No. 32 Lady Bulldogs Edge No. 34 Ohio State 4-3; Advance in NCAAs
May 25, 2016 | Women's Tennis
"We've been in this position a number of times throughout the course of the season," said head coach Tracy Lane. "We have some players that have played better this season than they did today, but Ohio State is an outstanding team. They are the toughest team that we have had to play in the first round of the NCAAs. We were very fortunate to win this match."
State jumped out to an early lead by winning the opening doubles point for just the seventh time all season. After dropping the match at No. 3, Soubis and senior Claudia Oliveira jumped out to a 4-1 lead over Kristy Dascoli and Monica Rincon. Yet, Dascoli and Rincon broke the Mississippi State duo to take a 6-5 lead. Soubis and Oliveira broke back to tie the match at 6-6 and went on to win 8-6. MSU then clinched the doubles point at No. 2, where senior Amelie Detriviere and freshman Camila Sagae defeated Sadhaf Pervez and Laura Maloney 8-6.
In singles, the Lady Bulldogs built a quick 3-0 lead with wins by Detriviere and Mattsson. Mattsson finished up first at No. 6, taking a 6-2, 6-0 victory over Claudia Castro. Detriviere, ranked 84th nationally, then defeated 98th-ranked Rincon 6-1, 6-2 at No. 2.
Ohio State then responded with three straight wins to even the match. Maloney started the Buckeyes run at No. 5 as she upended freshman Yumi Ueda 6-3, 6-1. Erica Fisk then cut the MSU lead to 3-2 when she defeated senior Anca Vasiloaica 6-3, 7-5 at No. 4. Pervez tied the match with a 7-6 (5), 6-2 win over Oliveira at No. 3.
With all other matches finished, Soubis and two-time BigTen Player of the Year Kristy Dascoli fought for the match. Dascoli took the first set 7-5, and Soubis won the second 6-2. In the third set, Dascoli took a 3-0 lead over Soubis. However, Soubis broke Dascoli to take a 5-4 lead and eventually won the match 5-7, 6-2, 6-4 to clinch the victory for the Lady Bulldogs.
This is the third straight year that Mississippi State has advanced past the first round of the tournament. In 1999, the Lady Bulldogs faced Georgia in the second round and in 2000, they faced Arizona State. Mississippi State now will face the winner of Georgia and Coastal Carolina Saturday afternoon at 4 p.m. at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex.
Mississippi State 4, Ohio State 3DoublesCarole Soubis/Claudia Oliveira (MSU) d. Kristy Dascoli/Monica Rincon (OSU) 8-6Amelie Detriviere/Camila Sagae (MSU) d. Sadhaf Pervez/Laura Maloney (OSU) 8-6Erica Fisk/Claudia Castro (OSU) d. Linda Mattsson/Yumi Ueda (MSU) 8-2
SinglesSoubis (MSU) d. Dascoli (OSU) 5-7, 6-2, 6-4Detriviere (MSU) d. Rincon (OSU) 6-1, 6-2Pervez (OSU) d. Oliveira (MSU) 7-6 (5), 6-2Fisk (OSU) d. Anca Vasiloaica (MSU) 6-3, 7-5Maloney (OSU) d. Ueda (MSU) 6-3, 1-6Mattsson (MSU) d. Castro (OSU) 6-2, 6-0
Mississippi State advances to second round to face winner of Georgia/Coastal Carolina.
