Friday, April 27
Tuscaloosa, Ala.
12:00 PM
Mississippi State
vs
Ole Miss
Ninth-ranked MSU will take on in-state rival Ole Miss in the 2018 SEC Championship quarterfinals on Friday.
No. 9 Bulldogs To Face Rebels In SEC Quarterfinals Friday In Tuscaloosa
April 26, 2018 | Men's Tennis
STARKVILLE, Miss. – After closing the regular season with its highest Southeastern Conference finish since 1993, the ninth-ranked and second-seeded Mississippi State men's tennis team (17-2) is set to open play in the 2018 SEC Championship on Friday.
The Bulldogs will take on a familiar foe, facing in-state foe 10th-seeded and 40th-ranked Ole Miss at Noon CT at the Alabama Tennis Stadium in Tuscaloosa. The Rebels (14-11) advanced with a second round upset of No. 28 South Carolina Thursday afternoon.
Tickets are available online or at the gate. All-week passes are $15, while one-day tickets are $5 for adults and $2 for kids 18 and under.
Last Time Out For MSU…
The last time the Bulldogs took the court, they dominated from start-to-finish in Baton Rouge against LSU, winning handily 6-0 in the regular season finale to end the SEC slate at a remarkable 11-1. State began by taking the doubles point with a 6-1 win by Nuno Borges and Strahinja Rakic on court 1, followed by a tight 6-4 win by Florian Broska and Trevor Foshey at the No. 3 position.
MSU kept rolling in singles, taking all six first sets. Foshey was the first Bulldog off the court with a 6-1, 6-1 win on court 6. Rakic then capped off a 6-3, 6-0 win on court 3, followed shortly thereafter by Niclas Braun's clincher on court 4 by a 6-4, 6-2 mark. Broska then continued his solid freshman campaign with a 6-1, 6-3 win at No. 5. To close out the day, Borges notched yet another ranked victory at the No. 1 spot, taking a convincing 6-4, 6-2 victory.
MSU In The ITA Rankings…
In this week's Intercollegiate Tennis Association team rankings, MSU remained at No. 9 nationally—its fourth straight week in the top 10. Five Bulldogs made the cut in the most recent singles and doubles rankings. In singles, the All-American Borges rose to No. 2 in the nation, tying his career-best. Oradini is ranked 27th nationally, while Rakic is ranked No. 77 in the country. In doubles, a pair of Bulldog duos highlight the rankings, led by Borges and Rakic at the pair's career-best No. 15. The undefeated dynamic duo of Braun and Oradini are ranked 61st nationally.
About Ole Miss…
Ole Miss enters Friday's match coming off a 4-1 second round victory against seventh-seeded South Carolina. The Rebels are led in singles by 31st-ranked Tim Sandkaulen. Gustav Hansson rounds out the ranked singles players at No. 44. In doubles, Sandkaulen and Fabian Fallert team up to form the nation's 17th-ranked tandem. Sandkaulen and Grey Hamilton are ranked 46th nationally.
What To Note As MSU Faces Ole Miss…
Live Scoring/Video
Live Scoring: https://hailst.at/2vUDxOi
Live Video (if outdoors): https://hailst.at/2vUDG4i
Next Up For MSU…
The winner of MSU's match against the Rebels will take on either third-seeded and 10th-ranked Florida or 19th-ranked Vanderbilt, who is seeded sixth in the tourney, in Saturday's semifinals at 2 p.m. CT.
For more information on the Mississippi State men's tennis program, follow "HailStateMT" on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
The Bulldogs will take on a familiar foe, facing in-state foe 10th-seeded and 40th-ranked Ole Miss at Noon CT at the Alabama Tennis Stadium in Tuscaloosa. The Rebels (14-11) advanced with a second round upset of No. 28 South Carolina Thursday afternoon.
Tickets are available online or at the gate. All-week passes are $15, while one-day tickets are $5 for adults and $2 for kids 18 and under.
Last Time Out For MSU…
The last time the Bulldogs took the court, they dominated from start-to-finish in Baton Rouge against LSU, winning handily 6-0 in the regular season finale to end the SEC slate at a remarkable 11-1. State began by taking the doubles point with a 6-1 win by Nuno Borges and Strahinja Rakic on court 1, followed by a tight 6-4 win by Florian Broska and Trevor Foshey at the No. 3 position.
MSU kept rolling in singles, taking all six first sets. Foshey was the first Bulldog off the court with a 6-1, 6-1 win on court 6. Rakic then capped off a 6-3, 6-0 win on court 3, followed shortly thereafter by Niclas Braun's clincher on court 4 by a 6-4, 6-2 mark. Broska then continued his solid freshman campaign with a 6-1, 6-3 win at No. 5. To close out the day, Borges notched yet another ranked victory at the No. 1 spot, taking a convincing 6-4, 6-2 victory.
MSU In The ITA Rankings…
In this week's Intercollegiate Tennis Association team rankings, MSU remained at No. 9 nationally—its fourth straight week in the top 10. Five Bulldogs made the cut in the most recent singles and doubles rankings. In singles, the All-American Borges rose to No. 2 in the nation, tying his career-best. Oradini is ranked 27th nationally, while Rakic is ranked No. 77 in the country. In doubles, a pair of Bulldog duos highlight the rankings, led by Borges and Rakic at the pair's career-best No. 15. The undefeated dynamic duo of Braun and Oradini are ranked 61st nationally.
About Ole Miss…
Ole Miss enters Friday's match coming off a 4-1 second round victory against seventh-seeded South Carolina. The Rebels are led in singles by 31st-ranked Tim Sandkaulen. Gustav Hansson rounds out the ranked singles players at No. 44. In doubles, Sandkaulen and Fabian Fallert team up to form the nation's 17th-ranked tandem. Sandkaulen and Grey Hamilton are ranked 46th nationally.
What To Note As MSU Faces Ole Miss…
- MSU is in its 94th season of tennis, with Matt Roberts in his fourth season at the helm.
- Against LSU on 4/15, Roberts earned his 76thcareer victory, moving himself into fourth place all-time in program history for wins by a head coach.
- Since the league moved to dual match format in 1990, the Bulldogs are an even 27-27 overall in the SEC Championship. Of late, MSU has shined in the tourney, reaching at least the semifinal round three years in a row and reaching the finals in 2017.
- In the series against Ole Miss since 1970, the Rebels hold a 50-29 lead. However, the Bulldogs have seen the most success of late, winning seven of the last 11 contests.
- On April 8, the Bulldogs notched a dominant 5-2 triumph over the Rebels in Oxford, breaking a two-match Ole Miss win streak in the series.
- In the SEC Championship, the teams have met three times, the last one coming in 2000 with Ole Miss winning 4-3 in Starkville in the quarterfinals. State last defeated the Rebels in the tourney in the 1996 semifinals in Fayetteville, Ark., when the Bulldogs went on to win the tournament.
- Under Roberts in the SEC Championship, the Bulldogs are 5-3 in three trips, including reaching the finals in 2017 in Knoxville, Tenn.
- When the Bulldogs have won doubles in 2018, they are 12-2 and have won 13 of the last 15 doubles points.
- At the No. 2 position in doubles MSU is a perfect 16-0.
- Niclas Braun and Giovanni Oradini have won 12 consecutive matches in doubles—all in dual match play—and 13 of their last 14 matches.
- Strahinja Rakic has won eight of his last 10 matches.
- Nuno Borges has won three matches in a row and five of his last six. He has also won a team-best 18 matches against ranked foes.
- Braun has won eight of his last 10 singles bouts, while Florian Broska has won six of his last seven.
- Oradini has won seven of his last nine singles matches.
Live Scoring/Video
Live Scoring: https://hailst.at/2vUDxOi
Live Video (if outdoors): https://hailst.at/2vUDG4i
Next Up For MSU…
The winner of MSU's match against the Rebels will take on either third-seeded and 10th-ranked Florida or 19th-ranked Vanderbilt, who is seeded sixth in the tourney, in Saturday's semifinals at 2 p.m. CT.
For more information on the Mississippi State men's tennis program, follow "HailStateMT" on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
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