Mississippi State
LSU
No. 20 Bulldogs Down No. 24 LSU; Earn No. 3 Seed In SEC Tourney
April 12, 2015 | Men's Tennis
STARKVILLE, Miss. – As it was to start the season, the A.J. Pitts Tennis Centre was wrapped in Maroon and White thanks to a 4-2 victory from the 20th-ranked Mississippi State Bulldogs (18-6, 9-3 SEC) against the No. 24 LSU Tigers (16-7, 6-6 SEC) on Sunday.
“This was a great win for our guys, especially to end the regular season,” MSU coach Matt Roberts said. “LSU is a very tough team and always demands your best when you play them. Today was no exception. We grinded it out and got the wins we needed to put a nice ending on this regular season.”
The Bulldogs delivered the win on Senior Day, where they honored lone senior Tassilo Schmid for his passion and dedication to Mississippi State tennis. The senior was once again a big player in doubles, teaming up with Mate Cutura to clinch the match's opening point.
“Also very happy that we could get this win for Tassilo,” Roberts said. “He is a big part of the success of this program and to get him a win on his Senior Day is a proud moment for these guys.”
Sunday's win solidifies a third place finish in the SEC this season and seals the three seed in the upcoming SEC Championship for the Bulldogs. State's nine SEC wins is the most since earning nine in 2012. Overall for the season, MSU has 18 wins, one shy of cracking the top 10 list for most wins in a season.
The Bulldogs have won six of their last seven against the Tigers and 25 of their last 28 contests in Starkville, dating back to the 2013 season.
MSU earned its 11th win in 14 contests thanks to capturing the doubles point and receiving singles wins from Florian Lakat, Rishab Agarwal and Julian Cash.
Doubles play has been a strong suit for the Bulldogs this season and Sunday was no different. MSU won the match's opening point for the 19th time this season and improved to 15-4 when doing so.
LSU played State tight early on in doubles, including jumping ahead 4-0 on court three. Despite their strong start, the Tigers couldn't hold off the Bulldogs, who struck first on court one with a 6-4 win from the No. 15 duo of Cash and Lakat against LSU's No. 23 team of Boris Arias and Jordan Daigle.
The clincher came on court two, as State's Cutura and Schmid pulled out a 6-4 win against LSU's Justin Butsch and Chris Simpson to win their fourth-straight match. The Tigers were eyeing victory on court three at the clinch, with their team of Simon Freund and Tam Trinh up 5-3 against MSU's Juan Cruz Estevarena and Robin Haden.
Play was tighter once singles began, with the Tigers taking four first sets to the Bulldogs' two in an attempt to rally for the win. The visitors from Baton Rouge would jump out in front with straight-set wins on courts three and five. Arias would defeat MSU's No. 96 Cutura 6-4, 6-4 on three and LSU's Butsch bested Schmid 6-2, 6-4 on five to put the Tigers in the lead at 2-1.
However, the Tigers' momentum would go no further, as MSU got in gear and took three-straight matches to claim victory. No. 73 Lakat provided the first MSU singles victory of the day, downing No. 121 Simpson of LSU 6-1, 7-5 at No. 1 for his fifth ranked win of the season.
Agarwal would put the Bulldogs back in front for good thanks to a 6-2, 1-6, 6-1 victory against LSU's Andrew Korinek on court four. The win gave the sophomore a perfect 8-0 record in SEC play for the year, joining Ole Miss' Stefan Lindmark and Georgia's Paul Oosterbaan as the only other two SEC players to achieve that feat.
The match would come down to courts two and six, with both featuring three-set battles and State needing one of the two for the win. As MSU's Estevarena and LSU's No. 74 Daigle went back-and-forth on two, State's Cash and the Tigers' Freund entered a third-set tiebreaker on six. Cash would find himself down 5-4 and a minibreak in the breaker, but would not relent, winning the next three points for a 2-6, 6-3, 7-6(5) victory for the clinch.
Play on court two was suspended with the third set at 5-all.
MSU will now travel to compete in the 2015 SEC Championship to be held April 15-19 in College Station, Texas. With its impressive 9-3 showing the SEC this season, State has earned the No. 3 seed in the annual event, its highest since the Bulldogs were the No. 3 seed in 2012 when the tournament was held in Starkville. As a top four seed, State receives byes on Wednesday and Thursday and will begin play on Friday, April 17 at noon CT, facing either No. 6 seed Florida or No. 11 Kentucky, who play each other on Thursday at noon.
“We're looking forward to the SEC Championship and making a run there,” Roberts said. “These guys are playing at a top level right now and we're looking to keep that going in practice and then into the SEC and NCAA Championships.”
For more information on Mississippi State men's tennis and updates, fans can follow the Bulldogs on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at HailStateMT.
No. 20 Mississippi State 4, No. 24 LSU 2
April 12, 2015 – A.J. Pitts Tennis Centre – Starkville, Miss.
Doubles
1. No. 15 Julian Cash/Florian Lakat (MSU) def. Boris Arias/Jordan Daigle (LSU) 6-4
2. Mate Cutura/Tassilo Schmid (MSU) def. Justin Butsch/Chris Simpson (LSU) 6-4
3. Justin Butsch/Chris Simpson (LSU) vs. Juan Cruz Estevarena/Robin Haden (MSU) 5-3 (susp.)
Singles
1. No. 73 Lakat (MSU) def. Simpson (LSU) 6-1, 7-5
2. No. 73 Daigle (LSU) vs. Estevarena (MSU) 6-3, 3-6, 5-5(susp.)
3. Arias (LSU) def. No. 96 Cutura (MSU) 6-4, 6-4
4. Rishab Agarwal (MSU) def. Andrew Korinek (LSU) 6-2, 1-6, 6-1
5. Butsch (LSU) def. Schmid (MSU) 6-2, 6-4
6. Cash (MSU) def. Simon Freund 2-6, 6-3, 7-6(5)
Order of finish… Doubles (1,2)… Singles (3,5,1,4,6)
Players Mentioned
