.J. Pitts and we'll need their energy tomorrow against Alabama. Our guys have had a great week of tennis and we're looking to continue our growth and development. Every match is another opportunity to get better and our team will take advantage of that tomorrow."
After opening conference play with a 4-2 win at No. 49 Auburn on Sunday, the Bulldogs returned home for a doubleheader sweep over Alcorn State on Tuesday inside McCarthy Gymnasium. In the pair of victories against the Braves, MSU played all eight Bulldogs as each player earned a straight-set win in singles action.
Who To Watch For MSU
No. 4 Nuno Borges was one of those players to earn a straight-set singles win, as the sophomore kicked off the day with another dominant match on the singles court. The victory for Borges moved his overall record in singles play to 21-3 on the year, while continuing his nine-match winning streak.
On Thursday, the Bulldogs will be looking to Borges at the familiar No. 1 spot with Strahinja Rakic, Mate Cutura, Giovanni Oradini, Niclas Braun and Trevor Foshey rounding out the singles lineup. Doubles play will also look very familiar to Bulldog fans as MSU will go with the team of No. 48 Braun and Foshey at No. 1, Cutura and Hunter at No. 2 and the duo of Borges and Rakic at the No. 3 position.
Previewing The Crimson Tide
Thursday's opponent Alabama enters the contest seeking its first conference win of the season. The Crimson Tide dropped two home matches against Ole Miss, 4-3, and Arkansas, 5-2, last weekend.
Who To Watch For Alabama
The Tide has two players in this week's ITA National Singles Rankings as Mazen Osama came in at No. 41 with teammate Thibault Cancel at No. 103 nationally. Osama is 15-7 on the season with a 7-4 record in dual-match singles play, while Cancel is 12-9 and 6-7 in dual-matches. Osama also makes up Alabama's lone ranked doubles team with partner Spencer Richey at No. 66 overall. The pair is 9-5 overall and 6-5 in dual-match doubles play.
Up Next
MSU hits the road for the next three matches following Thursday's contest against Alabama. The Bulldogs will face Vanderbilt, Kentucky and Arkansas during that stretch.
Thursday's Promotions
Admission
Admission to Thursday's match at the A.J. Pitts Tennis Centre is free to all fans.
Live Video/Stats
For all home matches at the A.J. Pitts Tennis Centre, live video and statistics will be made available at www.hailstate.com/livemt.
Additional Notes
Social Media
For more information on the Mississippi State men's tennis program, follow "HailStateMT" on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
Thursday's match at the A.J. Pitts Tennis Centre will close MSU's current three-match homestand as the Bulldogs hit the road next weekend for a pair of SEC matches against Vanderbilt and Kentucky on Thursday and Saturday.
"We're excited to play our first home SEC match of the season tomorrow afternoon," head coach Matt Roberts said. "We know our great fans will be out in full force at A.J. Pitts and we'll need their energy tomorrow against Alabama. Our guys have had a great week of tennis and we're looking to continue our growth and development. Every match is another opportunity to get better and our team will take advantage of that tomorrow."
After opening conference play with a 4-2 win at No. 49 Auburn on Sunday, the Bulldogs returned home for a doubleheader sweep over Alcorn State on Tuesday inside McCarthy Gymnasium. In the pair of victories against the Braves, MSU played all eight Bulldogs as each player earned a straight-set win in singles action.
Who To Watch For MSU
No. 4 Nuno Borges was one of those players to earn a straight-set singles win, as the sophomore kicked off the day with another dominant match on the singles court. The victory for Borges moved his overall record in singles play to 21-3 on the year, while continuing his nine-match winning streak.
On Thursday, the Bulldogs will be looking to Borges at the familiar No. 1 spot with Strahinja Rakic, Mate Cutura, Giovanni Oradini, Niclas Braun and Trevor Foshey rounding out the singles lineup. Doubles play will also look very familiar to Bulldog fans as MSU will go with the team of No. 48 Braun and Foshey at No. 1, Cutura and Hunter at No. 2 and the duo of Borges and Rakic at the No. 3 position.
Previewing The Crimson Tide
Thursday's opponent Alabama enters the contest seeking its first conference win of the season. The Crimson Tide dropped two home matches against Ole Miss, 4-3, and Arkansas, 5-2, last weekend.
Who To Watch For Alabama
The Tide has two players in this week's ITA National Singles Rankings as Mazen Osama came in at No. 41 with teammate Thibault Cancel at No. 103 nationally. Osama is 15-7 on the season with a 7-4 record in dual-match singles play, while Cancel is 12-9 and 6-7 in dual-matches. Osama also makes up Alabama's lone ranked doubles team with partner Spencer Richey at No. 66 overall. The pair is 9-5 overall and 6-5 in dual-match doubles play.
Up Next
MSU hits the road for the next three matches following Thursday's contest against Alabama. The Bulldogs will face Vanderbilt, Kentucky and Arkansas during that stretch.
Thursday's Promotions
- Free poster and program
- Tennis ball toss for a free TV
- Raffle for two baseball tickets
- Dog Bone Claim Day for various prizes
Admission
Admission to Thursday's match at the A.J. Pitts Tennis Centre is free to all fans.
Live Video/Stats
For all home matches at the A.J. Pitts Tennis Centre, live video and statistics will be made available at www.hailstate.com/livemt.
Additional Notes
- MSU leads the all-time series against Alabama 32-24
- The Bulldogs have won the last seven matches in the series
- Alabama has not won in Starkville since 2010
- Head Coach Matt Roberts is 2-0 in SEC home openers at MSU
- No. 4 Nuno Borges is 11-0 for his career at the No. 1 position
- Borges is 17-1 for his career against ITA Southern Region opponents
- Niclas Braun and Strahinja Rakic have won their last five matches in singles play
- Rakic ranks second on the team with his 8-2 dual-match record in singles action
Social Media
For more information on the Mississippi State men's tennis program, follow "HailStateMT" on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
Players Mentioned
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