No. 21 Netmen Set To Host No. 33 Middle Tennessee Tuesday
May 25, 2016 | Men's Tennis
STARKVILLE, Miss. -- Mississippi State's 21st-ranked men's tennis team will step out of Southeastern Conference action Tuesday for the final time during the 2002 regular season, hosting 33rd-ranked Middle Tennessee. Match time is set for 2 p.m. at MSU's A.J. Pitts Tennis Centre. The match is a makeup of the contest originally scheduled for Feb. 27 that was postponed due to poor weather conditions.
Both teams will enter the match having struggled somewhat of late.
State, 8-8 overall, will be looking to rebound from consecutive losses to #13 Tennessee and top-ranked Georgia this past weekend. The Bulldogs are led by sophomore Romain Ambert, who is ranked 10th in the country in singles, and junior Rene-Charles Combette (75th). Ambert and Combette are No. 18 nationally together in doubles.
Middle Tennessee is 13-3 overall but its three losses have come in the last four outings, the most recent a tight 4-3 decision at #38 Miami last Monday. The Blue Raiders are paced by junior Daniel Klemetz who is ranked 17th in the nation in singles. Senior Robert Gustafsson is 85th. Senior Oliver Foreman and Gustafsson team to form the country's 14th-ranked doubles tandem.
The teams have met 13 times in recorded history with State owning a perfect 13-0 record in the series. The squads clashed twice last season with MSU taking a 6-1 win in Starkville and a 4-0 victory in the first round of the NCAA Championship in Champaign, Ill.
"I wish history had some bearing on the current year," MSU head coach Sylvain Guichard said. "That would be very nice against Middle Tennessee but, unfortunately, it does not. Coach (Dale) Short has what may be his best team ever this season. They have struggled a little lately but still have an excellent season going and have been ranked as high as 20th. We will have to played very focused tennis against them to win."
Following Tuesday's contest, the Bulldogs jump back into SEC action this weekend. State will travel to #42 LSU this Friday before hosting #25 Arkansas this Sunday to close out Super Bulldog Week activities.
