BULLDOG BITS
Men’s Tennis
ORLANDO, Fla. – On a steamy Monday at the USTA National Campus, Mississippi State's Nuno Borges and Giovanni Oradini turned in straight-set wins in their first-round matches in the 2019 NCAA Singles Championship.
The top-seeded Borges opened up with a strong first-round victory, downing No. 21 Alexis Galarneau of North Carolina State 6-4, 6-2 Monday morning.
Facing the ATP top-400 Galarneau, Borges mounted to a two-break lead at 4-1 in the first set. Galarneau battled back to take the next two games, holding on a deciding point to cut Borges' lead to 4-3. Both players held serve the next two games, with Borges serving for the set. The 2019 ITA National Senior Player of the Year did just that, holding at 40-30 to claim the first set 6-4.
In the second frame, Borges surged out of the gate to go up 5-1 behind a strong service game. After Galarneau held to cut the deficit to 5-2, Borges served it out to take a tough firstround victory, claiming the second set 6-2. Borges totaled eight aces in the match, with 5 of those coming in the second set. In the final game alone, Borges fired two aces, including one to end the match.
With the win, Borges extended his career-long winning streak to a school-record 27 matches, passing All-american Thomas Dupre's 26-match streak set in 1996-97.
“I just stayed tough throughout the match and tried not to give him too many free points,” Borges said. “In the first round, it can be hard to get things going and I think he felt it, too. So, I took advantage of it in the first set and went on to play a great second set.”
Borges will face Florida's 59th-ranked Andy Andrade in the second round. Andrade boasts a 27-12 overall singles mark on the year and went 19-7 in dual matches this spring for the Gators, primarily playing at the No. 2 (6-3) and No. 3 (9-3) spots. On Monday, the Brandenton, Florida, sophomore defeated Felipe Sarrasague of Elon 6-1, 7-6(2) in the first round.
In the afternoon match, Oradini ousted Dartmouth's 69th-ranked Charlie Broom 6-3, 6-1 to close out a 2-0 day for the Bulldogs.
Both sides held serve in the first three games before Oradini broke Broom's serve at 30-40 to go up 3-1. Broom and Oradini continued to serve well throughout the set, with Oradini claiming the first by a 6-3 margin.
The second set began a bit differently than the first, with Oradini storming out of the set break to take a 4-0 lead, taking 16 of the first 23 points. Broom fought back with a hold to cut the MSU lefty's lead to 4-1, but it was too little too late. Oradini took the final two games, breaking Broom at 15-40 with a powerful crosscourt winner to clinch the victory.
“I've been working on my visualization before my matches and I thought I came out sharp and very focused today,” Oradini said. “I knew what I was doing and knew what I wanted to do, so my game plan worked out pretty well. I did a good job of taking it point-by-point and that was the key for me. I wasn't thinking about the next game, I was just focusing on the moment.”
Oradini will take on 53rd-ranked Joseph Guillin of Ucsanta Barbara in the second round. Guillin advanced to the second round when his opponent, Gabriel Decamps of UCF, retired in the third set. Guillin is 24-11 overall and went 11-6 in dual match play for the Gauchos, including a 9-4 mark at the No. 2 position. With a win on Tuesday in the second round, Oradini will earn ITA Singles All-american honors for the second year in a row.
Match times for Borges and Oradini were to be announced Monday night after all matches have been completed.
In doubles, which begins today, Borges will team up with Rakic to form the nation's third-seeded tandem while Oradini pairs with Niclas Braun as an at-large duo in the field of 32.
Softball
SEATTLE – Mississippi State softball's 2019 campaign came to a close in Sunday night's Seattle Regional finals as No. 2/2 Washington (48-7) claimed the regional championship with an 8-0 victory at Husky Softball Stadium.
Washington's Gabbie Plain (21-2) tossed a no-hitter, allowing just one base runner via a walk with 10 strikeouts to secure the victory for the Huskies. Washington slugged two home runs to account for five runs of the team's eight runs.
Mississippi State's lone base runner was senior Kat Moore, who led off the top of the second with a walk. The Huskies quickly wiped away the Bulldog threat with a double play.
Sophomore Emily Williams earned the start, tossing 4.1 innings. Williams gave up seven runs off six hits and four walks. She struck out two in the outing. Five of Washington's seven runs were earned. Freshman Grace Fagan tossed the final 2.2 innings, allowing one run off two hits and a walk.
Women’s Tennis
ORLANDO, Fla. – Mississippi State women's tennis player Emma Antonaki fell in her NCAA debut Monday, capping an successful season overall for the Bulldog true freshman.
Ranked 59th nationally, Antonaki fell 6-3, 6-2 to North Carolina State's 10th-ranked junior Anna Rogers – a 9-16 alphabetical seed – in the opening round of the 2019 NCAA Singles Championship at the USTA National Campus.
The Athens, Greece, native jumped out to a quick start, breaking Rogers in the first game of the match. But Rogers answered. The players stayed on serve until Rogers led 4-3, when the NCSU star broke and then held to grab the first set 6-3.
In the second, the players were deadlocked at 1-1 before Rogers reeled off three-straight games (two breaks) to go up 4-1. Antonaki broke to fight back to 4-2, but Rogers answered again to go up 5-2. Antonaki pushed the final game to a deciding point, but Rogers was able to hold serve to claim the set and the match 6-3, 6-2.