Mississippi State
University of Hawaii
#16 State Tennis Blanks Hawaii To Sweep Opening Weekend
January 15, 2012 | Men's Tennis
#16 State Tennis Blanks Hawaii To Sweep Opening Weekend
HONOLULU, Hawaii - After a 5-2 victory over UC-Santa Barbara yesterday afternoon, Mississippi State's 16th-ranked men's tennis squad notched a 7-0 triumph over the University of Hawaii in Honolulu on Saturday.
MSU started out hot in doubles as the duo of Zach White and Ethan Wilkinson took an easy 8-4 victory on court 3 over Hawaii's Chas Okamato and Chris Meyer.
The doubles clinching point came from the second position where the Bulldog tandem of James Chaudry and George Coupland ousted Charlie Rice and Carter Lam of Hawaii in a tight 8-6 battle. In the top spot for State was the ranked duo of Louis Cant and Artem Ilyushin where they battled to earn a thrilling 8-7(2) victory over the Warrior tandem of Jonathan Brooklyn and Nils Schuhmann in the last doubles match of the evening.
With a 1-0 lead after doubles, the Bulldogs never let up. 45th-ranked Cant posted the 2-0 mark for MSU on court 3 as he breezed past Hawaii's Okomoto 6-0, 6-4 in an easy two-setter. Earning his first win in the Maroon and White was Wilkinson as he took a 6-3, 6-4 match over Lam in the sixth position.
The match clinching point came at No. 4 from No. 32 Coupland when he ousted UH's Schuhmann 6-3, 6-1 to put the Bulldogs ahead 4-0.
Three Bulldogs continued to battle on courts 1, 2 and 5 as MSU's White was the first of the trio to finish. Battling in the No. 5 position, White ousted his Warrior foe, Danilo Casanova, 6-3, 6-3 to put the Bulldogs ahead 5-0.
State's 79th-ranked Chaudry was victorious in a tough two-setter on court 2 as he took down Dmytro Kovalyav of Hawaii 6-4, 6-4. The final match of the day came at the top spot where MSU's Ilyushin battled through a tough 6-4, 7-6(4) thrilling second set tiebreaking win over Hawaii's Brooklyn, giving the Bulldogs the clean 7-0 slate over the Warriors.
Mississippi State will be back in action on Friday, January 20 as they travel to East Lansing, Michigan and take on the 53rd-ranked Spartans of Michigan State followed by a bout against the No. 3 Ohio State Buckeyes in Columbus, Ohio on Sunday.
#16 Mississippi State 7, Hawaii 0
1/14/12 - UH Tennis Complex - Honolulu, Hawaii
DOUBLES
1) Louis Cant/Artem Ilyushin (MSU) def. Jonathan Brooklyn/Nils Schuhmann (UH) 8-7(2)
2) James Chaudry/George Coupland (MSU) def. Charlie Rice/Carter Lam (UH) 8-6
3) Zach White/Ethan Wilkinson (MSU) def. Chas Okamato/Chris Meyer (UH) 8-4
SINGLES
1) Ilyushin (MSU) vs. Brooklyn (UH) 6-4, 7-6(4)
2) #79 Chaudry (MSU) vs. Dmytro Kovalyav (UH) 6-4, 6-4
3) #45 Cant (MSU) def. Okomoto (UH) 6-0, 6-4
4) #32 Coupland (MSU) def. Schuhmann (UH) 6-3, 6-1
5) White (MSU) vs. Danilo Casanova (UH) 6-4, 6-3
6) Wilkinson (MSU) def. Lam (UH) 6-3, 6-4
Order of Finish... Doubles (3, 2, 1)... Singles (3, 6, 4, 5, 2, 1)
Players Mentioned
