No. 22 MSU Women?s Tennis To Host No. 9 Gamecocks Friday
March 17, 2016 | Women's Tennis
STARKVILLE, Miss. – After a weekend on the road, the 22nd-ranked Mississippi State women's tennis team (11-3, 2-2 Southeastern Conference) returns home to face its third top 20 foe in a row in No. 9 South Carolina (12-2, 4-0) on Friday, March 18, at 3 p.m. at the A.J. Pitts Tennis Centre.
MSU is coming off an exciting 4-3 win over No. 15 LSU in Baton Rouge on Sunday. The win was State's first over a top 15 team on the road in program history and the first over LSU in Baton Rouge since 2005. State's current No. 22 ranking is also the team's highest since that 2005 campaign.
Ninth-ranked Jasmine Lee propelled the Bulldogs to the victory over LSU in come-from-behind fashion at the No. 1 position. She is 9-3 at that spot this spring for the Bulldogs and, at No. 9, has achieved the highest singles ranking ever by an MSU women's tennis player.
Bulldogs Madison Harrison and No. 86 Georgiana Patrasc were also crucial components in Sunday's triumph, producing straight-set singles wins of their own at the No. 2 and 3 positions. They are 7-5 and 11-2, respectively, in dual matches. After a pair of tough losses on the road trip last week, 51st-ranked MSU rookie Anastasia Rentouli will look to get back on track this weekend. The freshman started her initial dual match campaign 10-0 and is a stellar 22-4 overall for the year.
MSU's 34th-ranked duo of Harrison and Patrasc looks to continue its winning ways after taking a match in Baton Rouge as well. No. 43 Lee and Louise Ronaldson hope to continue their doubles success after clinching the doubles point for the Bulldogs against the Tigers. MSU's No. 70 pair Jennifer Brown and Kristina Vozniak round out the ranked doubles trio for State.
South Carolina, a winner of seven-straight matches coming into Starkville, is coming off two impressive victories of its own this past weekend. The Gamecocks upended No. 5 Vanderbilt and 19th ranked Kentucky in Columbia.
The Gamecocks boast two ranked singles players in No. 109 Caroline Dailey and No. 110 Paige Cline. Aiding the two ranked players are sophomore Hadley Berg, who is undefeated in 12 matches, and junior Brigit Folland, who has an 11-1 record. Both players are undefeated against conference foes.
On the doubles side, USC fields a ranked pair in No. 54 Berg and Cline. The tandem is undefeated so far in 2016, 7-0 overall and 3-0 in SEC play.
"The girls are coming off a strong weekend," head coach Daryl Greenan said. "They have made solid progress this semester and hope to continue that trend carrying the confidence and momentum into this weekend. These next two matches will be the toughest test we have had all year. This team has done an excellent job embracing challenges and I expect they will do the same Friday and Sunday."
Following Friday's action, State remains at home for yet another top 20 challenge on Sunday, March 20, hosting No. 13 Florida at 11 a.m. at the Pitts Tennis Centre.
For more information on Mississippi State women's tennis and updates, fans can follow the Bulldogs on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at HailStateWT.
