Last year, Cracked Racquets introduced a series called College Tennis Contenders. This 10 week series will highlight the Oracle/ITA preseason top 10 men’s tennis teams, focusing on one team a week.

This week, we take an extensive look at the #5 ranked Mississippi State Bulldogs.

Head Coach Matt Roberts’ team will look to build on a fantastic quarterfinal run at last year’s NCAA Tournament, as the Bulldogs return each member of their starting six from a season ago.

The men from Starkville will be gunning for a national championship in 2019, and appear to have the necessary ammo to be right in the mix come tournament time. With Mississippi State’s combination of talent and experience, they should absolutely be considered a favorite in the SEC.

2017-2018 Season Stats

Overall: 23-3

Conference: 11-1

Home: 12-0

Away: 6-2

Neutral: 5-1

SEC Tournament: Champions

NCAA Tournament: Quarterfinalists

MSU’s Squad

Nuno Borges, Sr.

Niclas Braun, Sr.

Florian Broska, So.

Trevor Foshey, Sr.

Giovanni Oradini, Jr.

Strahinja Rakic, Sr.

Gregor Ramskogler, Fr.

Stedman Strickland, So.

Outlook

It’s rare for a team to come off an NCAA quarterfinal run and not graduate a single player in the top six of singles or doubles, but that is precisely the situation Coach Roberts finds his squad heading into the spring. With five out of the eight rostered players being upperclassmen, MSU will possess all the experience they might need to go on a deep run this May.

Nuno Borges returns for his final season in Starkville as one of the most decorated tennis players in Bulldog history. The two-time NCAA Singles Semifinalist is easily one of the best players in the country, and everything you could ask for in a #1 player.

Borges is mentally tough, has excellent footwork, and competes like every point might be his last. Look for him to lead the way on and off the court one last time for MSU in 2019.

Niclas Braun, Trevor Foshey, and Strahinja Rakic also return for their senior seasons after being major contributors for the Bulldogs during their NCAA quarterfinal run.

Rakic and Braun were key cogs in the middle of the lineup for Coach Roberts, while Foshey was a stalwart for MSU in the lower part of the lineup. Nothing should faze these three when dual-matches begin, as they have all played and been successful in the highest pressure environments.

Giovanni Oradini is back for his junior year after playing primarily in the #2 singles position last season. I still believe the lefty from Italy is one of the more underrated players in the nation, and has the ability to compete with pretty much anyone in the country on any given day. Don’t be surprised if Gio ends up leading the team in wins at the end of the season like he did last year.

The youngest returning player from last year’s top six is sophomore Florian Broska. The German found a home in the lower part of the lineup and played to a very successful 8-2 SEC record in singles.

With a full season of college tennis now under his belt, I expect Broska to match his production from last year and become an important piece of the puzzle for the Bulldogs this spring.

Stedman Strickland and Gregor Ramskogler are the newcomers to Coach Roberts’ squad this season. Strickland is a sophomore who originally signed with Delta State coming out of high school. He finished his freshman season with an 8-6 mark in singles before transferring to Mississippi State. Strickland will be needed for depth purposes, as the Bulldogs only have eight rostered players.

Ramskogler comes to Starkville from his native country of Austria. He had international success in both singles and doubles, and now has the perfect opportunity to adapt to college tennis under the leadership of his more experienced teammates. Like Strickland, Ramskogler will be needed at some point to provide depth.

The 2018-19 Bulldogs are going to be a force to be reckoned with. There is a ton of international flare on this squad; their talent, experience, and workmanlike attitudes should pay dividends down the road. Coach Roberts is the perfect guy to keep everyone focused on the task at hand, while not looking too far ahead.

As far as the lineup goes, I don’t see why any changes should be made from last season. Everyone seemed to excel in their respective roles so it should be pretty easy for the coaches, at least in the beginning. There are no selfish players on this team.

In singles, this is what we saw last year; Borges at #1, Oradini at #2, Rakic at #3, Braun at #4, Broska at #5, and Foshey at #6. Each one of these guys had an outstanding dual-match record in these positions.

In doubles, Coach Roberts deployed the following teams; Borges/Rakic at #1, Braun/Oradini at #2, and Broska/Foshey at #3. Again, all three of these teams were highly successful in their respective roles, so I wouldn’t expect any changes right off the bat.

At the end of the day, MSU’s lineup should be the easiest thing Coach Roberts has to worry about. Last season proved these 6 guys have what it takes to be an elite squad.

Cracked Take

Playing tennis in the SEC is an absolute gauntlet year after year. There are no easy matches, and even though this same MSU team won the SEC title in 2018, there is no guarantee they will be able to bring another one home in 2019.

On the other hand, when you look at the combination of talent and experience on this squad, it would be hard to imagine them not being right there on the final day of the SEC Tournament. If these guys can consistently play to the level they did last year, there is a great chance Mississippi State wins the SEC again.

Although MSU’s run in the 2018 NCAA Team Championships ended with a heartbreaking 4-3 loss to Ohio State in the quarterfinals, the Bulldogs were dominant prior to the loss.

The men from Starkville posted two 4-0 victories over Tennessee Tech and South Alabama, before defeating a very talented Texas squad 4-1 in the round of 16.

This Mississippi State team is not to be slept on. With the roster being mostly international, I feel as though college tennis fans sometimes forget about them. The program is obviously not as well-known as Georgia, Florida, or even Texas A&M, but Coach Roberts and MSU go about their business, like I said before, in a workmanlike manner.

Can the Bulldogs win a national title in 2019? I firmly believe this will be one of the last teams standing when it’s all said and done this May. Without having as much depth as some other elite teams, MSU will need to stay healthy though. One injury to a key player could derail their title hopes. That is my one major worry about this squad. All of the other boxes are checked, so if these guys can stay on the court throughout a grueling SEC schedule, 2019 might just be their year.

MSU 2019 Schedule

The Bulldogs will play several notable non-conference opponents as they prepare for SEC play this spring. Coach Roberts’ team will begin their 2019 slate with the Arizona State Invite on January 10th-12th. MSU will host Miami and South Florida on February 1st and 3rd, respectively. The following weekend, the Bulldogs will head to Lubbock, Texas to face Texas Tech on February 8th and Tulane on February 9th. Finally, MSU will head to Orlando, Florida on February 23rd to take on Oklahama in their final non-conference match.

The SEC conference schedule is brutal every single year. It won’t be any easier for Coach Roberts’ squad as they have to travel to Gainesville to play Florida on March 10th.

Later in the season, the Bulldogs will take another road trip to College Station, Texas to battle Texas A&M. On the bright side, MSU will host notable matchups against Georgia, Kentucky, Tennessee, and rival Ole Miss in Starkville.

Playing in the SEC is a perfect way to prepare for another run at the NCAA Championships in May.

Reader Poll

How will the MSU Bulldogs do in the 2019 season? This is the 2018 NCAA Championship team.

SEC Champions, but they falter in the NCAA tournament.

Finish top 3 in the SEC, make an average run in the NCAA tournament.

This team is overhyped, and will not finish in the top 10. View Results

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How do you think the season will turn out for the Mississippi State men? Make sure to take the poll, or let us know your thoughts in the comments below.