Mississippi State
Denver
No. 20 MSU Downs No. 50 Denver To Advance to NCAA Second Round
May 08, 2015 | Men's Tennis
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – For the fifth-straight season, the Bulldogs were victorious on opening day. With the heat beating down for four hours and nine minutes, 20th-ranked Mississippi State (20-7) fended off No. 50 Denver (18-9) in a marathon match, 4-3, to advance to Saturday's NCAA Championship Second Round.
The win puts MSU at 16-4 in opening round play and 21-19 overall at the NCAA Championship. The Bulldogs will now face host No. 13 North Carolina Saturday at 2 p.m. CT., for the right to advance to Waco, Texas, and the 2015 NCAA Championship Round of 16.
“It was a tough challenge today, but I'm proud of the guys for their fight against a scrappy Denver squad,” MSU coach Matt Roberts said. “They pushed us at a lot of different areas, but we stayed focused and were able to come through when it mattered. Now our focus is on North Carolina and taking that next step in this tournament.”
State is 1-0 all-time against the Tar Heels, with the only meeting being a 5-3 win in 1992 against then-ranked No. 8 UNC in the championship match of the Blue-Gray National Collegiate Classic.
State is now at 20 wins for the season, which moves into a tie for sixth most all time, while also marking the eighth 20-win season in program history. The last time MSU won 20 matches in a season was in 2012.
Despite having an early 3-0 lead, Friday's contest was anything but a blowout, as both teams scrapped in an impressive opening-round match. State jumped ahead with a thrilling doubles point, winning tiebreakers on courts one and two both by the score of 8-7(10), playing a total of 44 points in the breakers.
MSU would push its lead to 3-0 behind victories from Julian Cash (court six) and Mate Cutura (court three). Denver would make its push with wins on courts two, one and five, but MSU's Rishab Agarwal came back from down a set to clinch the match for the Bulldogs on court four.
Denver tried to make a jump on the Bulldogs in doubles play, challenging on all three courts. The Pioneers would go up a break on one and three, but State would quickly turn the tables and put the matches back on serve. The Bulldogs would eventually push play on courts one and two into tiebreakers, while MSU's Juan Cruz Estevarena and Robin Haden found themselves down 7-5 and a break on three.
With MSU down 7-6 on one and up 9-8 on two, Estevarena and Haden earned a break to push into a tiebreaker as well. However, it would not be necessary, as Cutura served out a 8-7(10) victory against DU's team of Yannik James and Diogo Rocha on court two.
The clincher came on court one, as the sixth-ranked, All-American duo of Cash and Florian Lakat downed Denver's No. 49 duo of Henry Craig and Alex Gasson 8-7(10) to put State up 1-0. Play on three was suspended with DU's David Fox and Jesse Ruder-Hook up 3-2 in the breaker.
Singles proved to be no easy task as well, with Denver opening play with four first sets to MSU's two. Regardless, State would gain two straight-set victories out of the gate thanks to dominating play from Cash and Cutura. Cash picked up his third win in his last four contests, defeating DU's Wyatt Lovera 6-2, 6-4 on court six. Cutura followed with his 19th win of the year, downing the Pioneers' Gasson 6-2, 6-4 on three to put MSU up 3-0.
Denver would capitalize in straight sets on two courts with MSU a win away from victory. After dropping his first set 6-0, Estevarena battled back hard in the second, but was unable to pull it out, falling to DU's No. 114 Rocha 6-0, 6-4. Denver would pull within one when No. 112 Craig defeated State's No. 62 Lakat 7-6(5), 6-1 at the top spot.
As Denver pulled within one, State began its push back by splitting sets on courts four and five. Agarwal would pull away in a tiebreaker, 7-6(2), to force a third, while one court over, Schmid sent his match into a deciding frame with a 6-3 second-set win.
Schmid would suffer a late break on court five, falling to DU's James 7-5, 3-6, 6-4 to even the match up at 3-all. All eyes then shifted to court four, where Agarwal and Denver's Fox traded breaks early on, but were locked in a back-and-forth battle. Fox seemed poised to take a break lead, putting Agarwal on the ropes with three break chances. However, Agarwal would not let him land the final blow, fighting off all three chances to hold.
Agarwal would then seal the match with a break. Up 6-5, Agarwal would earn triple break point up 0-40. Fox would save one match point, but a forehand winner was the nail in the coffin for Agarwal's 12th-straight win and MSU's fifth-straight trip to the second round.
“Can't say enough how proud I am of Rishab and how he played today,” Roberts said. “He's been one of our most consistent guys all year and he proved it again today. He stayed focused, used his training and turned it into the match-clinching win.”
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. 50 Denver 3
2015 NCAA Men's Tennis Championship – First Round
May 8, 2015 – Cone-Kenfield Tennis Center – Chapel Hill, N.C.
Doubles
1. No. 6 Julian Cash/Florian Lakat (MSU) def. No. 49 Henry Craig/Alex Gasson (DU) 8-7(10)
2. Mate Cutura/Tassilo Schmid (MSU) def. Yannik James/Diogo Rocha (DU) 8-7(10)
3. David Fox/Jesse Ruder-Hook (DU) vs. Juan Cruz Estevarena/Robin Haden (MSU) 7-7(3-2)(susp.)
Singles
1. No. 112 Craig (DU) def. No. 62 Lakat (MSU) 7-6(5), 6-1
2. No. 114 Rocha (DU) def. Estevarena (MSU) 6-0, 6-4
3. Cutura (MSU) def. Gasson (DU) 6-2, 6-4
4. Rishab Agarwal (MSU) def. Fox (DU) 2-6, 7-6(2), 7-5
5. James (DU) def. Schmid (MSU) 7-5, 3-6, 6-4
6. Cash (MSU) def. Wyatt Lovera (DU) 6-2, 6-4
Order of finish… Doubles (2,1)… Singles (6,3,2,1,5,4)
Players Mentioned
