Mississippi State
Georgia
No. 17 MSU Falls In Tough Match To No. 16 Georgia
March 08, 2014 | Men's Tennis
ATHENS, Ga. – Hitting the road for the first time this season in Southeastern Conference play, the 17th-ranked Mississippi State Bulldogs (12-5, 2-1) fell 4-1 to the 16th-ranked Georgia Bulldogs (6-5, 2-0) in a tightly-contested match Friday afternoon.
The Maroon and White got off to a hot start, coming out firing on all cylinders to take the doubles point from the home-standing Bulldogs of UGA, using victories on courts one and two to take the early lead. State's top duo of Jordan Angus and Malte Stropp picked up their biggest win of the spring to date, downing UGA's No. 14 tandem of Hernus Pieters and Ben Wagland in convincing fashion 8-3. Georgia leveled the playing field with an 8-6 win on court 3, as its team of Eric Diaz and Austin Smith defeated MSU's Rishab Agarwal and Zach White 8-6.
The doubles point then came down to court two, where the MSU duo of Florian Lakat and Tassilo Schmid, and the UGA team of Garrett Brasseaux and Nathan Pasha, battled in a tiebreaker for the early lead. Lakat and Schmid proved to be victorious, taking the match 8-7(4), giving State the 1-0 lead heading into singles.
UGA would fire back heavily to start singles, taking the first set on all six courts. Georgia tied up the match with a 6-4, 6-4 victory from No. 76 Brasseaux against MSU's Angus on court four. Shortly after, UGA pushed their lead to 3-1 with a 6-3, 7-5 victory on court two from No. 16 Smith against MSU's 63rd-ranked Lakat and a 6-3, 6-4 win on court six from Pieters against State's Robin Haden.
Despite being in a hole early, the Maroon and White-clad Bulldogs did not back down, pushing two of the last three matches to third sets and forcing a tiebreaker on court three in the second set. That tiebreaker proved to be the deciding factor, as the MSU senior White fell to UGA's 66th-ranked Wagland 7-5, 7-6(4) on No. 3 to clinch the match.
Play on courts one and five were suspended at the clinch, with State's Agarwal leading 100th-ranked Nick Wood by a break, 1-6, 7-5, 3-2 at the five spot and the 71st-ranked Stropp down 6-3, 3-6, 5-4 in the third, but on serve against UGA's No. 30 Pasha.
The Bulldogs will return to action Sunday, March 9, as they continue their SEC road trip in Knoxville, Tenn., against the 13th-ranked Tennessee Volunteers. The match is set for a 12 p.m. CT start.
For more information on Mississippi State men's tennis and updates throughout the 2014 Blue Gary National Tennis Classic, fans can follow the Bulldogs on Twitter (@HailStateMT), Facebook (HailStateMT) and Instagram (HailStateMT).
No. 16 Georgia 4, No. 17 Mississippi State 1
March 7, 2014 – Dan Magill Tennis Complex– Athens, Ga.
Doubles
1. Jordan Angus/Malte Stropp (MSU) def. No. 14 Hernus Pieters/Ben Wagland (UGA) 8-3
2. Florian Lakat/Tassilo Schmid (MSU) def. Garrett Brasseaux/Nathan Pasha (UGA) 8-7(4)
3. Eric Diaz/Austin Smith (UGA) def. Rishab Agarwal/Zach White (MSU) 8-6
Singles
1. No. 30 Pasha (UGA) vs. No. 71 Stropp (MSU) 6-3, 3-6, 5-4(susp.)
2. No. 16 Smith (UGA) def. No. 63 Lakat (MSU) 6-3, 7-5
3. No. 66 Wagland (UGA) def. White (MSU) 7-5, 7-6(4)
4. No. 76 Brasseaux (UGA) def. Angus (MSU) 6-4, 6-4
5. Agarwal (MSU) vs. No. 100 Nick Wood (UGA) 1-6, 7-5, 3-2(susp.)
6. Pieters (UGA) def. Robin Haden (MSU) 6-3, 6-4
Order of finish… Doubles (1,3,2)… Singles (4,2,6,3)
