Mississippi State
Florida
No. 12 Bulldog Tennis Upsets No. 11 Gators In Gainesville
March 24, 2012 | Men's Tennis
GAINESVILLE, Fla. - Downing their second top 15 SEC foe this spring, Mississippi State's 12th-ranked men's tennis squad (13-4, 4-1 SEC) ousted No. 11 Florida (9-7, 2-3 SEC) 4-3 in Gainesville in a classic league battle Friday night.
With the Dogs holding a tight 3-2 lead, senior Louis Cant rallied from a break down in the second set to hand MSU its first victory over Florida since 2001 and the program's first in Gainesville since 1998.
"I am extremely proud of these guys," said head coach Per Nilsson. "They really deserved a win like this with all of the work they have put in this season. All of the guys worked hard to get to this point and it feels great to get a road SEC win against such a talented team."
Battling Florida's Florent Diep, Cant fought his way to a 6-4 first-set victory in the fifth spot after trailing 4-3. However, the second set would not go as smoothly with Cant falling behind 3-1 early. But Cant would battle back for a second-set tiebreaker. Keeping the lead through the tiebreak, Cant's efforts proved too much as he down his Gator foe 6-4, 7-6(3), clinching the match 4-2 for the Dogs.
"Louis really handled the pressure tonight," Nilsson said. "He is a great competitor that put together a solid match for the win tonight. Again, I am extremely proud of my guys."
Although a rain delay suspended doubles play for an hour and a half, the two foes battled back and forth throughout the evening. MSU ultimately gained the first point of the match and it would prove to be a big one.
The 24th-ranked MSU pair of Cant and Malte Stropp was the first to cash in as they took a hard-fought, 8-6 victory on court 2 over Florida's duo of Tripper Carleton and Michael Alford. However, the Gators would battle back as they were victorious on court 3 where the UF pair of Spencer Newman and Bob van Overbeek ousted Zach White and Ethan Wilkinson of MSU in a close 8-6 affair.
With a tight battle in hand, State's tandem of George Coupland and Artem Ilyushin fought back to a 7-5 advantage after falling behind 5-4. Florida would take the next game but the Bulldogs would prove too much as Coupland and Ilyushin took the 8-6 win and clinched the doubles point for MSU in the top spot.
Singles play would result in a similar, intense fashion.
MSU's 113th-ranked Stropp would take an early victory on court 3 as he upset his 57th-ranked Florida foe, Carleton, 6-1, 6-4 extending the Bulldog lead to 2-0. However, the Gators would quickly respond as No. 93 Newman ousted MSU's 36th-ranked Coupland 6-3, 6-2 at No. 5.
The Bulldogs would answer back with the win that truly set the stage for Cant's clincher as 14th-ranked Ilyushin downed Florida's No. 61 Overbeek 6-2, 6-3 in the top spot. Hidden in the win was Ilyushin battling back from a service break in the second set to win and keep Florida from gaining any momentum with a third set. The senior is now 5-0 in SEC action, defeating four ranked foes along the way.
With MSU now up 3-1, Florida answered back as No. 56 Slilam downed MSU's James Chaudry 6-2, 6-2 in the No. 2 position, closing the gap to 3-2 in favor of State. Then came Cant's match-clinching point on court 5.
White would be the last to finish for the Dogs. Dropping a difficult 7-6(6) first set to Florida's Federhofer, White would fight back to take a 7-6(3) second, sending the match to a third-set supertiebreaker. As the two dualed back-and-forth, Federhofer would eventually take the lengthy tiebreak, 1-0(12), earning the final point of the night for the Gators.
Defending SEC West champ State will be back in action on Sunday when the Bulldogs play host to the South Carolina Gamecocks, ranked 40th in the recent ITA poll, at 1 p.m. CT. The match is to be played at the A.J. Pitts Tennis Centre on MSU's campus.
No. 12 Mississippi State 4, No. 11 Florida 3
3/23/12 - Ring Tennis Complex - Gainesville, Fla.
DOUBLES
1) George Coupland/Artem Ilyushin (MSU) def. #8 Billy Federhofer/Nassim
Slilam (UF) 8-6
2) #24 Louis Cant/Malte Stropp (MSU) def. Tripper Carleton/Michael Alford (UF) 8-6
3) Spencer Newman/Bob van Overbeek (UF) def. Zach White/Ethan Wilkinson (MSU) 8-6
SINGLES
1) #14 Ilyushin (MSU) def. #61 Overbeek (UF) 6-2, 6-3
2) #56 Slilam (UF) def. James Chaudry (MSU) 6-2, 6-2
3) #113 Stropp (MSU) def. #57 Carleton (UF) 6-1, 6-4
4) #93 Newman (UF) def. #36 Coupland (MSU) 6-3, 6-2
5) #37 Cant (MSU) def. Florent Diep (UF) 6-4, 7-6(3)
6) Federhofer (UF) def. White (MSU) 7-6(6), 6-7(3), 1-0(12)
Order of finish... Doubles (2,3,1)... Singles (3,4,1,2,5,6)
Players Mentioned
