Mississippi State
Florida Invitational
MSU's Ilyushin Earns Co-Champion Honors Of Gator Invitational As Tourney Concludes
September 27, 2009 | Men's Tennis
GAINESVILLE, Fla. - The Mississippi State men's tennis team finished their first fall tournament the way they started the event, strong. The Bulldogs picked up five wins in singles and swept all three of their doubles matches from the day to conclude the 2009 Gator Invitational in Gainesville, Fla. Standout sophomore Artem Ilyushin earned co-champion honors with his performance, going a perfect 3-0 in singles and 2-1 in doubles.
"I thought we improved each day which was our goal coming into the tournament," said head coach Per Nilsson. "It was great to get some of these guys in the win column for the first time and now we know things that we must improve on. Also it was a great honor for Artem (Ilyushin) to pick win the co-championship."
Entering his way into the win column for the first time of the season was sophomore George Coupland, who stands 109th in the national rankings, took down Jamal Adderly of South Florida in straight sets, 6-3, 6-1. MSU's 83rd ranked sophomore Artem Ilyushin advanced to 3-0 in singles action and earned co-champion honors at the event with his three-set win over USF's Wael Kilani, who is ranked 73rd in the country, 6-3, 4-6, 1-0(5).
MState's junior Antonio Lastre managed to win all his matches at the event, after defeating Romain Deridder of South Florida in a three-set battle, 6-3, 2-6, 1-0(10). Sophomore Louis Cant of Mississippi State also maintained his unblemished record in singles play, after his two-set victory over South Florida's Mark Oljaca, 6-2, 6-0. Sophomore Max Gregor Smith picked up his first collegiate win over a ranked opponent after beating host-school Florida's Antoine Benneteau, who is ranked No. 107, 2-6, 6-4, 1-0(11).
Dropping his first singles match in his young career with the Maroon and White was sophomore Hrehan Hakeem, who slipped up against Juan Acuna of South Florida in a tight three-set match, 6-2, 3-6, 1-0(8). MSU's sophomore Tanner Stump also notched a loss after falling to USF's Yannick Yoshizawa, 6-3, 6-2.
In doubles play, MState ran away with victories in all three of their matches, first from the Bulldog tandem of Coupland and Ilyushin taking down USF's team of Kilani and Yoshizawa, 6-1. The MSU duo of Lastre and Stump defeated Deridder and Oljaca of South Florida, 7-5, and Cant and Smith of Mississippi State conjured up a 7-5 win over South Florida's Acuna and Adderly.
The Bulldogs will return to action on Oct. 2, where MSU will compete at the Florida State Invitational in Tallahassee, Fla.
GATOR INVITIATIONAL
Gainesville, Fla. - 9/27/09
SINGLES
#83 Artem Ilyushin (MSU) def. #73 Wael Kilani (South Florida) 6-3, 4-6, 1-0(5); #109 George Coupland (MSU) def. Jamal Adderly (South Florida) 6-3, 6-1; Antonio Lastre (MSU) def. Romain Deridder (South Florida) 6-3, 2-6, 1-0(10); Louis Cant (MSU) def. Mark Oljaca (South Florida) 6-2, 6-0; Max Gregor Smith (MSU) def. #107 Antoine Benneteau (Florida) 2-6, 6-4, 1-0(11); Juan Acuna (South Florida) def. Hrehan Hakeem (MSU) 6-2, 3-6, 1-0(8); Yannick Yoshizawa (South Florida) def. Tanner Stump (MSU) 6-3, 6-2.
DOUBLES
Coupland/Ilyushin (MSU) def. Kilani/Yoshizawa (South Florida) 6-1; Lastre/Stump (MSU) def. Deridder/Oljaca (South Florida) 7-5; Cant/Smith (MSU) def. Acuna/Adderly (South Florida) 7-5.
