Mississippi State
LSU
Mississippi State Netmen Fall To #13 LSU
April 01, 2007 | Men's Tennis
LSU (13-4, 5-3) got on the scoreboard first, winning two of three doubles matches. The fifth-ranked LSU tandem of Danny Bryan and Colt Gaston gave the Tigers their first victory, as they closed out MSU's Ivan Bjelica and Philippe Frayssinoux 8-2 on court #1. State's freshman duo of Artem Kuznetsov and Pjotrs Necajevs hung close with 14th-ranked Ken Skupski and James Cluskey, but ultimately dropped an 8-5 decision which gave LSU the 1-0 lead. In the last doubles match completed, Bulldogs Ryan Farlow and Chris Doerr outlasted LSU's Kevin Dessauer and Jan Zelezny 8-6 on court #3.
Singles play, which was very tight early on, gradually started to shift in favor of the Tigers. LSU won the first set on four of the six singles courts and grabbed the momentum on their way to the victory. LSU took a 2-0 advantage as 44th-ranked Bryan downed MSU rookie Kuznetsov 6-1, 6-1 on court #3. State's Eric Lim fell 6-1, 6-0 to Zelezny on court #6, which gave LSU a 3-0 lead. Several moments later, LSU grabbed their fourth and clinching point as Tiger Gaston outlasted MSU's Farlow 7-5, 6-4 on court #3. LSU extended their lead to 5-0 when Cluskey dropped MSU freshman Doerr in a third-set supertiebreaker 6-4, 4-6, 1-0(5). Another supertiebreaker win on court #4 by 111th-ranked Tiger Dessauer gave LSU a 6-0 advantage, as he rallied to top State freshman Edouard Benchetrit 3-6, 6-3, 1-0(8). The Bulldog's lone point of the match came on court #1 where junior Frayssinoux, who took over for an injured Bjelica, upset LSU's 24th-ranked Skupski 7-5, 6-4.
"I was proud of our guys for battling today," said MSU head coach Sylvain Guichard. "In the circumstances that we were in today without one of our best players, I thought we showed some character and our young guys really stepped up. We played well in doubles and gave it all we had."
With the loss on Sunday, State fell to 4-3 at home this season. Frayssinoux notched his 20th win of the season with his win and moved to 5-3 in the SEC. MSU's Farlow and Doerr had three-match win streaks snapped.
The Bulldog's next action will come on the road next weekend as they travel to face top-ranked Georgia on Friday, followed by a matchup with #22 Tennessee in Knoxville, Tenn., on Sunday.
#13 LSU 6, #61 MISSISSIPPI STATE 1
STARKVILLE, Miss. - 4/1/07
DOUBLES -#5 Danny Bryan/Colt Gaston (LSU) def. Ivan Bjelica/Philippe Frayssinoux (MSU) 8-2; #14 Ken Skupski/James Cluskey (LSU) def. Artem Kuznetsov/Pjotrs Necajevs (MSU) 8-5; Chris Doerr/Ryan Farlow (MSU) def. Kevin Dessauer/Jan Zelezny (LSU) 8-6.
SINGLES - Frayssinoux (MSU) def. #24 Skupski (LSU) 7-5, 6-4; #44 Bryan (LSU) def. Kuznetsov (MSU) 6-1, 6-1;Gaston (LSU) def. Farlow (MSU) 7-5, 6-4; Dessauer (LSU) def. Edouard Benchetrit (MSU) 3-6, 6-3, 1-0(8); Cluskey (LSU) def. Doerr (MSU) 6-4, 4-6, 1-0(5); Zelezny (LSU) def. Lim (MSU) 6-1, 6-0.
(numbers preceding names are current national rankings)
