Mississippi State
ITA All-American Championships
Stropp Shines In First Round Of Qualifying In Tulsa
October 04, 2010 | Men's Tennis
It was the first victory over a ranked opponent for Stropp who is no 2-1 in his short career with the Bulldogs. Other Bulldogs in action included true freshman Zach White and No. 56 nationally ranked junior George Coupland, who were both active in the qualifying draw for singles at the major collegiate tennis event.
Coupland dropped a heartbreaking three-set battle to Thomas Shubert of BYU, 6-4, 2-6, 6-2. It was a rematch between the two opponents who faced each other in a dual match from the No. 1 position, where Shubert was victorious in three sets again over Coupland. Despite having set point in the opening set, White dropped a hard-fought two set match to Collin Hoover of Texas A&M 7-6(3), 6-2.
"Malte (Stropp) did a great job coming out strong in his match," Coach Per Nilsson said. "Zach (White) had set point in the first set and he will learn how to close that out in the future. We just have to prepare and get ready for tomorrow's matches and never stop improving."
Stropp advances to the second round of the qualifying draw where he faces Sergio Ramirez of Baylor on Tuesday at 8 a.m. CT. Stropp needs to win two more matches in as many days to qualify for the main draw of the championship tournament, where No. 38 Louis Cant of MSU is already in due to his fall ranking and last season's performance. Coupland and White will participate in consolation action of the qualifying draw which begins tomorrow.
The Bulldog tandem of Cant and Stropp will serve up doubles action on Tuesday at 2:30 p.m. CT against Larence Formentera and John Warden of Oklahoma in the opening round of the qualifying draw for doubles. If victorious the State duo will play a second round match at 5 p.m. CT on Tuesday as well. If Cant and Stropp win three matches they will qualify for the main draw for doubles where the team of Coupland and White are already seeded.
ITA ALL-AMERICAN CHAMPIONSHIPS
Tulsa, Okla. - 10/4/10
QUALIFYING - SINGLES
First Round - Malte Stropp (MSU) def. #71 Tobia Wernet (Minnesota) 6-1, 7-6(5); Thomas Shubert (BYU) def. #56 George Coupland (MSU) 6-4, 2-6, 6-2; Collin Hoover (Texas A&M) def. Zach White (MSU) 7-6(3), 6-2.
