Lady Bulldog Tennis Team Wins Thrilling 4-3 Match Over Texas Tech

Sunday, January 25

Lubbock, Texas

10:00 AM

Mississippi State

Texas Tech

MSU Lady Netters Earn Key Wins On Final Day At SEC Coaches' Classic

Lady Bulldog Tennis Team Wins Thrilling 4-3 Match Over Texas Tech

January 25, 2009 | Women's Tennis

By: hailstate.com

LUBBOCK, Texas ? In a match that came down to the final contest on court, Mississippi State women's tennis team edged 74th-ranked Texas Tech, 4-3, on the road Sunday at the Lubbock Country Club. With the win, the Lady Bulldogs improved to 2-0 while TTU fell to 1-1.

The freshman MSU doubles duo of Natalia Mayuk and Olesya Tsigvintseva staved off two Texas Tech match points to rally and pull out a 9-8(7) victory over the Lady Raider pair of Kelsy Garland and Sam van der Drift at the No. 1 position to clinch the dramatic victory for MSU. That win came after the teams split doubles decisions at the No. 2 and 3 positions and had gone to doubles tied at 3-3 after singles action, which was contested first.

Early during the crucial doubles point, it looked tough for State as the senior duo of Martina Banikova and Elna de Villers fell to the Tech tandem of Simone Templeton and Kerryn Potgieter 8-5. But MSU's team of Radka Ferancova and Daniela Juskova evened things for the Lady Bulldogs with an 8-6 victory over Tech's Natalie Leitch and Stefanie Peana, setting the stage for the tiebreaker at the #1 spot.

But to set up the dramatic finish in doubles, the teams had split the six singles matches, three of which went to a third set. Texas Tech grabbed the early lead when Sam van der Drift ousted State's Martina Banikova 6-0, 6-3 at the No. 1 position.

The Lady Bulldogs then reeled off three straight wins on courts two, three, and six for a 3-1 advantage. Playing at court No. 3, Ferancova picked up State's first victory with a straight-set 6-2, 6-2 triumph. Following her lead, the freshman Tsigvintseva and junior Valeriya Makarycheva both held onto their leads. Tsigvintseva outlasted the Lady Raiders' Garland 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 at No. 2, while Makarycheva rolled past Kerryn Potgeiter of Tech in straight sets, 6-1, 6-4 at No. 6.

With three matches already in State's victory column, the Lady Bulldogs set their sights on courts four and five for the clinching point, but would not get it. Mayuk and de Villiers both battled hard for MSU, as each match went into three sets, but both would fall short. De Villiers lost in a close 6-2, 5-7, 6-3 contest to Tech's Templeton at No. 4. Mayuk went down in a 5-7,6-3,6-2 loss to Peana to knot the match score at 3-3 and set up the exciting conclusion in doubles.

"This was a great, exciting win for our team," MSU head coach Tracy Lane said. "We showed a lot of composure and character today and I could not have been prouder. We are glad to be on the winning end, as it is always tough to lose matches that are this close, where you know you have played well enough to win. We did a great job on some big points at the end and that was the difference."

State now returns home for its first home match this Saturday, Jan. 31, when the Lady Bulldogs host Louisiana-Monroe at 1 p.m. CT.


MISSISSIPPI STATE 4, #74 TEXAS TECH 3
January 25, 2009 ? Lubbock, Texas

                SINGLES ? Sam van der Drift (TT) def. Martina Banikova (MSU) 6-0, 6-3; Olesya Tsigvintseva (MSU) def. Kelsy Garland (TT) 6-4, 4-6, 6-3; Radka Ferancova (MSU) def. Natalie Leitch (TT) 6-2, 6-2; Simone Templeton (TT) def. Elna de Villiers (MSU) 6-2, 5-7, 6-3; Stefanie Peana (TT) def. Natalia Mayuk (MSU) 5-7, 6-3, 6-2; Valeriya Makarycheva (MSU) def. Kerryn Potgeiter (TT) 6-1, 6-4.
                DOUBLES ?Mayuk/Tsigvintseva (MSU) def. Garland/van der Drift 9-8(7); Potgieter/Templeton (TT) def. Banikova/de Villiers (MSU) 8-5; Ferancova/Daniela Juskova (MSU) def. Leitch/Peana (TT) 8-6.

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