Mississippi State
Florida
No. 42 Bulldog Men?s Tennis Drops 4-1 Decision At No. 18 Florida
March 14, 2015 | Men's Tennis
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Unable to recover from an early 3-0 lead by the home team, the 42nd-ranked Mississippi State men's tennis team (11-4, 2-1 SEC) fell to No. 18 Florida (7-5, 2-2 SEC) 4-1 in Gainesville on Friday afternoon.
The loss snapped a four-match winning streak for the Bulldogs and now leaves No. 4 Georgia as the final unbeaten squad in conference play.
For the first time since playing North Carolina State on Jan. 23, the Maroon and White could not capture the match's opening point, snapping a 10-match streak of winning doubles. The Gators used wins on courts two and three to take the opening point.
The Gators squelched a small momentum shift for the Bulldogs at the beginning of singles play, led by a rally in the first set on court five. UF would take wins on courts three, five and the clincher on No. 1 to down the Bulldogs.
First off the court in tandem play was the MSU pair of Mate Cutura and Tassilo Schmid, who suffered their first loss of the spring in a 6-1 decision to the No. 33 Florida duo of Diego Hidalgo and Gordon Watson on court two. State leveled play with a 6-2 win on court one from the No. 46 team of Julian Cash and Florian Lakat. The pair took down UF's Maxx Lipman and Elliott Orkin to move to 3-0 in dual match play.
The clincher came on court three, where the Gators' No. 72 team of Oliver Ladner and Joshua Wardell defeated MSU's Juan Cruz Estevarena and Robin Haden 6-3.
State got off to a fast start in singles and looked to be poised to take four first sets with ease to get back on track in the match. However, the Gators had other plans, striking first with wins on courts three and five to go up 3-0.
No. 99 Orkin took down MSU's No. 105 Schmid 6-3, 6-0 on court three, while the Gators' Chase Perez-Blanco made an impressive first-set comeback on court five to ultimately defeat MSU's Cash 7-5, 6-3.
State grabbed its lone point of the match on court 4, where Cutura held off Watson for a 7-6(5), 6-2 win to trim the Gator lead to 3-1.
Court one was the site of the clinching match, as State's No. 112 Lakat couldn't forge a comeback, falling in a tight 6-4, 6-4 decision to UF's No. 64 Hidalgo.
Play on courts two and six were suspended at the clinch. UF's No. 78 Lipman was leading MSU's Estevarena in the third set 2-6, 6-2, 4-2 on two, while on court six, play had just entered a third set between MSU's Rishab Agarwal and Florida's Landert.
“This was a tough loss for our team against a very good Florida team on their home courts,” MSU coach Matt Roberts said. “Now we just have to focus on regrouping and getting ready for Auburn on Sunday.”
State meets the 39th-ranked Tigers on the Plains Sunday at 1 p.m. CT.
For more information on Mississippi State men's tennis and updates, fans can follow the Bulldogs on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at HailStateMT.
No. 18 Florida 4, No. 42 Mississippi State 1
March 13, 2015 – Alfred A. Ring Tennis Center – Gainesville, Fla.
Doubles
1. No. 46 Julian Cash/Florian Lakat (MSU) def. Maxx Lipman/Elliott Orkin (UF) 6-2
2. No. 33 Diego Hidalgo/Gordon Watson (UF) def. Mate Cutura/Tassilo Schmid (MSU) 6-1
3. No. 72 Oliver Landert/Joshua Wardell (UF) def. Juan Cruz Estevarena/Robin Haden (MSU) 6-3
Singles
1. No. 64 Hidalgo (UF) def. No. 112 Lakat (MSU) 6-4, 6-4
2. Estevarena (MSU) vs. No. 78 Lipman (UF) 6-2, 2-6, 2-4
3. No. 99 Orkin (UF) def. No. 105 Schmid (MSU) 6-3, 6-0
4. Cutura (MSU) def. Watson (UF) 7-6(5), 6-2
5. Chase Perez-Blanco (UF) def. Cash (MSU) 7-5, 6-3
6. Rishab Agarwal (MSU) vs. Landert (UF) 6-3, 4-6
Order of finish… Doubles (2,1,3)… Singles (3,5,4,1)
Players Mentioned
