#22 Bulldog Netters To Host #13 Auburn Sunday
May 25, 2016 | Men's Tennis
STARKVILLE, Miss. -- Looking to break a string of three consecutive gut-wrenching 4-3 losses, Mississippi State's 22nd-ranked men's tennis team continues Southeastern Conference action Sunday, welcoming the 13th-ranked Auburn Tigers. Match time is scheduled for 1 p.m. at MSU's A.J. Pitts Tennis Centre.
MSU will enter the match 6-5 overall, 0-3 in the SEC, following a loss to 18th-ranked Alabama Friday, its third heartbreaking 4-3 setback in as many matches. The Bulldogs are led by sophomore Romain Ambert, ranked No. 6 in the country in singles. Ambert and junior Rene-Charles Combette are No. 12 in the country in doubles.
Auburn is 8-4, 3-2 in the SEC following a close 5-2 loss at ninth-ranked Mississippi Friday afternoon. The Tigers currently have three players among the nation's top 100 singles players. Senior Tiago Ruffoni is 29th, freshman Andrew Colombo is 85th, and sophomore Rameez Junaid is 97th. Colombo and Ruffoni also team to form the country's fourth-ranked doubles tandem.
State will be meeting Auburn for the 30th time in recorded history (since 1969) on Sunday. State holds a slim 15-14 advantage in the series in that time, 7-7 in Starkville. However, MSU has won the last five meetings between the teams on the MSU campus. The Tigers took a 4-3 win in the most recent meeting between the squads at Auburn last year.
"Auburn is one of the stronger teams in the SEC this season," MSU head coach Sylvain Guichard said. "They lost their top player from last year, but have a couple of very talented freshmen in their lineup. They will be a tough challenge for us but, if we work hard, we can pull the upset."
Following Sunday's match, State will hit the road for its next two matches. The Bulldogs will travel to 30th-ranked Vanderbilt this Wednesday, March 20, before a visit to seventh-ranked Kentucky next Sunday, March 24.
