Mississippi State
ITA Southern Region Indoor Championships
Bulldog Netters Have Excellent Opening Day At ITA Southern Regionals
October 22, 2009 | Men's Tennis
NEW ORLEANS, La. - Mississippi State's men's tennis was outstanding during the first day of play at the Intercollegiate Tennis Association's Southern Regional Indoor Championships Thursday, going 13-1 in singles. The tournament, being hosted by Tulane University, is the qualifying event for the ITA National Indoor Championships.
The Bulldogs were paced by 83rd-ranked sophomore Artem Ilyushin, who posted a pair of straight-set wins to reach the round of 16. The No. 4 seed overall, Ilyushin downed Samford's Carson Kadi 6-1, 6-1 before holding off a first-set charge from Louisiana-Lafayette's Tomasz Krzyszkowski 7-6(4), 6-1.
Joining Ilyushin in advancing to the round of 16 were sophomore George Coupland and junior Antonio Lastre. Coupland, ranked 109th in the country and seeded fifth this weekend, rolled 6-2, 6-0 over UNO's Calvin Kemp before ousting LSU's James Tubervill 6-4, 6-4 in his second match. Lastre was a 6-1, 6-2 winner over Auburn's Nick Maurillo and followed with a 6-3, 7-5 triumph against Alabama's Houssam Yassine.
Four other Bulldogs are still very much alive in the singles draw as well, as rookie Hrehan Hakeem, senior Chris Doerr, and sophomores Louis Cant and Max Gregor Smith also notched victories Thursday to move into the third round. Hakeem and Doerr each won twice on the day in straight-set fashion.
"We had a great day," MSU head coach Per Nilsson said. "The guys were all pretty focused and took care of business. We just need to continue that effort throughout the weekend."
In doubles, two Bulldog teams got their second-round matches under way after receiving first-round byes, but both contests were suspended when expected rains finally hit the area late in the day.
Cant and Doerr were deadlocked 8-8 in a tiebreaker with the 36th-ranked and third-seeded UNO pair of Calvin Kemp and Benjamin Smith, while Smith and Stump led 2-1 early against Privateers Benjamin Bouhana and Stepan Siska when played was halted.
Action in the event is slated to resume at 8 a.m. CT Friday.
MSU RESULTS FROM THE ITA SOUTHERN REGION CHAMPIONSHIPS
October 22, 2009 - New Orleans, La.
SINGLES
First Round - Hrehan Hakeem (MSU) def. Jacob Dawson (Centenary) 6-3, 6-1; Chris Doerr (MSU) def. Michael Davis (Alabama) 6-2, 6-2.
Second Round - Tanner Stump (MSU) def. Etham Frenkel (Tulane) 6-0, 6-3; Hakeem (MSU) def. Stefan Szacinski (LSU) 1-6, 6-4, 6-2; #83 Artem Ilyushin (MSU) def. Carson Kadi (Samford) 6-1, 6-1; #109 George Coupland (MSU) def. Calvin Kemp (New Orleans) 6-2, 6-0; Antonio Lastre (MSU) def. Nick Mauillo (Auburn) 6-1, 6-2; Doerr (MSU) def. Rodrigo Rappaccioli (Tulane) 6-2, 6-4; Louis Cant (MSU) def. Julien Roussel (Southern Miss) 6-2, 6-2; Max Gregor Smith (MSU) def. Matt Shoptaugh (Centenary) 6-0, 6-2.
Third Round - #10 Saketh Myneni (Alabama) def. Stump (MSU) 6-3, 6-1; #83 Ilyushin (MSU) def. Tomasz Krzyszkowski (Louisiana-Lafayette) 7-6(4), 6-1; #109 Coupland (MSU) def. James Tubervill (LSU) 6-4, 6-4; Lastre (MSU) def. Houssam Yassine (Alabama) 6-3, 7-5.
DOUBLES
Second Round - Cant/Doerr (MSU) vs. #36 Kemp/Benjamin Smith (UNO) 8-8, susp.; Smith/Stump (MSU) vs. Benjamin Bouhana/Stepan Siska (UNO) 2-1, susp.
(numbers preceding names are current national rankings)
