Mississippi State
ITA Southern Region Indoor Championships
Bulldog Doubles Perfect In Day Two At USTA/ITA Southern Regionals
October 18, 2014 | Men's Tennis
AUBURN, Ala. – Another flawless showing on the doubles court highlighted the second day of action at the USTA/ITA Southern Regional Championships for the Mississippi State men's tennis squad, as the Bulldogs advanced all three squads to the round of 16 on Friday.
Along with the stellar play of junior Mate Cutura, who downed a pair of foes on the day to advance to the quarterfinals, the Maroon and White have four representatives taking the court on Saturday in Auburn.
MSU's duo of Julian Cash and Florian Lakat took to the court for the first time this weekend after receiving a bye from Thursday's first round. The bulldog tandem downed Nicholls State's Kieran Cronin and Bernard Wezeman 8-7(4) to move on to Saturday.
Joining Cash and Lakat are the duos of Rishab Agarwal and Robin Haden and Mate Cutura and Tassilo Schmid. Agarwal and Haden downed Jacksonville State's Pedro Wagner and Jefferson Wendler, 8-5, while Cutura and Schmid defeated in-state rivals Ricardo Jorge and Stefan Lindmark of Ole Miss, 8-5.
In singles, Cutura paced the Bulldogs, advancing to the quarterfinals. The transfer from Tyler [TX] JC opened the day with a 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 win against Tulane's Constantin Schmitz, before finishing with a 6-2, 7-6(0) beating of Louisiana's Edgar Lopez. The wins leave Cutura as the lone MSU representative in singles play for the tournament.
Two other Bulldogs earned victories to start the day, as Juan Cruz Estevarena and Haden picked up straight-set wins in the third round. Estevarena defeated Samford's Austin Akers 6-2, 6-0, while Haden beat Jacksonville State's Wendler 6-2, 7-6(2). The two would be unsuccessful in their bids for the quarterfinals. Haden dropped a 1-6, 6-2, 7-5 decision to LSU's Boris Arias. Estevarena fell to the host-team's Maxime Hinnisdaels in three sets, 1-6, 6-4, 6-4.
MSU's No. 36 and second-seeded Lakat was unable to pull out a win in third round action, as he fell to Samford's Fares Kilani, 7-6(4), 6-3. Schmid also dropped his match, falling the tournament's No. 1 seed, 32nd-ranked Lukas Ollert of Auburn, 6-4, 6-1.
Also falling in third round play was Cash and Agarwal. Cash fell 7-6(6), 7-5 to Jacksonville State's Mathias Chaim, while Agarwal lost to LSU's Arias in a three-set decision, 7-6(6), 3-6, 6-3.
Saturday will begin with singles action at 9:00 a.m. CT, with Cutura facing Ollert with a trip to the semifinals on the line. Following the singles action, State's three doubles teams will begin play in the round of 16, which is slated to start at 1 p.m.
For more information on Mississippi State men's tennis and updates throughout the 2014 USTA/ITA Southern Regional Championships, fans can follow the Bulldogs on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at HailStateMT.
MSU Results At The USTA/ITA Southern Regional Championships
October 17, 2014 – Auburn, Ala.
Singles – Main Draw
Third Round – Fares Kilani (Samford) [17-32] def. No. 36 Florian Lakat (MSU) [2] 7-6(4), 6-3; No. 32 Lukas Ollert (Auburn) [1] def. Tassilo Schmid (MSU) 6-4, 6-1; Mate Cutura (MSU) [17-32] def. Constantin Schmitz (Tulane) [9-16] 6-4, 3-6, 6-4; Mathias Chaim (Jacksonville State) [17-32] def. Julian Cash (MSU) [5-8] 7-6(6), 7-5; Juan Cruz Estevarena (MSU) [9-16] def. Austin Akers (Samford) 6-2, 6-0; Boris Arias (LSU) def. Rishab Agarwal (MSU) [17-32] 7-6(6), 3-6, 6-3; Robin Haden (MSU) def. Jefferson Wendler (Jacksonville State) [17-32] 6-2, 7-6(2)
Round of 16 – Cutura (MSU) [17-32] def. Edgar Lopez (Louisiana) [17-32] 6-2, 7-6(0); Maxime Hinnisdaels (Auburn) def. Estevarena (MSU) [9-16] 1-6, 6-4, 6-4; Arias (LSU) def. Haden (MSU) 1-6, 6-2, 7-5
Doubles – Main Draw
Second Round – Cash/Lakat (MSU) [2] def. Kieran Cronin/Bernard Wezeman (Nicholls State) 8-7(4); Cutura/Schmid (MSU) def. Ricardo Jorge/Stefan Lindmark (Ole Miss) [5-8] 8-5; Agarwal/Haden (MSU) def. Pedro Wagner/Wendler (Jacksonville State) [9-16] 8-5
