Blazers Fall to No. 14 Mississippi State, 7-0

Sunday, January 14

Starkville, Miss.

1:00 PM

UAB

Mississippi State

Kelly Price/Mississippi State Athletics

Blazers Fall to No. 14 Mississippi State, 7-0

1/14/2018 4:06:00 PM | Men's Tennis

Box Score (PDF) Season Stats

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The UAB men's tennis team gave the 14^th-ranked Mississippi State Bulldogs all they could handle in both team's season openers but ultimately fell to the Bulldogs 7-0 on Sunday at the A.J. Pitts Tennis Centre.

UAB's lone win of the day came in doubles play as Anru Fourie and Kenton Parton produced an impressive 6-2 win over the No. 41 Bulldog tandem of Floridan Broska and Giovanni Oradini.

Both doubles matches on courts one and two finished 7-5 in favor of the Bulldogs, securing the opening point of the match. Sophomore Tim Dollman and senior Stefan Gonzalez were up 4-1 on the 49^th-ranked duo of Niclas Braun and Trevor Foshey before the home pair rattled off six wins to ultimately seal the point for the home team.

Fourie played in the only singles match that went to three sets as he found himself in a duel with Broska on court five. The senior won the second set, 6-2, after dropping the first, 7-5. The two battled through nine points before Broska claimed the 1-0 (9) win in the final frame and claim the point.

Dollman faced a tall order in No. 3 Nuno Borges, who advanced to the NCAA Championship Semifinals last season. The reigning Conference USA Freshman of the Year played a solid match, including winning four games in the second set, but could not overcome Borges as he fell 6-1, 6-4.

Three other Blazers faced ranked opponents in singles play as Gonzalez fell to 29^th-ranked Oradini (6-2, 6-4), Kenton Parton fell to No. 54 Strahinja Rakic (6-1, 7-5) and Giovani Pasini dropped his match to Braun (6-2, 6-4).

Mississippi State's Trevor Foshey defeated Nikolai Manchev, 6-1, 6-3, to earn the Bulldogs' third point of the afternoon.

UAB returns to action on Monday as the Green and Gold travels to Tuscaloosa to take on the University of Alabama. First serve is set for 11 a.m. CST with live stats available here.

For more information on UAB men's tennis, follow the Blazers on Twitter (@UAB_MTEN), Instagram (@uabmenstennis) and Snapchat (@UABAthletics).

UAB at No. 14 Mississippi State
A.J. Pitts Tennis Centre
Starkville, Miss.

Doubles
1. #49 Niclas Braun/Trevor Foshey def. Tim Dollman/Stefan Gonzalez 7-5
2. Nuno Borges/Strahinja Rakic def Nikolai Manchev/Henry Paiste 7-5
3. Anru Fourie/Kenton Parton def. #41 Florian Broska/Giovanni Oradini 6-2

Order of finish: 3, 2, 1

Singles
1. #3 Nuno Borges (MSU) def. Tim Dollman (UAB) 6-1, 6-4
2. #29 Giovanni Oradini (MSU) def. Stefan Gonzalez (UAB) 6-2, 6-4
3. #54 Strahinja Rakic (MSU) def. Kenton Parton (UAB) 6-1, 7-5
4. #118 Niclas Braun (MSU) def. Giovani Pasini (UAB) 6-2, 6-4
5. Florian Broska (MSU) def. Anru Fourie (UAB) 5-7, 6-2, 1-0(9)
6. Trevor Foshey (MSU) def. Nikolai Manchev (UAB) 6-1, 6-3

Order of finish: 1, 6, 3*, 4, 2, 5
*Match-clinching victory