Mississippi State
Vanderbilt
No. 20 MSU Tennis Drops 4-3 Decision At No. 21 Vanderbilt
April 11, 2015 | Men's Tennis
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Hitting the road for the final time for the 2015 regular season, the 20th-ranked Mississippi State Bulldogs (17-6, 8-3 SEC) dropped a tough 4-3 decision to the No. 21 Vanderbilt Commodores (17-6, 7-4 SEC) Friday night in Nashville.
The loss snapped a five-match winning streak by the Bulldogs. MSU had won five of its last six meetings against Vandy prior to Friday's contest as well.
Despite the loss, State remained dominant in doubles, getting wins on the last two courts to seal the match's opening point for the 18th time this season.
Singles proved to be a tougher challenge, as five of the six courts went to three sets. Juan Cruz Estevarena and Rishab Agarwal earned wins for the Bulldogs, but Vanderbilt used wins on courts one, three, four and six to rally for the win.
First off the court in doubles was the State tandem of Mate Cutura and Tassilo Schmid, who dominated from start to finish to defeat Vandy's 75th-ranked team of Pen Binet and Baker Newman, 6-0. The tandem has now won three consecutive matches and improved to 13-3 this spring.
The clincher came on court three from the MSU duo of Estevarena and Robin Haden. While court one battled in a tiebreaker, Estevarena and Haden took down VU's Jeffrey Offerdahl and Daniel Valent 6-4 to clinch the 1-0 Bulldog lead.
Play on court one was suspended tied at 2-2 in the breaker.
MSU started off hot in singles play, grabbing four first sets from the Commodores. However, Vandy would turn the tables and make a rally on several courts. VU captured their first win on court three, where No. 83 Valent defeated MSU's No. 96 Cutura, snapping that Bulldog's eight-match winning streak. VU followed on court five shortly after, as Suresh Eswaran earned a 6-1, 4-6, 6-2 victory against State's Schmid.
State would tie the match back up at 2-2 thanks to Estevarena on court two, where he defeated VU's Johnson 7-5, 2-6, 6-3. The Commodores would answer right back, going up 3-2 thanks to a 3-6, 7-6(6), 6-4 win on court six from Newman against MSU's Cash.
The match would be tied once again on court four, where MSU's Rishab Agarwal took down Vandy's Kris Yee 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 for his ninth-straight win. With all eyes on court one, Vanderbilt's No. 9 Austin would pull out a 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 win against State's No. 73 Lakat to seal the match for the homestanding Commodores.
“That was a tough loss today, but it's never easy playing on the road in the SEC,” MSU coach Matt Roberts said. “Now we have to rebound at home and close out the regular season strong on Sunday.”
MSU will close out the season with a Senior Day match against No. 24 LSU Sunday, April 12, at the Pitts Tennis Centre at 1 p.m. Due to the possibility of inclement weather on Sunday, fans should consult MSU's social media outlets and HailState.com for possible changes.
Following Sunday's affair, MSU will travel to compete in the 2015 SEC Championship to be held April 15-19 in College Station, Texas.
For more information on Mississippi State men's tennis and updates, fans can follow the Bulldogs on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at HailStateMT.
No. 21 Vanderbilt 4, No. 20 Mississippi State 3
April 10, 2015 – Currey Tennis Center – Nashville, Tenn.
Doubles
1. No. 15 Julian Cash/Florian Lakat (MSU) vs. No. 2 Gonzales Austin/Rhys Johnson (VU) 6-6(susp.)
2. Mate Cutura/Tassilo Schmid (MSU) def. No. 75 Pen Binet/Baker Newman (VU) 6-0
3. Juan Cruz Estevarena/Robin Haden (MSU) def. Jeffrey Offerdahl/Daniel Valent (VU) 6-4
Singles
1. No. 9 Austin (VU) def. No. 73 Lakat (MSU) 4-6, 6-4, 6-4
2. Estevarena (MSU) def. Johnson (VU) 7-5, 2-6, 6-3
3. No. 83 Valent (VU) def. No. 96 Cutura (MSU) 6-3, 7-6(5)
4. Rishab Agarwal (MSU) def. Kris Yee (VU) 6-4, 3-6, 6-3
5. Suresh Eswaran (VU) def. Schmid (MSU) 6-1, 4-6, 6-2
6. Newman (VU) def. Cash (MSU) 3-6, 7-6(6), 6-4
Order of finish… Doubles (2,3)… Singles (3,5,2,6,4,1)
Players Mentioned
