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Mississippi State
Rebels Take Down No. 15 Mississippi State
3/26/2017 | Men's Tennis
STARKVILLE, Miss. -- Less than 24 hours after taking the doubles point at No. 15 Mississippi State and having the match postponed due to rain, the Ole Miss men's tennis team came back out Sunday morning and earned the necessary three singles wins for a 4-2 victory at the A.J. Pitts Tennis Centre.
With the Rebels leading a tight match 3-2 and both remaining courts in the third set, senior Ricardo Jorge stepped up and delivered the final knockout. In a back and forth third set against Strahinja Rakic of Mississippi State, Jorge survived break points at 5-5 to hold for 6-5 and then broke Rakic to clinch a 6-2, 3-6, 7-5 win and the Rebels' second consecutive series victory. On his service game, Jorge was down 15-40 and got it back to deuce before an ace sealed the game. In the very next game, Jorge broke Rakic to end State's 10-match win streak on the year.
The match began Saturday with the Rebels taking a tight doubles point. Zvonimir Babic and Jorge struck first, defeating Mate Cutura and Vaughn Hunter 6-3, before Filip Kraljevic and Tim Sandkaulen beat Nuno Borges and Giovanni Oradini 6-4 to clinch the point. In a rematch of the ITA Southern Regional Championship match, 13th-ranked Fabian Fallert and Grey Hamilton were tied with 31st-ranked Niclas Braun and Trevor Foshey 5-5.
At the beginning of singles Saturday, rain came and washed away the rest of play for the day. The two teams came back out Sunday and resumed singles play with State getting off the court quickly at Nos. 5 and 1 singles to go up 2-1.
Hamilton evened the overall match 2-2, when he finished off State's Hunter 6-4, 6-3 at No. 6 singles.
Sandkaulen set up Jorge's match-clinching victory with an impressive performance on court three against MSU senior Mate Cutura. In a rematch from the ITA Southern Regional Championships, Sandkaulen won a huge first set tiebreaker and then carried the momentum into the second set for a 7-6(8), 6-3 win to hand the Rebels the 3-2 lead.
When Jorge clinched, Fallert was up 2-1 in the third set at No. 4 singles against MSU's Oradini.
At the Net...
• The Rebels improved to 8-6 on the year, 3-4 in the SEC
• Ole Miss now leads the all-time series with Mississippi State 50-28 and has won two straight
• This marked the first win in Starkville for the Rebels since 2013
• The Rebels handed State their first SEC loss of the season and snapped their 10-match winning streak
• The Rebels have now beaten two top-15 teams this year
• Ricardo Jorge finished the weekend 3-0 in singles and doubles including clinching his first SEC victory
• Freshman Tim Sandkaulen finished 3-0 in singles and doubles this weekend, including clinching both
doubles points
• Grey Hamilton is now 2-0 in his last two matches since returning to the singles lineup
• Ricardo Jorge and Zvonimir Babic improved to 10-1 overall, 7-0 in dual matches, and 5-0 in the SEC
Complete Results
Doubles
1. #13 Fallert/Hamilton (OM) vs. #31 Braun/Foshey (MSU) 5-5, sus.
2. Jorge/Babic (OM) def. Cutura/Hunter (MSU) 6-3
3. Sandkaulen/Kraljevic (OM) def. Borges/Oradini (MSU) 6-4
Order of Finish: 2, 3
Singles
1. #8 Nuno Borges def. #38 Gustav Hansson (OM) 6-1, 6-3
2. Ricardo Jorge (OM) def. Strahinja Rakic (MSU) 6-2, 3-6, 7-5
3. Tim Sandkaulen (OM) def. Mate Cutura (MSU) 7-6(8), 6-3
4. Fabian Fallert (OM) vs. Giovanni Oradini (MSU) 5-7, 6-3, 2-1, sus.
5. Niclas Braun (MSU) def. Filip Kraljevic (OM) 6-0, 6-1
6. Grey Hamilton (OM) def. Vaughn Hunter 6-4, 6-3
Order of Finish: 5, 1, 6, 3, 2
Thoughts from head coach Toby Hansson...
"This was an instant classic. We will remember this win for a long time, because it took two days to finish and we were down here three days. We are extremely proud of the guys for staying composed and patient dealing with the delays and coming out here and beating a really good team. This was a team win, but the game ball goes to Ricardo Jorge, for the way he finished off the victory."
On dealing with the delays...
"Obviously, tough conditions with the rain and the delays, but we had to be patient. We did a very good job getting the doubles yesterday and then we tried to complete the match last night. When we realized that wasn't going to happen, we just went back and followed our routine. We got out there today and everybody was ready to go."
On momentum shifts...
"They got two quick matches to start off, but we were able to bounce back. Grey played a very solid match, he was in control. When his opponent came back in the second set, he stayed focused and composed. Tim won a huge tiebreaker to shift the momentum in our favor there. He beat that guy in the fall, so he knew he could do it again. He played solid. Fabi played a great player, and he was in control in the first set, but the guy stepped up his level. Fabi stayed mentally strong and hung in there to get the second set. He was looking good in the third set."
On Ricky saving break points and clinching...
"That was a very courageous effort from Ricardo. He was down break points and then he battled back to get to deuce and then hit an ace. Ricardo continues to battle every time out and we couldn't be happier for him to clinch such a big win for us."
Thoughts from Ricardo Jorge...
"This was a really important win for the team. We had a tough start in the SEC and this win against a good Mississippi State team can be a turning point for the rest of the season. We faced a loud crowd in doubles and we handled it really well. The guys showed a lot of character today and gave it their all. It was great to see and we deserved to win."
On what his win means personally...
"Personally, this win means a lot to me. I've been struggling with back pain the last couple of weeks. I was really frustrated after losing against South Carolina. I knew I could win, but I was physically constrained because my back started to hurt a lot during the second set. Today I was fortunate enough to be healthy during the entire match and that gave me motivation to play my best tennis, especially when I faced three break points at 5-5 in the third set. The team was really supportive and I was not going to let this one go today."
Up next...
The Rebels will be on the road again next weekend at LSU and Texas A&M.
For more information on Ole Miss Men's Tennis, follow the Rebels on Twitter @OleMissMTennis, on Facebook at OleMissMTennis and on Instagram at OleMissMTennis, follow Coach Hansson on Twitter at @TennisToby.
Players Mentioned
