Mississippi State
ITA All-American Championships
Cash, Lakat Advance To Qualifying Doubles Finals At ITA All-American
October 01, 2014 | Men's Tennis
TULSA, Okla. – Facing a slate of opponents all from the state of North Carolina, the Mississippi State men's tennis squad enjoyed a perfect second day of qualifying play at the 2014 ITA All-American Championships on Tuesday.
Highlighting the day was the duo of Julian Cash and Florian Lakat, as they downed a pair of doubles squads to place them a win away from advancing to the main draw of the collegiate major.
Cash and Lakat faced a tall task to start the day, as they battled the 47th-ranked Duke tandem of Chris Mengel and Jason Tahir. The MSU duo would not have a problem with the Blue Devil team, dominating the match for a 6-2, 6-4 victory.
The day's second match would be a more difficult challenge, as Cash and Lakat would have to fight back from dropping the opening set to force a super tiebreaker in the final frame. The first-to-10, winner-take-all third set would be a thriller, as the Bulldog team pulled away late to take the set and the match, 2-6, 6-2, 1-0(8).
The Maroon and White duo will learn their third-round opponent Wednesday morning, as New Mexico's team of Bernardo Saraiva and Nils Skajaa and Ohio State's tandem of Hunter Callahan and Chris Diaz will finish their match at 9:30 a.m. CT.
Before clashing in doubles, both Cash and Duke's Mengel met on the singles court in the one-round qualifying consolation play. Cash took the opening set 7-5 before dropping the second, 6-7(0). Cash would bounce back from a rough showing in the second-set tiebreaker to take the third frame and the match, 7-5, 6-7(0), 6-4.
Wednesday will mark the final day of qualifying play at the ITA All-American. Main draw action will begin on Thursday, Oct. 2. Lakat, ranked 36th nationally in singles, already has a spot in the final draw, but could also appear in the doubles bracket should he and Cash be victorious.
For more information on Mississippi State men's tennis and updates throughout the 2014 ITA All-American Championships, fans can follow the Bulldogs on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at HailStateMT.
MSU Results At The ITA All-American Championships
September 30, 2014 – Tulsa, Okla.
Doubles – Qualifying
First Round – Julian Cash/Florian Lakat (MSU) def. No. 47 Chris Mengel/Jason Tahir (Duke) [9-16] 6-2, 6-4
Second Round – Cash/Lakat (MSU) def. Jack Murray/Ronnie Schneider (North Carolina) 2-6, 6-2, 1-0(8)
Singles – Qualifying Consolation
First Round – Cash (MSU) def. Mengel (Duke) 7-5, 6-7(0), 6-4
