Mississippi State
Arkansas
No. 10 Bulldog Tennis Holds Off Hogs For 4-1 Win On Senior Day
April 01, 2012 | Men's Tennis
STARKVILLE, Miss. - With a hard-fought 4-1 triumph on Senior Day, the 10th-ranked Mississippi State men's tennis crew improved to 16-4 overall and 7-1 in SEC play with their Sunday victory over the 39th-ranked Arkansas Razorbacks (12-9, 1-7). State remains in the SEC West lead with the win and in a tie for second overall in the conference after Sunday play.
The Bulldogs' 16-4 start this season is the best since MSU's 1998 team began 17-3 in dual match play. MSU's 7-1 start in the SEC is the team's best since 1997 when the program started a similar 7-1 in conference play. The 1998 team reach the NCAA semifinals while the '97 team made the quarters.
Arkansas got out to the early lead Sunday as they took the doubles matches on courts 1 and 2 in decisive fashion. In the No. 2 position for Arkansas was Manfred Jeske and Mike Nott, who took an 8-1 decision from MSU's 43rd-ranked duo of George Coupland and Artem Ilyushin. In the top spot for the Bulldogs was the 32nd-ranked duo of Louis Cant and Malte Stropp, who dropped an 8-3 decision to the Razorbacks' No. 48 duo of Matt Walters and Hall Fess as Arkansas took the doubles point.
Play on court 3 was suspended as Arkansas' tandem of Mike Ward and Nikolas Zogaj were leading 6-3 over MSU's Zach White and Ethan Wilkinson.
In singles, however, the Bulldogs would battle back to take five out of six first sets, but Arkansas would make things interesting in the second set on many of those courts, forcing the Bulldogs to dig deep for the victory.
MSU's 67th-ranked Stropp took a quick two-setter on court 3 6-3, 6-1 over Arkansas' Walters to tie the match at 1-1. Then, the three State seniors who were honored prior to the match would take care of business by winning the next three points for the Bulldogs.
The 15th-ranked senior Ilyushin gave MSU their first lead of the day as he ousted 108th-ranked Zogaj 6-3, 6-1 and a 2-1 Bulldog lead. Ilyushin is now on a six-match win streak and is now a remarkable 8-0 in SEC play at the No. 1 position.
Extending MSU's lead to 3-1 was 44th-ranked senior Cant. Taking an easy 6-1 first set, his Razorback foe Jenske would battle to stay in it as he took a 5-4 advantage in the second. However, Cant would battle back to break and force a tiebreaker. Cant's efforts would prove too much as he took the tiebreaker and the match 6-1, 7-6(3).
The match clincher came in the No. 5 position where 46th-ranked senior Coupland was battling Arkansas' Mike Ward. After dropping a tough 6-3 first set, Coupland would battle back and take the second 6-2 and send the match to a dramatic third. Up 5-4 in the third set, Coupland broke to take the match 3-6, 6-2, 6-4 and clinch the 4-1 victory for the Bulldogs.
Play on the remaining courts was suspended. MSU junior James Chaudry was in a tight battle at 6-2, 4-6, 4-4 in the second position while sophomore Zach White was serving up 7-6, 4-6, 5-3 on court 6.
MSU will end the regular season with three-straight road matches at No. 9 Kentucky (Apr. 6), No. 38 Vanderbilt (Apr. 8) and No. 14 Ole Miss (Apr. 14). State then returns home to host the 2012 Southeastern Conference Championship at the Pitts Tennis Centre, April 19-22 during Super Bulldog Weekend.
No. 10 Mississippi State 4, No. 39 Arkansas 1
4/1/12 - A.J. Pitts Tennis Centre - Starkville, Miss.
DOUBLES
1) #48 Matt Walters/Hall Fess (UA) def. #32 Louis Cant/Malte Stropp (MSU) 8-3
2) Manfred Jeske/Mike Nott (UA) def. #43 George Coupland/Artem Ilyushin (MSU) 8-1
3) Mike Ward/Nikolas Zogaj (UA) vs. Zach White/Ethan Wilkinson (MSU) 6-3 (susp.)
SINGLES
1) #15 Ilyushin (MSU) def. #108 Zogaj (UA) 6-3, 6-1
2) James Chaudry (MSU) vs. Gregoire Lehmann (UA) 6-2, 4-6, 4-4 (susp.)
3) #67 Stropp (MSU) def. Walters (UA) 6-3, 6-1
4) #44 Cant (MSU) def. Jenske (UA) 6-1, 7-6(3)
5) #46 Coupland (MSU) def. Ward (UA) 3-6, 6-2, 6-4
6) White (MSU) vs. Fess (UA) 7-6, 4-6, 5-3 (susp.)
Order of finish... Doubles (2,1)... Singles (3,1,4,5)
Players Mentioned
