Mississippi State
SEC Indoor Championships
Ilyushin Shines For MSU On Opening Day Of SEC Indoor Championships
January 14, 2011 | Men's Tennis
Bulldog junior Artem Ilyushin was the highlight of the day for the Maroon and White with a straight-set win in singles along with an impressive doubles victory. In singles action, Ilyushin took care of Alabama's Daniil Proskura, 6-2, 6-1, to advance to the second round where he'll face Florida's Bob van Overbeek who is seeded ninth in the tournament and ranks 52nd nationally for the Gators.
Joining Ilyushin in the win column in singles is true freshman Zach White who defeated fellow freshman Alex Durham of in-state rival Ole Miss in an identical-set bout, 6-1, 6-1. White's second-round opponent is fourth-seeded J.P Smith of Tennessee, who is ranked 21st nationally.
Four other Bulldogs were active in singles. Senior Max Gregor dropped a matching-set battle to Julien Gauthier of LSU, 6-2, 6-2. Sophomore James Chaudry of MSU was playing in his first career match for the Bulldogs but fell in a close three-set match to Nassim Slilam of Florida, 6-0, 6-7(3), 6-4. State veteran Antonio Lastre fell in another close three-set bout to Kentucky's Anthony Rossi, 7-6(8), 5-7, 6-0, and senior Tanner Stump dropped a 6-0, 6-1, decision to Tennys Sandgren of Tennessee. All four Bulldogs who slipped up in the first round will be participating in the consolation round of the SEC Indoor Championships which will begin tomorrow.
In doubles action one Bulldog tandem advanced to the round of 16 in the doubles draw. Bulldogs Ilyushin and Stump won in 8-6 fashion, taking down Kentucky's duo Brad Cox and Eric Quigley. The victory was an impressive win for the MSU team because Cox is no stranger to rankings in doubles in years past and Quigley currently is the No. 2 ranked singles player in the country. Ilyushin and Stump will face the No. 1 seeded and 11th nationally ranked doubles team Alex Lacroix and Slilam of Florida in the round of 16 tomorrow.
A pair of Bulldog doubles teams also fell on the opening day of competition at the SEC Indoor Championships. State's Chaudry and White dropped a 9-7 decision to Matteo Fago and Sandgren of Tennessee in the first round of action and after receiving a first round bye MSU's Gregor and Lastre slipped up to Ryuji Hirooka and Grant Roberts of Kentucky, 8-5. Both MSU doubles teams that dropped opening day decisions will be active in consolation play tomorrow as well.
"We played a lot of good matches and good opponents and it was good to see James (Chaudry) and Tony (Lastre) back in action," Coach Per Nilsson said. "Tanner (Stump) and Artem (Ilyushin) picked up a good doubles win against a great team."
Day two action at the SEC Indoor Championships will resume on Saturday and results will be made available at www.mstateathletics.com.
SEC INDOOR CHAMPIONSHIPS
Knoxville, Tenn. - 11/14/11
SINGLES
First Round - Artem Ilyushin (MSU) def. Daniil Proskura (Alabama) 6-2, 6-1; Zach White (MSU) def. Alex Durham (Ole Miss) 6-1, 6-1; Julien Gauthier (LSU) def. Max Gregor (MSU) 6-2, 6-2; Nassim Slilam (Florida) def. James Chaudry (MSU) 6-0, 6-7(3), 6-4; Anthony Rossi (Kentucky) def. Antonio Lastre (MSU) 7-6(8), 5-7, 6-0; Tennys Sandgren (Tennessee) def. Tanner Stump (MSU) 6-0, 6-1.
DOUBLES
First Round - Matteo Fago/Sandgren (UT) def. Chaudry/White (MSU) 9-7.
Second Round - Ilyushin/Stump (MSU) def. Brad Cox/Erik Quigley (UK) 8-6; Ryuji Hirooka/Grant Roberts (UK) def. Gregor/Lastre (MSU) 8-5.
