No. 24 MSU Returns Home To Face No. 32 Alabama This Sunday
April 09, 2016 | Men's Tennis
STARKVILLE, Miss. – With the end of the regular season looming, the 24th ranked Mississippi State men's tennis team (14-6, 6-4) hosts the 32nd ranked Alabama Crimson Tide (14-10, 5-5) on Sunday at 1 p.m. CT.
As with all home matches at the A.J. Pitts Tennis Centre this season, admission is free. The first 100 in attendance will receive a free t-shirt as fans are encouraged to wear white. Following Sunday's match, the Bulldogs will be signing autographs on the court.
“We're very excited to get back home and play on our own courts,” head coach Matt Roberts said. “Our young team has taken a lot of steps in maturation this year and its fun watching these guys grow and develop. We will be looking forward to a great match tomorrow against Alabama. We're expecting a big crowd that will create a great atmosphere for our team.”
Last time out the Bulldogs upset No. 14 Arkansas 4-3 in Fayetteville. The victory was sparked by MSU earning its first road doubles point of the season, as the Bulldogs held off the Razorbacks in singles play to secure the win.
The junior duo of Mate Cutura and Vaughn Hunter were to thank for capturing the doubles point as the pair knocked off another ranked opponent last weekend. The tandem vaulted into this week's ITA doubles ranking at 39th overall. Cutura and Hunter defeated Arkansas' No. 16 Mike Redlicki and Giammarco Micolani 7-5 last Sunday, after downing the top team in the nation in Florida's Diego Hidalgo and Gordon Watson, 6-4 on March 25.
With doubles play heating up for the Bulldogs, one area that has been no problem for the Maroon and White is singles play. MSU will go with the familiar lineup of No. 41 Cutura, Nuno Borges, No. 73 Rishab Agarwal, Niclas Braun, Strahinja Rakic and Luka Sucevic in singles.
Freshmen have been key to State's success this season, with four of the six in Sunday's lineup being rookies. The four freshmen make up 45 of the 63 combined singles wins in Sunday's order.
For Alabama, the Tide enters Sunday contest having won two out of its last three road matches. The most recent win came against Ole Miss in Oxford, 4-3. Alabama has two ranked singles players and one ranked doubles team, as No. 54 Mazen Osama and No. 101 Korey Lovett lead the way. The pair also makes up the sixth-ranked doubles team in the country.
MSU has been successful against the Tide in the past, compiling a 31-24 record all-time against Alabama. The Bulldogs have built a six-match winning streak as well versus Sunday's foe, with Alabama's last win coming in 2010.
The Maroon and White will cap off its 2016 regular season next Friday, as the Bulldogs host Vanderbilt at 5 p.m. to kick off Super Bulldog Weekend.
For more information on the Mississippi State men's tennis program, follow “HailStateMT” on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
