Mississippi State
Vanderbilt
Bulldog Men's Tennis Drops 4-3 Heartbreaker To Vanderbilt
April 03, 2009 | Men's Tennis
It was the seventh-straight setback by the Bulldogs while Vandy picked up their first conference win of the season and snapped a 10-match losing skid. It was the first time State has dropped a home match to the Commodores since 2003.
Vanderbilt began their quest by sweeping a very competitive doubles point, starting off at the No. 2 spot where the MSU rookie tandem of Louis Cant and Artem Ilyushin fell to Vandy's duo of Nik Cromydas and Vijay Paul 8-6. The Commodores clinched the doubles point at No. 3 when MSU senior Ryan Farlow and sophomore Antonio Lastre fell in a another close match to Vanderbilt's Charlie Jones and Bryant Salcedo, 9-7. At the No. 1 spot, MState's team of junior Chris Doerr and sophomore Tanner Stump fell in a tiebreaking effort to the 46th-ranked Commodore tandem of Adam Baker and Alex Zotov, 9-8(3).
Vanderbilt then began singles play with what appeared to be an easy Commodore victory taking the first set in five matches and posting wins in the the first two contests complete. At No. 4, State's Lastre fell to Baker of Vandy, 6-3, 6-3. At No. 5, Doerr dropped a close first set before succumbing to the Commodores' Jones, 7-6(1), 6-0. VU led 3-0 at that point and appeared to be very much in control of the match overall, but the Bulldogs were not done and began mounting an impressive comeback effort.
In his first match since entering the national rankings at No. 89, State's Ilyushin won his second straight conference match and ignited the MSU rally at the No. 2 position, downing Salcedo of Vanderbilt 7-6(1), 6-2. Then, at the No. 1 and 3 positions, MSU's 88th-ranked Farlow and Cant both came back from one-set deficits to tie the team score at 3-3. At No. 1, Farlow bested the Commodores' Paul 3-6, 6-3, 6-2. Evening the score in the match was Cant, who trailed 6-3, 3-1 before proceeding to win 11 consecutive games over Cromydas of Vandy for a 3-6, 6-3, 6-0 triumph.
That left a hard-fought three-set bout at No. 6 to decide the match. There, State's Stump won seven straight games in the second and third sets, but was not able to outlast Vanderbilt's Jones, dropping a heartbreaking 6-3, 0-6, 6-4 decision that gave the visiting Commodores the match.
“This was a tough one for us to drop. The doubles point was crucial and I think both teams knew that coming into the match” said
MSU will look to rebound this Sunday, April 5, at 1 p.m. CST, when the Bulldogs host the 13th-ranked Kentucky Wildcats at the A.J. Pitts Tennis Centre. Admission is free.
#53 VANDERBILT 4, #60
DOUBLES ? #46 Adam Baker/Alex Zotov (VU) def. Chris Doerr/Tanner Stump (MSU) 9-8(3); Nik Cromydas/Vijay Paul (VU) def. Louis Cant/Artem Ilyushin (MSU) 8-6; Charlie Jones/Bryant Salcedo (VU) def. Ryan Farlow/Antonio Lastre (MSU) 9-7.
SINGLES ? Farlow (MSU) def. Paul (VU) 3-6, 6-3, 6-2; Ilyushin (MSU) def. Salcedo (VU) 7-6(1), 6-2; Cant (MSU) def. Cromydas (VU) 3-6, 6-3, 6-0; Baker (VU) def. Lastre (MSU) 6-3, 6-3; Zotov (VU) def. Doerr (MSU) 7-6(1), 6-0; Jones (VU) def. Stump (MSU) 6-3, 0-6, 6-4.
Order of Finish: Doubles ? 2, 3, 1; Singles ? 4, 5, 2, 1, 3, 6.
Players Mentioned
