MSU Lady Netters Roll To 6-1 Victory Over ULL Thursday

Thursday, March 19

Starkville

11:00 AM

Mississippi State

Louisiana-Lafayette

State's Tsigvintseva Tabbed SEC Freshman Of The Week

MSU Lady Netters Roll To 6-1 Victory Over ULL Thursday

March 19, 2009 | Women's Tennis

By: hailstate.com

STARKVILLE, Miss. ? Mississippi State women's tennis team (9-3) moved its record to 9-0 against non-conference foes this season with Thursday's 6-1 win over Louisiana-Lafayette (5-8) at the A.J. Pitts Tennis Centre.

“One of our goals was to win all of our non-conference matches and we have done that,” said head coach Tracy Lane. “I think a couple of days off will be good for us. We will come back ready to keep moving in the right direction.”

In every win this season, MSU has taken the doubles point. Thursday was no different for the Lady Bulldogs.

Mississippi State got off to a quick start in doubles, building a 3-0 lead on courts two and three. The MSU duo of Radka Ferancova and Daniela Juskova held on for a convincing 8-0 victory at the No. 3 position over ULL's Marina Ruiz de Guana and Tara Vasovic, while the State tandem of Natalia Mayuk and Olesya Tsigvintseva also held on for an impressive win at the No. 2 position. The freshman duo ousted the Ragin' Cajun pair of Angela Dangood and Milou Israel 8-2, clinching the doubles point for the Lady Bulldogs.

State's senior duo of Martina Banikova and Elna de Villiers battled through nine deuces with ULL serving in the last game of their match at No. 1, finally pulling out an 8-5 win over ULL's team of Mia Gordon and Julie Mazinova.

Singles play started with MSU taking first-set victories on four of the six courts. MSU's Banikova took the first loss of the day though, losing 6-2, 6-0 at the No. 2 position to Mazinova.

The loss by Banikova was quickly followed by a flood of MSU victories. Senior de Villiers tallied the first MSU win in singles with a 6-1, 6-2 triumph over ULL's Gordon at the No. 4 position, which was followed by a dominating 6-4, 6-1 win for Ferancova on court No. 3 over Israel, making the score 3-1 in State's favor.

The freshman Lady Bulldog Mayuk then clinched the match with a 6-2, 7-5 triumph at the No. 5 position over Ragin' Cajun Ruiz de Guana, giving State a 4-1 lead.

The Lady Bulldogs extended their final margin of victory to 6-1 after Tsigvintseva took a 6-3, 6-3 win at the top position and Juskova rallied back for a 6-7(4), 6-0, 1-0(9) triumph at the No. 6 position, overcoming a 6-0 deficit in the third-set supertiebreaker to win.

Next up, the Lady Bulldogs will step back into conference play next Friday, March 27, against South Carolina at the A.J.Pitts Tennis Centre. Match time between MSU and the Gamecocks is slated for 2 p.m. CT.

#52 Mississippi State 6, Louisiana-Lafayette 1
March 19, 2009 ? A.J. Pitts Tennis Centre

DOUBLES ? Martina Banikova/Elna de Villiers (MSU) def. Mia Gordon/Julie Mazinova (ULL) 8-5; Natalia Mayuk/Olesya Tsigvintseva (MSU) def. Angela Dangond/Milou Israel (ULL) 8-2; Radka Ferancova/Daniela Juskova (MSU) def. Marina Ruiz de Guana/Tara Vasovic (ULL) 8-0

SINGLES - Tsigvintseva (MSU) def. Dangond (ULL) 6-3, 6-3; Mazinova (ULL) def. Banikova (MSU) 6-2, 6-0; Ferancova (MSU) def. Israel (ULL) 6-4, 6-1; de Villiers (MSU) def. Gordon (ULL) 6-1, 6-2; Mayuk (MSU) def. Ruiz de Guana (ULL) 6-2, 7-5; Juskova (MSU) def. Vasovic (ULL) 6-7(4), 6-0, 1-0(9)

Order of Finish... Doubles (3,2,1) Singles (2, 4, 3, 5, 1, 6)