Mississippi State
Ole Miss
Bulldogs Fall To Fifth-Ranked Mississippi
February 07, 2008 | Men's Tennis
STARKVILLE, Miss. - Despite a strong effort, the Mississippi State men's tennis team dropped a tough 4-0 decision to fifth-ranked Mississippi on Thursday night at the River Hills Cup in Jackson, Miss. With the loss State falls to 1-1 this season while the Rebels improved to 4-1.
In a close doubles contest, the Rebels grabbed the point by capturing two of the three doubles matchups. On court #3, Rebels Jonas Berg and Kalle Norberg claimed an 8-4 win over Artem Kuznetsov and Pjotrs Necajevs. Ivan Bjelica and Philippe Frayssinoux had match points on court #1 against the 24th-ranked pair of Bram ten Berge and Matthias Wellermann, but could not complete it as UM's Jakob Klaeson and Robbye Poole topped MSU's pair of Ryan Farlow and Tanner Stump 8-4 on court #2 before #1 could finish.
State would go down 2-0 when 14th-ranked Frayssinoux fell 6-4, 6-0 to 48th-ranked Poole of UM. On court #3, MSU's Farlow, a Madison, Miss., native, dropped the first set 6-3 to 58th-ranked Rebel ten Berge. In the second set, Farlow had break chances, but ultimately fell 7-6(3) in a tiebreaker as the Rebels took a 3-0 lead. On court #1, a well-contested match was taking place between Bjelica and fifth-ranked Wellermann. Wellermann took the first set 6-3. Bjelica would battle back to even the match with a 7-6(3) win in the second set. The third set went much like the second as both players held serve throughout to send it to a tiebreaker. However, with Bjelica leading 3-0 in the decisive frame, the match would be suspended as UM's Berg topped State's Kuznetsov 6-3, 6-1 on court #4 to clinch the match for UM. Play was also suspended on court #5 with Mississippi's Norberg leading MSU's Maximilien Genuini 5-1.
"I thought we gave good effort tonight against a good team," said MSU head coach Per Nilsson. "We just could not get over the hump and they got the best of us. We just have to work hard and bounce back."
With the loss against the Rebels, State has now lost nine straight in the annual River Hills matchup. The Bulldogs also dropped their 20th-straight overall match to UM.
State will return to action Sunday, as they travel to Atlanta, Ga. to take on 41st-ranked Georgia Tech. Match time is set for 11 a.m. CT at the Bill Moore Tennis Center on the Georgia Tech campus.
#5 Mississippi 4#56 MSU 0
Jackson, Miss.-2/7/08
Doubles-Bjelica/Frayssinoux (MSU) vs. #28 Wellermann/ten Berge (UM) MSU led 7-5, susp.; Klaeson/Poole (UM) def. Farlow/Stump (MSU) 8-4; Berg/Norberg (UM) def. Kuznetsov/Necajevs (MSU) 8-4.
Singles-Ivan Bjelica (MSU) vs. #5 Matthias Wellermann (UM) MSU led 4-6, 7-6(3), 6-6(3-0), susp.;#48 Robbye Poole def. #14 Philippe Frayssinoux (MSU) 6-4, 6-0; #58 Bram ten Berge (UM) def. Ryan Farlow (MSU) 6-3, 7-6(3); Jonas Berg (UM) def. Artem Kuznetsov (MSU) 6-3, 6-1; Kalle Norberg (UM) vs. Maximilien Genuini (MSU) UM led 5-1, susp.
