Mississippi State
South Carolina
Bulldog Netmen Top Gamecocks 4-2
March 21, 2008 | Men's Tennis
STARKVILLE, Miss. - The 47th-ranked Mississippi State men's tennis team won its fourth straight Friday afternoon, defeating South Carolina 4-2 at the A.J. Pitts Tennis Centre. The Bulldogs moved to 8-5 on the year and improved to 2-3 in conference play.
"I was very proud of our guys today," said MSU head coach Per Nilsson. "We were focused and kept our intensity level up. This was a good win for us and hopefully we can continue playing well."
State claimed the doubles point for the sixth time this season to take an early 1-0 lead. First off the courts, MSU's Chris Doerr and Tanner Stump topped South Carolina's Johannes Pulsfort and David Wolff 8-1 on court #3. The clincher came on court #1 as State's team of Ivan Bjelica and Philippe Frayssinoux downed USC's Pedro Campos and Yevgeny Supeko 8-4. MSU's Ryan Farlow and Pjotrs Necajevs were two points from victory on court #2, as they led Gamecocks Diego Cubas and Jaime Cuellar 7-4 when play was suspended.
MSU's 37th-ranked Bjelica gave State a 2-0 lead as he breezed by Supeko 6-0, 6-1 at the #1 position to open singles play. USC would close the gap to 2-1 as Ivan Cressoni topped MSU's Antonio Lastre 6-3, 6-2 on court #5. Minutes later, USC tied the score at 2-2 as Campos defeated MSU's Doerr 6-2, 6-4 on court 3. In a matter of seconds, State's 50th-ranked Frayssinoux closed in on a 6-4, 6-2 win over USC's Cubas at the #2 position, giving State a 3-2 edge. Junior Ryan Farlow would once again prove to be the difference as he held on to defeat Pulsfort 6-1, 6-4 on court #4 to clinch MSU's win. The remaining match on court #6 between Bulldog Artem Kuznetsov and Wolff of USC was suspended with Wolff leading 7-6(3), 2-2.
With the win over the Gamecocks, MSU is now 13-7 in the all time series with South Carolina. State's eight wins this season are the most since 2005. The doubles team of Bjelica and Frayssinoux moved to 6-2 this season as they evened their conference record at 2-2. Doerr and Stump are 5-1 together as they improved to 3-1 in Southeastern Conference play. Farlow and Frayssinoux won their fourth straight in singles while Bjelica improve to 3-1 in SEC matches.
MSU will continue its SEC schedule Sunday, as they travel to Gainesville, Fla., to face 18th-ranked Florida. Match time is set for noon C.T. at the Ring Tennis Complex on the UF campus.
#47 Mississippi State 4, #70 South Carolina 2
Starkville, Miss.-3/21/08
Doubles-Ivan Bjelica/Philippe Frayssinoux (MSU) def. Pedro Campos/Yevgeny Supeko (USC) 8-4; Ryan Farlow/Pjotrs Necajevs (MSU) vs. Diego Cubas/Jaime Cuellar (USC) MSU led 7-4, susp.; Chris Doerr/Tanner Stump (MSU) def. Johannes Pulsfort/David Wolff (USC) 8-1.
Singles-#37 Bjelica (MSU) def. Supeko (USC) 6-0, 6-1; #50 Frayssinoux (MSU) def. Cubas (USC) 6-4, 6-2; Campos (USC) def. Doerr (MSU) 6-2, 6-4; Farlow (MSU) def. Pulsfort (USC) 6-1, 6-4; Ivan Cressoni (USC) def. Antonio Lastre (MSU) 6-3, 6-2; Artem Kuznetsov (MSU) vs. David Wolff (USC) USC led 7-6(3), 2-2, susp.
Players Mentioned
