Wednesday, February 22
Starkville
2:00 PM
Mississippi State
5
vs
2
Minnesota
Lisa Marie Rioux propels MSU to a 5-2 win over the Golden Gophers.
MSU Women’s Tennis Powers Past Minnesota To Move To 6-1
February 22, 2017 | Women's Tennis
STARKVILLE, Miss. – The Mississippi State women's tennis team (6-1) capped a perfect four-match homestand on Wednesday as the Bulldogs rallied to earn a 5-2 win over visiting Minnesota (5-4).
The victory on Wednesday afternoon gives MSU a four-match win streak heading into a Saturday road contest at Georgia State.
The Bulldogs jumped on the Golden Gophers early in doubles play as the eighth-ranked duo of Jasmine Lee and Lisa Marie Rioux breezed past Minnesota's duo of Caitlyn Merzbacher and Mehvish Safdar for a 6-0 victory at the No. 1 position.
The win would be short-lived as the Golden Gophers claimed courts 2 and 3 to establish the early 1-0 lead. UM's AnneMarie Emme and Camila Vargas-Gomez downed MSU's Jennifer Brown and Khrystyna Vozniak 6-2 at the No. 3 spot while Cammy Frei and Caroline Ryba defeated State's Madison Harrison and Sara Lizariturry 6-3 at No. 2.
"We struggled in doubles on two out of three courts," head coach Daryl Greenan said. "However, the girls responded well in singles and battled with a feisty Minnesota team. This is exactly what we need this time of year."
Trailing 1-0, the Bulldogs bounced back in singles action as State took four out of the six first sets to tilt the scales back in MSU's favor. But the Bulldogs would have to pull out some tight contests to finally close out the Golden Gophers.
State's 73rd-ranked Lee made quick work of the Golden Gophers' Ryba 6-4, 6-0 on court 1 to tie the score 1-1. The Bulldogs' Anastasia Rentouli would follow on court 4, fighting for a tough 6-3, 6-4 victory over Minnesota's Emme to give State its first lead of the day at 2-1.
The Golden Gophers quickly responded as Maja Vajic defeated State's Jennifer Brown in straight sets 6-2, 6-3 on court 6. That left courts 2, 3, and 5 still out to decide the match. MSU would ultimately claim victory in all three, but not without a fight from UM.
After blanking her opponent 6-0 in the first set, the Bulldog rookie Rioux outlasted Minnesota's Barbara Mancera in an epic 26-point tiebreaker at No. 3, finally winning 6-0, 7-6(12) to put MSU back on top at 3-2. Both players had multiple set points in the breaker.
State's Harrison then went the distance to clinch the match for the Bulldogs, defeating the Golden Gophers' Tina Kreinis 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 on court 2.
MSU's freshman Lizariturry ended the day with an exclamation point, winning five games in a row in the third set to rally from 4-1 down and oust Minnesota's Vargas-Gomez 6-7(4), 6-3, 6-4 to make the final score 5-2.
"Anytime we can get in a battle like that and come out on top it helps build our confidence," Greenan said after the win. "We are still not playing our best tennis, but if we can pull of wins like this one, not playing our best, it looks good moving forward to conference play."
Up Next
MSU hits the road to take on Georgia State in Atlanta onthis Saturday, Feb. 25, at 1 p.m. CT to close out 2017 non-conference play. State will host Auburn (March 3 – 3 p.m.) and Alabama (March 5 – 1 p.m.) to open Southeastern Conference action.
Additional Notes
Social Media
For more information on the Mississippi State women's tennis program, follow "HailStateWT" on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
Mississippi State 5, Minnesota 2
February 22, 2017 – A.J. Pitts Tennis Centre – Starkville, Miss.
Doubles
Order of match finish…1,3,2
1. No. 8 Jasmine Lee/Lisa Marie Rioux (MSU) def. Caitlyn Merzbacher/Mehvish Safdar (Minnesota) 6-0
2. Cammy Frei/Caroline Ryba (Minnesota) def. Madison Harrison/Sara Lizariturry (MSU) 6-3
3. AnneMarie Emme/Camila Vargas-Gomez (Minnesota) def. Jennifer Brown/Khrystyna Vozniak (MSU) 6-2
Singles
Order of match finish…1,4,6,3,2,5
1. No. 73 Jasmine Lee (MSU) def. Caroline Ryba (Minnesota) 6-4, 6-0
2. Madison Harrison (MSU) def. Tina Kreinis (Minnesota) 6-4, 3-6, 6-3
3. Lisa Marie Rioux (MSU) def. Barbara Mancera (Minnesota) 6-0, 7-6(12)
4. Anastasia Rentouli (MSU) def. AnneMarie Emme (Minnesota) 6-3, 6-4
5. Sara Lizariturry (MSU) def. Camila Vargas-Gomez (Minnesota) 6-7(4), 6-3, 6-4
6. Maja Vajic (Minnesota) def. Jennifer Brown (MSU) 6-2, 6-3
The victory on Wednesday afternoon gives MSU a four-match win streak heading into a Saturday road contest at Georgia State.
The Bulldogs jumped on the Golden Gophers early in doubles play as the eighth-ranked duo of Jasmine Lee and Lisa Marie Rioux breezed past Minnesota's duo of Caitlyn Merzbacher and Mehvish Safdar for a 6-0 victory at the No. 1 position.
The win would be short-lived as the Golden Gophers claimed courts 2 and 3 to establish the early 1-0 lead. UM's AnneMarie Emme and Camila Vargas-Gomez downed MSU's Jennifer Brown and Khrystyna Vozniak 6-2 at the No. 3 spot while Cammy Frei and Caroline Ryba defeated State's Madison Harrison and Sara Lizariturry 6-3 at No. 2.
"We struggled in doubles on two out of three courts," head coach Daryl Greenan said. "However, the girls responded well in singles and battled with a feisty Minnesota team. This is exactly what we need this time of year."
Trailing 1-0, the Bulldogs bounced back in singles action as State took four out of the six first sets to tilt the scales back in MSU's favor. But the Bulldogs would have to pull out some tight contests to finally close out the Golden Gophers.
State's 73rd-ranked Lee made quick work of the Golden Gophers' Ryba 6-4, 6-0 on court 1 to tie the score 1-1. The Bulldogs' Anastasia Rentouli would follow on court 4, fighting for a tough 6-3, 6-4 victory over Minnesota's Emme to give State its first lead of the day at 2-1.
The Golden Gophers quickly responded as Maja Vajic defeated State's Jennifer Brown in straight sets 6-2, 6-3 on court 6. That left courts 2, 3, and 5 still out to decide the match. MSU would ultimately claim victory in all three, but not without a fight from UM.
After blanking her opponent 6-0 in the first set, the Bulldog rookie Rioux outlasted Minnesota's Barbara Mancera in an epic 26-point tiebreaker at No. 3, finally winning 6-0, 7-6(12) to put MSU back on top at 3-2. Both players had multiple set points in the breaker.
State's Harrison then went the distance to clinch the match for the Bulldogs, defeating the Golden Gophers' Tina Kreinis 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 on court 2.
MSU's freshman Lizariturry ended the day with an exclamation point, winning five games in a row in the third set to rally from 4-1 down and oust Minnesota's Vargas-Gomez 6-7(4), 6-3, 6-4 to make the final score 5-2.
"Anytime we can get in a battle like that and come out on top it helps build our confidence," Greenan said after the win. "We are still not playing our best tennis, but if we can pull of wins like this one, not playing our best, it looks good moving forward to conference play."
Up Next
MSU hits the road to take on Georgia State in Atlanta onthis Saturday, Feb. 25, at 1 p.m. CT to close out 2017 non-conference play. State will host Auburn (March 3 – 3 p.m.) and Alabama (March 5 – 1 p.m.) to open Southeastern Conference action.
Additional Notes
- MSU now leads the all-time series against Minnesota 3-1
- Wednesday's match was the first between the Bulldogs and Gophers played in Starkville
- State has now won its last 23 non-conference matches at home
- Under Daryl Greenan, MSU is 38-6 in non-conference matches at home
- The victory for State was its first of the season when dropping the doubles point
- No. 8 Jasmine Lee and Lisa Marie Rioux improved to 14-2 overall in doubles
- The pair of Lee and Rioux has not given up a game in doubles play in the last two matches
- Senior Jasmine Lee now has 100 combined singles and doubles wins at MSU
- Bulldog freshmen Lisa Marie Rioux and Sara Lizariturry maintained their undefeated dual-match singles records in 2017
Social Media
For more information on the Mississippi State women's tennis program, follow "HailStateWT" on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
Mississippi State 5, Minnesota 2
February 22, 2017 – A.J. Pitts Tennis Centre – Starkville, Miss.
Doubles
Order of match finish…1,3,2
1. No. 8 Jasmine Lee/Lisa Marie Rioux (MSU) def. Caitlyn Merzbacher/Mehvish Safdar (Minnesota) 6-0
2. Cammy Frei/Caroline Ryba (Minnesota) def. Madison Harrison/Sara Lizariturry (MSU) 6-3
3. AnneMarie Emme/Camila Vargas-Gomez (Minnesota) def. Jennifer Brown/Khrystyna Vozniak (MSU) 6-2
Singles
Order of match finish…1,4,6,3,2,5
1. No. 73 Jasmine Lee (MSU) def. Caroline Ryba (Minnesota) 6-4, 6-0
2. Madison Harrison (MSU) def. Tina Kreinis (Minnesota) 6-4, 3-6, 6-3
3. Lisa Marie Rioux (MSU) def. Barbara Mancera (Minnesota) 6-0, 7-6(12)
4. Anastasia Rentouli (MSU) def. AnneMarie Emme (Minnesota) 6-3, 6-4
5. Sara Lizariturry (MSU) def. Camila Vargas-Gomez (Minnesota) 6-7(4), 6-3, 6-4
6. Maja Vajic (Minnesota) def. Jennifer Brown (MSU) 6-2, 6-3
Players Mentioned
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
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