Mississippi State
Middle Tennessee
Bulldogs Rebound To Take Down Blue Raiders
February 20, 2010 | Men's Tennis
The Bulldogs snapped a two-match losing streak to the Blue Raiders and improved to 16-2 all-time against MTSU. It was also third-year head coach Per Nilsson's first career victory over MTSU.
"We came out flat in the doubles and dug ourselves a hole early," said Nilsson. "Everyone showed a lot of heart and picked up their play in singles and that won us the match. We have to continue to improve each match and not fall behind early on."
The Bulldogs fell behind early, 1-0, after a subpar effort in the doubles point. At the No. 1 spot, MSU's team of George Coupland and Artem Ilyushin dropped an 8-1 decision to John Peers and Kyle Wishing of MTSU. The Blue Raiders would clinch the doubles point at the No. 2 position, where Bulldogs' Antonio Lastre and Daniel Sanchez fell to MTSU's tandem Matthew Langley and Victor Melo, 8-3. Bulldog pair Cant and Chris Doerr gave MState some momentum going into singles as they won their doubles match 8-6 at No. 3 over Blue Raiders Richard Cowden and Shaun Waters. It was Cant and Doerr's second straight win and they improved to 5-2 in dual match action.
The Bulldogs rebounded quickly in singles. MSU's Ilyushin helped the Bulldogs even the score as he won easily in straight sets at the No. 3 position over MTSU's Richard Cowden, 6-4, 6-1. Ilyushin improved to 3-0 when playing at No. 3 and advanced his dual match record to 5-3 on the season.
122nd-ranked Lastre of MSU continued his impressive junior campaign with a straight-set win at the No. 4 slot against Alex McCann of the Blue Raiders, 6-2, 6-4, pushing the Bulldogs ahead, 2-1. The win improved Lastre to 6-2 and was the Spain-native's third-straight victory.
MSU's Sanchez extended MState's lead two points with a straight-set win at the No. 6 position. In what proved to be a vital point, Sanchez won five straight games after trailing 5-2 to win the first set 7-5, and then won the match in the second set, 6-2, taking down the Blue Raider's Langley.
MTSU cut the Bulldogs' lead to one when MSU's No. 85 Coupland dropped a heartbreaking three-set bout to MTSU's Peers at the No. 1 position, 6-1, 3-6, 6-3.
State's super sophomore and 64th-nationally ranked Cant proved to make a difference for MSU once again, clinching the match for the Bulldogs at the No. 2 spot. Cant battled Melo of MTSU in three sets, winning the match in a third set that faced five different match points, 6-3, 2-6, 6-4. It was the second time this season Cant was the match-clinching point for the Maroon and White and Cant improved his unblemished record to 8-0.
At the No. 5 slot, MSU's sophomore Max Gregor Smith slipped up in a very close three-set match to Waters of MTSU, 6-2, 4-6, 7-5, to give the Blue Raiders their third and final point of the match. The loss snapped a three-match win streak for Smith, who is now 2-1 in dual match play.
The Bulldogs will return to their home courts next Friday, Feb. 26, when they will face the Memphis Tigers at 2 p.m.
#58 MISSISSIPPI STATE 4, #62 MIDDLE TENNESSEE 3
Starkville, Miss. - 2/20/10
DOUBLES
No. 1 - John Peers/Kyle Wishing (MTSU) def. George Coupland/Artem Ilyushin (MSU) 8-1; No. 2 - Matthew Langley/Victor Melo (MTSU) def. Antonio Lastre/Daniel Sanchez (MSU) 8-3; No. 3 - Louis Cant/Chris Doerr (MSU) def. Richard Cowden/Shaun Waters (MTSU) 8-6; (Order of Finish:1,2,3 ).
SINGLES
No. 1 - Peers (MTSU) def. Coupland (MSU) 6-1, 3-6, 6-3; No. 2 - Cant (MSU) def. Melo (MTSU) 6-3, 2-6, 6-4; No. 3 - Ilyushin (MSU) def. Cowden (MTSU) 6-4, 6-1; No. 4 - Lastre (MSU) def. Alex McCann (MTSU) 6-2, 6-4; No. 5 - Waters (MTSU) def. Max Gregor Smith (MSU) 6-2, 4-6, 7-5; No. 6 - Sanchez (MSU) def. Langley (MTSU) 7-5, 6-2; (Order of Finish:3,4,6,1,2,5 ).
Players Mentioned
