Ole Miss Snaps MSU’s 10-Match Win Streak

Sunday, March 26

Starkville

10:00 AM

Mississippi State

Ole Miss (cont.)

Niclas Braun won his 10th-striaght singles match in the defeat.

Ole Miss Snaps MSU’s 10-Match Win Streak

March 26, 2017 | Men's Tennis

STARKVILLE, Miss. – A two-day match at the A.J. Pitts Tennis Centre ended with No. 15 Mississippi State (14-4, 5-1 SEC) falling to No. 49 Ole Miss (8-6, 3-4 SEC) as the Rebels snapped MSU's 10-match win streak to escape Starkville with the 4-2 win.

"Today was a tough result, but tip your cap to Ole Miss because they played a great match," head coach Matt Roberts said. "I think we pressed a little bit with the big home crowd, but we have to do a better job at taking our chances when they come. We're going to move on and stay focused on improving and getting better."

Before the rain interrupted play between the Bulldogs and Rebels on Saturday, Ole Miss was able to capture the doubles point. The Rebel tandem of Ricardo Jorge and Zvonimir Babic downed Mate Cutura and Vaughn Hunter 6-3, before Ole Miss' Filip Kraljevic and Tim Sandkaulen defeated Nuno Borges and Giovanni Oradini 6-4 for the doubles point. No. 31 Niclas Braun and Trevor Foshey's match against No. 13 Fabian Fallert and Grey Hamilton was suspended at 5-5.

Sunday's singles action began with the Bulldogs and Rebels splitting the first sets, 3-3. Once again it was MSU's Braun first to the finish line as the sophomore won easily 6-0, 6-1 to tie the score at 1-1.

On court one, No. 8 Borges gave MSU's its first lead of the afternoon at 2-1 after defeating No. 38 Gustav Hansson, 6-1, 6-3. The ranked win for Borges was his 14th of the season as the sophomore improved his overall singles record to 24-5.

The back-and-forth play continued as Ole Miss took its first singles match following a 6-4, 6-3 defeat of Vaughn Hunter on court six to even the score once again. With the margin at 2-2, the Rebels would take back-to-back results on court two and three as Ole Miss earned the 4-2 win on the road.

"Ole Miss did a better job handling the rain delay and the layover to Sunday," Roberts said. "We have to adjust better with that going forward. We're not going to dwell on this one too long, because we have a big weekend of home matches coming up. We had a great crowd this weekend, so it should be a fun couple of matches."

Cutura fell to his foe Sankaulen, 7-6(8), 6-4 on court three before Rakic dropped his three-set battle to Ricardo Jorge, 6-2, 3-6, 7-5.

Up Next
The Bulldogs will continue their five-match homestand against Georgia, Tennessee, Texas A&M and LSU.

Additional Notes

Ole Miss now leads the all-time series 50-28
The Rebels won their first match in Starkville since 2013
No. 8 Nuno Borges leads the Bulldogs in singles play with a 24-5 record overall
Borges earned his 19th career ranked win in singles play
Niclas Braun leads MSU with a 10-match win streak in singles play

Social Media
For more information on the Mississippi State men's tennis program, follow "HailStateMT" on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

No. 49 Ole Miss 4, No. 15 Mississippi State 2
Starkville, Miss. – March 25-26, 2017 – A.J. Pitts Tennis Centre

Doubles

1. No. 31 Niclas Braun/Trevor Foshey (MSU) vs. No. 13 Fabian Fallert/Grey Hamilton (UM) 5-5, suspended
2. Ricardo Jorge/Zvonimir Babic (UM) def. Mate Cutura/Vaughn Hunter (MSU) 6-3
3. Filip Kraljevic/Tim Sandkaulen (UM) def. Nuno Borges/Giovanni Oradini (MSU) 6-4

Order of finish: 2, 3

Singles

1. No. 8 Nuno Borges (MSU) def. No. 38 Gustav Hansson (UM) 6-1, 6-3
2. Ricardo Jorge (UM) def. No. 110 Strahinja Rakic (MSU) 6-2, 3-6, 7-5*
3. Tim Sandkaulen (UM) def. Mate Cutura (MSU) 7-6(8), 6-4
4. Giovanni Oradini (MSU) vs. Fabian Fallert (UM) 7-5, 3-6, 1-2, suspended
5. Niclas Braun (MSU) def. Filip Kraljevic (UM) 6-0, 6-1
6. Grey Hamilton (UM) def. Vaughn Hunter (MSU) 6-4, 6-3

Order of finish: 5, 1, 6, 3, 2
* - Match-clinching victory