Mississippi State
ITA Southern Region Indoor Championships
MSU?s Cash, Lakat Capture USTA/ITA Southern Region Doubles Title
October 21, 2014 | Men's Tennis
The second-seeded MSU duo faced off against Marko Krickovic and Lukas Ollert, a 5-8 seed from host Auburn, in Monday afternoon's final. The title match did not disappoint from the start, as the opening set was decided in a tiebreaker. However, the MSU duo dominated to take the tiebreaker 7-1, earning the early lead in the match.
Krickovic and Ollert would strike back to even the match at a set a piece. Tied at 5-5, the Tiger duo picked up a crucial break to take the set, 7-5, forcing play to a winner-take-all super tiebreaker.
Play would go back-and-forth between the two squads until the Bulldog tandem made several impressive plays to seal the match, including a backhand volley winner from Cash. Cash then put the nail in the coffin, firing an ace on match point to win 7-6(1), 5-7, 1-0(8) and wrapping the doubles title in Maroon and White.
The Bulldog duo is the third representative for MSU to win a USTA/ITA Southern Regional crown in as many years, with State having a doubles (2012) and singles (2013) champion the past two seasons.
“It's great to see Julian and Florian coming together so well with how young they are,” MSU head coach Matt Roberts said. “It's only their second tournament playing together and they're already playing at a top 10 level. It gives a lot of confidence to our other doubles teams and to our team as a whole. I am just really proud to see them playing at such a high level.”
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 20, 2014 – Auburn, Ala.
Doubles – Main Draw
Championship – Julian Cash/Florian Lakat (MSU) [2] def. Marko Krickovic/Lukas Ollert (Auburn) [5-8] 7-6(1), 5-7, 1-0(8).
