Men's Tennis
Fall officially arrives for the Mississippi State men's tennis team today, as the Bulldogs will be in a pair of locations over the weekend – Gainesville, Fla., and Tuscaloosa, Ala.
Junior Strahinja Rakic, ranked 67th nationally in singles, will join two other Bulldogs in the Gator Ranked+1 tournament in Gainesville. Rakic, the No. 4 seed in the A Draw, will open up against Illinois' Noe Khlif at 9:30 a.m. this morning.
In doubles, Rakic will pair up with South Carolina's Paul Jubb in the doubles A Draw, opening action at 8 a.m. today.
Bulldog sophomore Giovanni Oradini and junior Niclas Braun are also making the trip to Gainesville, with Oradini set to face 46th-ranked Christian Seraphim of Wake Forest at 10:30 a.m., also in the A Draw. Braun will open up against No. 71 Jefta Kecic from North Florida, who is a 5-8 seed in the B Draw.
Oradini and Braun will pair up for B Draw doubles where they are the No. 3-seeded duo, facing Yuval Solomon and Jake Stefanik of Wake Forest and Kentucky, respectively. That match will also begin at 8 a.m.
In Tuscaloosa at the Crimson Tide Four-In-The-Fall tournament, MSU rookie Florian Broska and junior Trevor Foshey will represent the Bulldogs. The duo will begin doubles play at 8 a.m. today against Tulane's Tim Reutzel and Eric Wagner.
Broska begins his singles competition at 10 a.m. today, facing Paul Goth of Notre Dame in the Crimson Draw, while Foshey is set to take the court at 11 a.m. against Memphis' Matt Story in the Houndstooth Draw.
In doubles, Broska and Foshey will pair up and begin competition in the Crimson Doubles draw at 8 a.m. Friday.
Volleyball
With four non-conference tournament weekends complete, Mississippi State (9-6) welcomes South Carolina (7-5) to Newell-Grissom for the 2017 SEC opener.
First serve is set for 7 p.m., with the SEC Network + handling the broadcast. Fans can access the match through WatchESPN or the Watch ESPN app.
The Bulldogs face off against the Gamecocks for the 45th time. USC has won the last two matches and holds a 32-12 series advantage, including a 10-8 mark in Starkville.
Women's Tennis
Following another successful season under head coach Daryl Greenan, the Mississippi State women's tennis team hits the road for Greenville, S.C., this weekend for the Debbie Southern Fall Classic starting today.
With Furman hosting the tournament, the Bulldogs will also meet up with players from Clemson, Florida State, Ohio State, North Carolina, Ole Miss, Tennessee, Vanderbilt, Texas and Wake Forest.
MSU enters the year after finishing the 2016-17 season ranked 20th nationally (tying a school record) and appearing in the NCAA Championship for the third straight season.
Returning for the Bulldogs are seniors Madison Harrison and Khrystyna Vozniak. In 2016, the two paired together to advance to the NCAA Doubles Round of 16, the first duo since 1989 NCAA Doubles Champions Claire Pollard and Jackie Holden to do so. Harrison is currently ranked 109th in singles.
Also back are junior veterans Caroline Kelly and Anastasia Rentouli who posted 3-8 and 12-12 singles records last year, respectively. The two combined for an 11-10 doubles mark as well.
As a lone sophomore, Sara Lizariturry returns after finishing her rookie year with a remarkable 20-11 singles record. Lizariturry clinched four of MSU's seven Southeastern Conference victories during her freshman campaign.
New to the Bulldogs are junior transfer Janina Braun and freshman Magda Adaloglou, who will be making their MSU debuts this weekend.
The Bulldogs are set to start play this weekend at 8 a.m. today with doubles. Braun and Rentouli will pair for MSU in Flight 1, Lizariturry and Vozniak in Flight 2, and Adaloglou and Kelly in Flight 4.
State will then wrap up the day with singles action at 11:30 a.m. Adaloglou is set to compete in Flight 1 for the Bulldogs, Rentouli in Flight 2, Braun in Flight 3, Lizariturry in Flight 5, and Kelly in Flight 9. Play will continue on Saturday and Sunday.