Thursday, March 9
Starkville
3:00 PM
Mississippi State
5
vs
2
Alabama
Bulldogs extend win streak in 5-2 win on Thursday.
No. 16 MSU Rolls Over Alabama 5-2
March 09, 2017 | Men's Tennis
STARKVILLE, Miss. – Propelled by doubles play to begin the afternoon, the 16th-ranked Mississippi State men's tennis team (11-3, 2-0 SEC) cruised past Alabama (6-9, 0-3 SEC) as the Bulldogs won 5-2 to continue their dominance over the Crimson Tide.
The win moved MSU's record to 11-3 overall and 2-0 in conference play, while the Bulldogs earned their eighth-straight victory over Bama.
"We felt great about our doubles play today," head coach Matt Roberts said. "We've worked extra hard in that area of our game this week and it paid off for us today. I think our guys had fun and that was thanks to the momentum we gained from doubles play and the great energy our home crowd gave us. I'm happy of our performance today, but now its time to focus on our upcoming road trip and continue to get better."
Thursday's win extended MSU's current win streak to seven matches as the Bulldogs prepare for three-consecutive SEC contests on the road.
The match began with the Bulldogs winning on courts one and three as MSU clinched its first doubles point since Feb. 24 against Tulane. Nuno Borges and Strahinja Rakic downed their Tide foes 6-3 for the first result of the afternoon. Following the win on court three, No. 48 Niclas Braun and Trevor Foshey clinched the point on court one after a 6-3 win over No. 66 Mazen Osama and Spencer Richey.
Braun continued his stellar play into singles play as the sophomore picked up his second win of the afternoon over Bama's Richey. Braun took care of business, 7-5, 6-1 to earn his 10th singles win of the season.
The Crimson Tide's No. 103 Thibault Cancel picked up the team's first point of the match as he defeated Rakic, 6-2, 6-4 to briefly close the gap at 2-1. The Bulldogs would quickly respond and stretch the lead to 3-1 as Cutura collected his second-straight singles win after a 6-3, 6-4 victory over Edson Ortiz on court three.
With all the momentum in favor of the Bulldogs, MSU would claim a pair of tiebreaker wins on courts four and six as Giovanni Oradini and Trevor Foshey earned back-to-back wins. Oradini clinched the Bulldog win after a 6-1, 7-6(4) victory, before Foshey also earned a straight-set win against his Bama foe, 6-0, 7-6(6).
Only one match remained as MSU held a 5-1 lead, with No. 4 Borges and No. 41 Osama battling it out on court one. Osama edged out Borges, 7-5, 4-6, 6-2 as last year's ITA Southern Region Freshman of the Year knocked off Borges in a tight contest.
Up Next
MSU hits the road for the next three matches as the Bulldogs continue SEC play. MSU faces Vanderbilt, Kentucky and Arkansas before returning home on March 25 against Ole Miss at 3 p.m. CT.
Additional Notes
Social Media
For more information on the Mississippi State men's tennis program, follow "HailStateMT" on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
No. 16 Mississippi State 5 Alabama 2
Starkville, Miss. – A.J. Pitts Tennis Centre - March 9, 2017
Doubles
Order of finish: 3, 1
Singles
Order of finish: 5, 2, 3, 4, 6, 1
The win moved MSU's record to 11-3 overall and 2-0 in conference play, while the Bulldogs earned their eighth-straight victory over Bama.
"We felt great about our doubles play today," head coach Matt Roberts said. "We've worked extra hard in that area of our game this week and it paid off for us today. I think our guys had fun and that was thanks to the momentum we gained from doubles play and the great energy our home crowd gave us. I'm happy of our performance today, but now its time to focus on our upcoming road trip and continue to get better."
Thursday's win extended MSU's current win streak to seven matches as the Bulldogs prepare for three-consecutive SEC contests on the road.
The match began with the Bulldogs winning on courts one and three as MSU clinched its first doubles point since Feb. 24 against Tulane. Nuno Borges and Strahinja Rakic downed their Tide foes 6-3 for the first result of the afternoon. Following the win on court three, No. 48 Niclas Braun and Trevor Foshey clinched the point on court one after a 6-3 win over No. 66 Mazen Osama and Spencer Richey.
Braun continued his stellar play into singles play as the sophomore picked up his second win of the afternoon over Bama's Richey. Braun took care of business, 7-5, 6-1 to earn his 10th singles win of the season.
The Crimson Tide's No. 103 Thibault Cancel picked up the team's first point of the match as he defeated Rakic, 6-2, 6-4 to briefly close the gap at 2-1. The Bulldogs would quickly respond and stretch the lead to 3-1 as Cutura collected his second-straight singles win after a 6-3, 6-4 victory over Edson Ortiz on court three.
With all the momentum in favor of the Bulldogs, MSU would claim a pair of tiebreaker wins on courts four and six as Giovanni Oradini and Trevor Foshey earned back-to-back wins. Oradini clinched the Bulldog win after a 6-1, 7-6(4) victory, before Foshey also earned a straight-set win against his Bama foe, 6-0, 7-6(6).
Only one match remained as MSU held a 5-1 lead, with No. 4 Borges and No. 41 Osama battling it out on court one. Osama edged out Borges, 7-5, 4-6, 6-2 as last year's ITA Southern Region Freshman of the Year knocked off Borges in a tight contest.
Up Next
MSU hits the road for the next three matches as the Bulldogs continue SEC play. MSU faces Vanderbilt, Kentucky and Arkansas before returning home on March 25 against Ole Miss at 3 p.m. CT.
Additional Notes
- MSU leads the all-time series against Alabama 33-24
- Alabama has not won in Starkville since 2010
- Head Coach Matt Roberts is now 3-0 in SEC home openers at MSU
- The ranked win for Niclas Braun and Trevor Foshey was their fifth of the season
- Freshman Giovanni Oradini has now clinched three matches for State
- Oradini is tied for second on the team with eight dual-match wins in singles play
- Braun has won his last six matches in singles play
- Braun is now 10-2 in SEC play for his career
Social Media
For more information on the Mississippi State men's tennis program, follow "HailStateMT" on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
No. 16 Mississippi State 5 Alabama 2
Starkville, Miss. – A.J. Pitts Tennis Centre - March 9, 2017
Doubles
- No. 48 Niclas Braun/Trevor Foshey (MSU) def. No. 66 Mazen Osama/Spencer Richey (UA) 6-3
- Mate Cutura/ Vaughn Hunter (MSU) vs. Alexey Nesterov/Edson Ortiz (UA) 4-4, suspended
- Nuno Borges/Strahinja Rakic (MSU) def. Thibault Cancel/Zhe Zhou (UA) 6-3
Order of finish: 3, 1
Singles
- No. 41 Mazen Osama (UA) def. No. 4 Nuno Borges (MSU) 7-5, 4-6, 6-2
- No. 103 Thibault Cancel (UA) def. Strahinja Rakic (MSU) 6-2, 6-4
- Mate Cutura (MSU) def. Edson Ortiz (UA) 6-3, 6-4
- Giovanni Oradini (MSU) def. Alexey Nesterov (UA) 6-1, 7-6(4)
- Niclas Braun (MSU) def. Spencer Richey (UA) 7-5, 6-1
- Trevor Foshey (MSU) def. Zhe Zhou (UA) 6-0, 7-6(6)
Order of finish: 5, 2, 3, 4, 6, 1
Players Mentioned
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
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