Mississippi State
Texas A&M
MSU Tennis Drops Close 4-3 Decision In Season Opener At #10 Texas A&M
January 29, 2011 | Men's Tennis
COLLEGE STATION, Texas - Slipping up in a close tiebreaker in doubles at the No. 2 spot proved to be a crucial point in the 40th-ranked Mississippi State men's tennis team's season opener as the Bulldogs missed out on a near upset bid at 10th-ranked Texas A&M, 4-3.
The doubles point was split with an 8-3 victory by MSU's Louis Cant and Malte Stropp over 32nd-ranked Aggie tandem Alberto Bautista and Colin Hoover at the No. 3 spot, and an 8-3 setback at the No. 1 position by Bulldog duo James Chaudry and George Coupland against Texas A&M's No. 1 nationally ranked team Jeff Dadamo and Austin Krajicek. With the doubles point split all eyes were turned to court No. 2, where State's Artem Ilyushin and Zach White were in a tiebreaker battle with Alexey Grigorov and Junior Ore of Texas A&M, with the Aggies eventually claiming the win, 9-8(4), and later proved to be a vital point needed for the victory.
"We fell behind early at courts one and two in doubles which hurt us," Coach Per Nilsson said. "Artem (Ilyushin) and Zach (White) did a good job of fighting back and really that tiebreaker could have gone either way but unfortunately we didn't come out on top."
In singles the Bulldogs claimed three points at courts three, four and five. At the No. 3 position, Bulldog freshman Stropp was victorious in his first-career dual match and claimed his team-leading ninth victory with a three-set win over Grigorov of Texas A&M, 2-6, 7-5, 1-0(3). MSU's Chaudry was down a set and fought back to claim the second set, 6-1, to force a super tiebreaker in the third set in which he found himself down again, 9-5, but battled back to earn the win over No. 95 nationally ranked Hoover of the Aggies, 13-11. The win was Chaudry's third-straight and the newcomer earned his first win over a ranked opponent and improved to 2-0 in away matches. 60th-ranked Cant of State won his fourth-straight match and the 40th of his career with a straight-set win over Texas A&M's Bautista, 6-3, 7-6(2).
At the No. 1 position, State's Coupland had his three-match win streak snapped with a straight-set defeat to No. 23 Krajicek of the Aggies, 6-2, 6-3. On court two, Ilyushin had his five-match win streak snapped to the Aggies 54th-ranked Dadamo, 6-1, 7-5. Bulldog freshman White dropped an identical-set decision to Niall Angus of Texas A&M, 6-4, 6-4, giving the 10th-ranked Aggies the four points needed to claim the victory.
State's tennis team has a quick turnaround as they will continue to compete in the ITA Kickoff Weekend with a consolation match against the loser of today's match between the 32nd-ranked Arizona Wildcats and No. 44 ranked Miami Hurricanes.
"Whoever we play tomorrow will be a great match," Nilsson said. "We are looking to bounce back from today's tough loss and get our first victory of the year tomorrow."
The match between No. 40 MSU and Arizona or Miami will be served up a noon CT on Sunday and live stats will be made available at www.mstateathletics.com.
#10 TEXAS A&M 4, #40 MISSISSIPPI STATE 3
College Station, Texas - 1/29/11
DOUBLES
No. 1 - #1 Jeff Dadamo/Austin Krajicek (Texas A&M) def. James Chaudry/George Coupland (MSU) 8-3; No. 2 - Alexey Grigorov/Junior Ore (Texas A&M) def. Artem Ilyushin/Zach White (MSU) 9-8(4); No. 3 - Louis Cant/Malte Stropp (MSU) def. #32 Alberto Bautista/Colin Hoover (Texas A&M) 8-3.
SINGLES
No. 1 - #23 Krajicek (Texas A&M) def. Coupland (MSU) 6-2, 6-3; No. 2 - #54 Dadamo (Texas A&M) def. Ilyushin (MSU) 6-1, 7-5; No. 3 - Stropp (MSU) def. Grigorov (Texas A&M) 2-6, 7-5, 1-0(3); No. 4 - Chaudry (MSU) def. #95 Hoover (Texas A&M) 4-6, 6-1, 1-0(11); No. 5 - #60 Cant (MSU) def. Bautista (Texas A&M) 6-3, 7-6(2); No. 6 - Niall Angus (Texas A&M) def. White (MSU) 6-4, 6-4.
