Mississippi State
UAB
MSU Tennis Picks Up Win In Home Opener Over Visiting UAB, 5-2
February 15, 2009 | Men's Tennis
STARKVILLE, Miss. ? The Mississippi State men's tennis team posted a solid 5-2 home-opening win over the visiting UAB Blazers Sunday. State improved to 2-2 with the win while UAB fell to 1-3.
The Bulldogs opened up strong, taking the doubles point by sweeping all three doubles matches, led by an upset win at the #1 spot where junior Chris Doerr and sophomore Tanner Stump picked up their first dual match victory of the season, beating 29th-ranked Brian Ly and Alex Emery of UAB, 8-5. State's freshman duo of Louis Cant and Artem Ilyushin then clinched the point with an 8-4 win at No. 3.The MSU tandem of rookie Daniel Sanchez and sophomore Antonio Lastre then won their fourth straight match and remain undefeated in dual match play, beating Dennis Ehlrich and Slawek Szeremata, 8-7(2).
UAB came out strong in singles action, however, taking significant leads on several courts. But MSU rallied well to stave off a UAB comeback. Doerr ignited the charge for MSU. Trailing UAB's Daniel Moser 4-0 in the first set, he then won 12 of the next 13 games, winning 6-4, 6-1 for a 2-0 Bulldog lead.
The Blazers' Ly then put UAB on the board with his win at the #1 spot over Bulldog senior Ryan Farlow 6-2, 6-3. MState's Sanchez answered by taking his two-set bout over Dan Cornei of UAB, 6-1, 6-4 and State led 3-1.
The State rookie Cant would then clinch the match for the Bulldogs with his come-from behind victory over UAB's Thomas Petrich, a match that Petrich led 3-0 in the first set before Cant climbed back and took the match 7-5, 6-0.
Ilyushin would also rally from a small first-set deficit to down Ehlrich of UAB 6-2, 7-6(4). In the final match of the day, which was a fierce battle, UAB's Emery took the three-set bout from the Bulldog's Lastre, 7-6(6), 3-6, 1-0(5).
The victory was State's 23rd all-time over the Blazers and their 16th straight. MSU now goes 2-0 in home openers under Coach Nilsson's guidance and 42-9 all-time in that category.
“It was great picking up our first home win of the season,” said Head Coach Per Nilsson. “We had a lot of guys show improvement and we just want to continue to improve this week as we prepare for next weekend's matches.”
MSU will return to their home courts next weekend for two matches, the first on Friday when MSU will play host to Memphis at 2 p.m., followed with a Sunday match against Georgia State at 1 p.m.
#56 MISSISSIPPI STATE 5, #75 UAB 2
Starkville, Miss. ? 2/15/09
DOUBLES ? Chris Doerr/Tanner Stump (MSU) def. #29 Alex Emery/Brian Ly (UAB), 8-5; Antonio Lastre/Daniel Sanchez (MSU) def. Dennis Ehlrich/Slawek Szeremata (UAB), 8-7(2); Artem Ilyushin/Louis Cant (MSU) def. Tyronne Ewels/Daniel Moser (UAB), 8-4.
SINGLES ? Brian Ly (UAB) def. Ryan Farlow (MSU), 6-2, 6-3; Daniel Sanchez (MSU) def. Dan Cornei (UAB), 6-1, 6-4; Artem Ilyushin (MSU) def. Dennis Ehlrich (UAB), 6-2, 7-6(4); Louis Cant (MSU) def. Thomas Petrich (UAB), 7-5, 6-0; Alex Emery (UAB) def. Antonio Lastre (MSU), 7-6(6), 3-6, 1-0 (5); Chris Doerr (MSU) def. Daniel Moser (UAB), 6-4, 6-1.
