No. 30 Gamecocks Rally To Upset No. 13 Bulldog Netmen 4-3
May 25, 2016 | Men's Tennis
With the loss, MSU fell to 6-3 overall on the year. USC improved to 7-0. It marked only the third win for USC over the Bulldogs in 14 all-time meetings between the schools.
State gained the opening point of the day by sweeping all three double matches. MSU's team of Luiz Carvalho and Jerome Le Belicard shutout USC's Seth Rose and Carl Wermee 8-0 at the No. 3 position to lead the way. Bulldogs Romain Ambert and Rene-Charles Combette, ranked 31st nationally, then clinched the point with an 8-2 win over Gamecocks Angelo Niculescu and Marcus Westman at No. 1. The win kept the MSU pair undefeated together in team matches for their careers (now 10-0) and they have won 12 of their last 13 matches overall.
MSU would complete the sweep of doubles when Max Fomine and Aymeric Henou overcame a 4-0 deficit to win 8-6 over USC's duo of Ben Atkinson and David Nelson at No. 2.
State grabbed its early 3-0 lead in singles play with identical 6-1, 6-2 victories at the No. 1 and 5 positions. MSU's seventh-ranked Ambert bested Rose at No. 1 for his 12th win in 13 contests and remain undefeated (8-0) in dual matches this season. The Bulldogs' Henou was then a winner over Wermee at No. 5 for his sixth consecutive victory.
Then the Gamecocks began making their comeback run, which would include three very tight three-set victories.
At the No. 2 spot, USC's Niculescu rallied from a 5-2 disadvantage in the first set to down MSU's Combette 7-5, 6-4. Next, but much later in the match, Gamecock Rodrigo Pacheco posted a 3-6, 6-4, 6-3 comeback win over Fomine at the No. 6 position. That left the No. 3 and 4 spots still on the court will most of the third set left to play in each.
At No. 4, USC's Westman would hold off MSU's Le Belicard 7-5, 6-7(1), 7-5 to tie the match at 3-3. Nelson then won 3-6, 7-6(5), 6-1 over Carvalho at No. 3 to complete the victory for the Gamecocks.
"I am extremely disappointed about losing this match," MSU head coach Sylvain Guichard said. "We fought hard and had several chances to win it, but just did not win the points when we needed to. At the same time, you have to give South Carolina a lot of credit for the way they hung in and fought. They could have easily given in when we were up 3-0."
MSU continues its roadswing in SEC play Sunday, travelling to Gainesville, Fla., to meet the 26th-ranked Florida Gators. Match time is set for 1 p.m. ET at UF's Scott Linder Stadium.
#30 SOUTH CAROLINA 4, #13 MISSISSIPPI STATE 3
DOUBLES -- #31 Romain Ambert/Rene-Charles Combette (MSU) def. Angelo Niculescu/Marcus Westman (USC) 8-2; Max Fomine/Aymeric Henou (MSU) def. Ben Atkinson/David Nelson (USC) 8-6; Luiz Carvalho/Jerome Le Belicard (MSU) def. Seth Rose/Carl Wermee (USC) 8-0.
SINGLES -- #7 Ambert (MSU) def. Rose (USC) 6-1, 6-2; Niculescu (USC) def. Combette (MSU) 7-5, 6-4; Nelson (USC) def. Carvalho (MSU) 3-6, 7-6(5), 6-1; Westman (USC) def. Le Belicard (MSU) 7-5, 6-7(1), 7-5; Henou (MSU) def. Wermee (USC) 6-1, 6-2; Rodrigo Pacheco (USC) def. Fomine (MSU) 3-6, 6-4, 6-3.
(numbers preceding names are current national rankings)
