Mississippi State
BYU
Mississippi State Men's Tennis Splits Pair Of Matches In Harvard Tourney
January 30, 2010 | Men's Tennis
With the win over the Crimson, MSU improved to 3-0 all-time against the Ivy League opponent and the loss to BYU was the first all-time match between the Cougars and the Bulldogs. BYU is the leader of the tournament with a 2-0 record thus far, with a nightcap match coming tonight against State's Friday opponent, DePaul.
In the first match of the day State served up against host-school Harvard. The Crimson jumped off to a 1-0 lead by claiming the doubles point. The first doubles match was won by Harvard at the No. 3 position, when State's tandem of Louis Cant and Chris Doerr fell to the Crimson duo of Alexei Chijoff-Evans and Joshua Tchan, 8-1. Later on from the No. 1 spot, MState's team of George Coupland and Artem Ilyushin slipped up in an 8-6 match to Aba Omodele-Lucien and Christo Schultz of Harvard, to give the Crimson the 1-0 lead. MSU's Antonio Lastre and Daniel Sanchez were trailing the Crimson's Alistair Felton and Andy Nguyen 7-6 when play was suspended after Harvard claimed the doubles point.
State's Cant helped the Bulldogs even the score by winning his fourth straight match in identical-set fashion, 6-3, 6-3, over Harvard's Tchan at the No. 3 spot. State then fell behind again following MSU's senior Doerr's loss to the Crimson's Felton at the No. 5 position, 7-6(12), 6-2.
The Bulldogs would rally to score the final three points of the match, with Lastre leading the way with a three-set win at the No. 4 spot over Nguyen of Harvard, 6-3, 3-6, 6-1. At the No. 1 slot, MState's 42nd-ranked Coupland snapped a three-match skid by coming from behind to claim the final two sets of the three-set battle against Harvard's Chijoff-Evans, 4-6, 6-3, 6-4. Bulldog sophomore Ilyushin, who stands at No. 125 nationally was the match-clinching point for the Maroon and White by taking down the Crimson's Omodele-Lucien, 4-6, 6-4, 6-2.
Against BYU, MState slipped up to the Cougars, 4-2, with Brigham Young jumping out to a 2-0 lead early on with wins coming from the No. 5 and No. 6 position. At the No. 5 slot, State's Doerr fell to Roman Warias of BYU in straight sets, 6-1, 6-2. MSU's sophomore Hrehan Hakeem lost in identical-set fashion to the Cougars' Spencer Smith, 6-2, 6-2, at the No. 6 slot. The Bulldogs would even things up, 2-2, with MSU's Cant winning his match at the No. 3 spot over BYU's Cassidy Mears, 7-6(3), 6-1. State's Lastre won the match that tied the score at the No. 4 position over Georgy Batrakov of the Cougars in identical sets, 6-4, 6-4. The Cougars would claim the final two singles matches to claim the win, with 42nd-ranked Coupland getting upended by No. 117 Thomas Shubert of BYU in a three-set battle, 6-4, 4-6, 6-4. The match-clinching point would come at the No. 2 position, where MSU's Ilyushin fell in three sets to BYU's Evan Urbina, 6-4, 3-6, 6-4.
"We are happy to pick up a couple of quality wins this weekend," said head coach Per Nilsson. "We are still not playing to our potential, but I feel confident that everyone will begin to start improving very soon."
The Bulldogs will take a week off before returning to the courts next weekend in Seattle, Wash., where MSU will serve up in the Great Northwest Shootout. The first match will come against host-school Washington on Friday, Feb. 5, followed by a Saturday match against East Tennessee State.
#67 MISSISSIPPI STATE 4, #61 HARVARD 2
Boston, Mass. - 1/30/10
DOUBLES - No. 1: Aba Omodele-Lucien/Christo Schultz (Harvard) def. George Coupland/Artem Ilyushin (MSU) 8-6; No. 2: Antonio Lastre/Daniel Sanchez (MSU) vs. Alistair Felton/Andy Nguyen (Harvard) 6-7, susp.; No. 3: Alexei Chijoff-Evans/Joshua Tchan (Harvard) def. Louis Cant/Chris Doerr (MSU) 8-1 (Order of Finish: 3,1).
SINGLES - No.1: #42 Coupland (MSU) def. Chijoff-Evans (Harvard)4-6, 6-3, 6-4; No. 2: #125 Ilyushin (MSU) def. Omodele-Lucien (Harvard) 4-6, 6-4, 6-2; No. 3: Cant (MSU) def. Tchan (Harvard) 6-3, 6-3; No. 4: Lastre (MSU) def. Nguyen (Harvard) 6-3, 2-6, 6-1; No. 5: Felton (Harvard) def. Doerr (MSU) 7-6(12), 6-2; No. 6: Max Gregor Smith (MSU) vs. Schultz (Harvard) 3-6, 6-1, 5-6, susp. (Order of Finish: 3,5,4,1,2).
#62 BRIGHAM YOUNG 4, #67 MISSISSIPPI STATE 2
Boston, Mass. - 1/30/10
SINGLES - No. 1: #117 Thomas Shubert (BYU) def. #42 Coupland (MSU) 6-4, 4-6, 6-4; No. 2: Evan Urbina (BYU) def. #125 Ilyushin (MSU) 6-4, 3-6, 6-4; No. 3: Cant (MSU) def. Cassidy Mears (BYU) 7-6(3), 6-1; No. 4: Antonio Lastre (MSU) def. Georgy Batrakov (BYU) 6-4, 6-4; No. 5: Roman Warias (BYU) def. Doerr (MSU) 6-1, 6-2; No. 6: Spencer Smith (BYU) def. Hrehan Hakeem (MSU) 6-2, 6-2 (Order of Finish: 5,6,3,4,1,2).
Players Mentioned
