BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Mississippi State men’s tennis sophomore Nuno Borges earned Southeastern Conference Player of the Year honors and was one of four players Wednesday to receive postseason league honors.
Borges, who is ranked No. 3 nationally, is 31-6 in singles play and leads the SEC with a 19-3 record at the No. 1 spot. Niclas Braun (All-SEC Second Team), Strahinja Rakic (All-SEC Second Team), and Giovanni Oradini (SEC All-Freshman Team) joined him on the All-SEC team.
“This is more than I could’ve ever expected a year and a half ago when I first came to MSU,” Borges said. “I’m so proud, not only for getting this honor, but also for all the progress I’ve made since then. This award doesn’t only reflect the hard work that I put in, but also all the efforts of my teammates, coaches and staff who pushed me to get better every single day. Without their love and support, none of this would be possible.”
Borges joins Thomas Dupre (1997) and Marco Baron (2001) as the only Bulldogs to win the SEC Player of the Year honor. Borges is the youngest Bulldog to win the honor. Dupre won the honor as a junior, while Baron was a senior. The sophomore was also named to the All-SEC First Team on Wednesday in addition to his top honor.
“Nuno has an exceptional will to succeed,” MSU coach Matt Roberts said. “He loves competing and winning, but is also one of the most humble players I’ve ever had the privilege of coaching. He expects perfection, but at the same time understands that if he fails it is part of the process of growing and getting better. I’m so proud of him, because Nuno deserves all the praise and honors that come his way. He’s unreal.”
Borges has 21 ranked singles wins, including four against top-10 foes. The Maia, Portugal native is on track to become MSU first All-American since 2013.
Braun claimed his first All-SEC honor. He is ranked ninth in doubles with partner Trevor Foshey.
Braun has earned 10 ranked wins with Foshey. They lead MSU with a 19-11 record.
Rakic is 19-12 in singles. He has been ranked as high as No. 110 in singles.
Oradini has won 14 singles matches since joining the team in January. The freshman clinched five matches for MSU, with two of those coming last weekend at the SEC Championships against No. 19 South Carolina and No. 11 Texas A&M.
n In related news, Borges received an automatic bid to the NCAA Singles and Doubles Championships on May 24-29 in Athens, Georgia. Braun and Foshey also earned an at-large doubles selection.
The draw for the 64-player NCAA Singles and 32-team Doubles Championships will be released closer to the start of the tournament.
n Women’ tennis team’s Lee earns No. 7 seed in NCAA Singles Championship; Lee/Rioux No. 2 in NCAA Doubles: At Starkville, Senior Jasmine Lee was named the No. 7 overall seed for this year’s NCAA Singles Championship, while Lee and freshman Lisa Marie Rioux were selected as the No. 2 seed for the NCAA Doubles Championship.
The 2017 NCAA seedings earned by Lee and Rioux mark the highest in MSU women’s tennis history in both singles and doubles.
Ranked eighth nationally, Lee earned a top-16 seed in the 64-player NCAA Singles draw for the second-straight year. She is the first MSU women’s tennis player to earn multiple ITA All-America honors. A 2016 NCAA quarterfinalist, she is 23-6, including a dual-match mark of 19-3.
Lee and Rioux are the second tandem from MSU to earn ITA All-America status, joining MSU’s 1989 NCAA Doubles Champions Jackie Holden and Claire Pollard. Lee and Rioux are 24-5 overall at the No. 1 position. They have 10 wins against ranked opponents.
“Jasmine has had another stellar year,” MSU coach Daryl Greenan said. “She has worked hard and led our team through another successful season. She and Lisa have also had tremendous success as a doubles team. The pair have made a major impact on our program and helped us raise the bar even higher for Bulldog Tennis. We are all looking forward to a strong showing from these two at Nationals.”
n In related news, the NCAA recognized the MSU women’s tennis team for achieving a multi-year Academic Progress Rate in the top 10 percent of teams around the nation.
This is the first time the Bulldogs have received the APR Public Recognition Award.
“This is a great achievement for our team and program,” MSU coach Daryl Greenan said. “We strive to develop the best student-athletes in the country, with success both on the court and in the classroom. We place a high priority on academics here at MSU and I’m proud that we not only met that standard, but also raised the bar with today’s recognition.”
The recognition is the sixth for a Mississippi State program. The softball team earned the honor in 2009 and 2010, the women’s golf team earned the honor in 2005 and 2014, and the men’s tennis team earned the honor in 2013.
Each year, the NCAA honors selected Division I sports teams by publicly recognizing their latest multiyear NCAA Division I Academic Progress Rate (APR). This announcement is part of the overall Division I academic reform effort and is intended to highlight teams that demonstrate a commitment to academic progress and retention of student-athletes by achieving the top APRs within their respective sports. Specifically, these teams posted multiyear APRs in the top 10 percent of all squads in each sport.
Golf
n Pichaikool earns SEC All-Freshman honors: At Birmingham, Alabama, MSU’s MSU men’s golfer Peng Pichaikool was named to the SEC All-Freshman team Wednesday.
The Thailand native notched a 70.98 scoring average along the way to tallying five top-15 finishes in seven tournaments this spring, including a second-place finish (tie) at the Lone Star Invitational.
Pichaikool is the first Bulldog golfer to be named to the All-Freshman team, and the first Bulldog to receive SEC honors since Chad Ramey in 2014.
The voting for All-SEC honors was by the league’s coaches.
Pichaikool is awaiting word from the NCAA on where he will land for postseason play. That announcement is set for 11 today.
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