Mississippi State
Tennessee
State Falls 5-2 To 14th-Ranked Vols
March 02, 2008 | Men's Tennis
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -Mississippi State's men's tennis team dropped a 5-2 decision to 14th-ranked Tennessee Sunday afternoon at UT's Varsity Tennis Courts. State fell to 4-4 this season with the loss while UT improved to 11-1.
Tennessee grabbed the lead early, taking two of the three doubles matches. The first complete came on court #2 as UT's 35th-ranked team of Boris Conkic and Davey Sandgren downed Bulldogs Ryan Farlow and Pjotrs Necajevs 8-1. The Volunteers clinched the point when the 17th-ranked team of Kaden Hensel and J.P. Smith topped State's 59th-ranked duo of Ivan Bjelica and Philippe Frayssinoux 8-2 on court #1. MSU's tandem of Chris Doerr and Tanner Stump gave the Bulldogs a victory on court three as they outlasted Vols Matteo Fago and Jeremy Tweedt 8-7.
UT would quickly extend its lead to 2-0 in singles play when MSU's Maximilien Genuini was forced to retire due to an injury, down 4-2 against UT's Tweedt on court #6. Tennessee went up 3-0 as 20th-ranked Smith downed State's 42nd-ranked Frayssinoux 6-2, 6-2 on court #2. The clinching point for Tennessee came when Vol Fago topped MSU freshman Antonio Lastre 6-1, 6-3 on court five. The Vols claimed their fifth point when Conkic downed Bulldog Farlow 6-2, 6-1 on court #3. Doerr gave State its first point as he rallied to win a 6-7, 6-3, 1-0 match against UT's Sandgren at the #4 position. In the final match, State senior Bjelica, ranked 45th-nationally, held on to defeat 74th-ranked Kaden Hensel 6-3, 7-6 on court one.
"I thought we had a better overall performance today than we did on Friday against Georgia," said MSU head coach Per Nilsson. "Our entire team is banged up right now but they are fighting and are working on their game."
With the loss, State now trails UT 29-12 in the overall series. With a win on court #1, Bjelica improves to 9-3 this season and 5-2 in dual matches. Doerr improved to 2-1 in dual match play with his win Sunday.
State will open its conference home schedule Friday, March 7 as they host Alabama at 2 p.m., followed by a matchup with Auburn on Sunday, March 9 at 1 p.m. Both matches will be played at the A.J. Pitts Tennis Centre on the MSU campus.
#14 Tennessee 5, #49 Mississippi State 2
Knoxville, Tenn.-3/2/08
Doubles- #17 Kaden Hensel/J.P. Smith (UT) def. #59 Ivan Bjelica/Philippe Frayssinoux (MSU) 8-2; #35 Boris Conkic/Davey Sandgren (UT) def. Ryan Farlow/Pjotrs Necajevs (MSU) 8-1; Chris Doerr/Tanner Stump (MSU) def. Matteo Fago/Jeremy Tweedt (UT) 8-7.
Singles-#45 Bjelica (MSU) def. #74 Hensel (UT) 6-3, 7-6; #20 Smith (UT) def. #42 Frayssinoux (MSU) 6-2, 6-2; Conkic (UT) def. Farlow (MSU) 6-2, 6-1; Doerr (MSU) def. Sandgren (UT) 6-7, 6-3, 1-0; Fago (UT) def. Antonio Lastre (MSU) 6-1, 6-3; Tweedt (UT) def. Maximilien Genuini (MSU) 4-2, ret.
