STARKVILLE, Miss. – The Wichita State men's tennis team lost a hard-fought battle to No. 3 Mississippi State, 4-0, Saturday at the A.J. Pitts Tennis Centre.
 
Doubles
The Bulldogs jumped out to an early 1-0 lead, clinching the doubles point with wins in flights one and three. No. 37-ranked Nuno Borges and Strahinja Rakic won a 6-0 decision over Shocker duo Eddie Stoica and Marius Frosa in the top flight. WSU's Stefan Latinovic and Andrea Caligiana fell to MSU's Trevor Foshey and Gregor Ramskogler, 6-2, in the third slot. Murkel Dellien and Haru Inoue, who came into the match with a perfect 2-0 record in dual play, were knotted at three with Niclas Braun and Giovanni Oradini, who came into the match ranked seventh in ITA/Oracle Doubles Rankings.
 
Singles
The Shockers put up a fight against the No. 3-ranked Bulldogs, jumping out to quick first set leads. Murkel Dellien hung around early against No. 11 Nuno Borges in the top flight, before falling in straight sets (6-2, 6-2) to give the Bulldogs a 2-0 lead. Freshman Stefan Latinovic raced out to a 4-3 lead in set one against Niclas Braun on court four, who ranks No. 67 in singles. Braun rallied to win three-straight games to take the set, 6-4. Braun rolled in the second (6-0) to push the lead to 3-0. Eddie Stoica competed in his first dual singles match of the season, where he took on No. 78 Florian Broska in the sixth position. Stoica pushed Broska early, taking a 2-1 lead. Broska came through to defeat Stoica (6-4, 6-3), clinching the win for the Bulldogs.
Caligiana trailed 4-3 in the second set to No. 93 Trevor Foshey (6-4, 4-3) while Inoue claimed the first set over Oradini (6-4) and trailed 5-2 in the second before going unfinished.
 
The Shockers will resume action at ITA Kick-Off Weekend with a match against UNC-Wilmington in consolation action. Match time is scheduled for 10 a.m. CT at the A.J. Pitts Tennis Centre.
 

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No. 3 Mississippi State 4, Wichita State 0
A.J. Pitts Tennis Centre
Starkville, Miss.
January 26, 2019
 
Doubles
1. #36 Nuno Borges/Strahinja Rakic (MSU) def. Marius Frosa/Eddie Stoica (WSU) 6-0
2. #7 Niclas Braun/Giovanni Oradini (MSU) vs. Murkel Dellien/Haru Inoue (WSU) 3-3 (susp.)
3. Trevor Foshey/Gregor Ramskogler (MSU) def. Andrea Caligiana/Stefan Latinovic (WSU) 6-2
Order of finish: 1, 3
 
Singles
1. #11 Nuno Borges (MSU) def. Murkel Dellien (WSU) 6-2, 6-2
2. Giovanni Oradini (MSU) vs. Hari Inoue (WSU) 4-6, 5-2 (susp.)
3. Strahinja Rakic (MSU) vs. Marius Frosa (WSU) 6-4, 4-1 (susp.)
4. #67 Niclas Braun (MSU) def. Stefan Latinovic (WSU) 6-4, 6-0
5. #93 Trevor Foshey (MSU) vs. Andrea Caligiana (WSU) 6-4, 4-3 (susp.)
6. #78 Florian Broska (MSU) def. Eddie Stoica (WSU) 6-4, 6-3
Order of finish: 1, 4, 6