Friday, March 31
Starkville
3:00 PM
Mississippi State
4
vs
1
Texas A&M
State's Jennifer Brown provided the match-clinching victory to secure the 4-1 triumph.
No. 24 MSU Ousts No. 25 Texas A&M, 4-1
March 31, 2017 | Women's Tennis
STARKVILLE, Miss. – To kick off its final regular season weekend at home, the 24th-ranked Mississippi State women's tennis team (12-5, 5-4 SEC) held off the 25th-ranked Texas A&M Aggies (10-10, 2-6 SEC) on Friday to post a thrilling 4-1 victory in front of an elated home crowd at the A.J. Pitts Tennis Centre.
"The crowd was awesome today," MSU head coach Daryl Greenan said. "Our girls are fun to watch and play their heart out. We appreciate our fans and feed off them."
The Bulldogs defended their home court Friday in doubles grabbing the doubles point to take an early 1-0 lead, but not without some heroics to do so. On court 3, MSU's tandem of Sara Lizariturry and Anastasia Rentouli recorded their first conference win of the season after downing A&M's pair of Stefania Hristov and Macarena Olivares 6-2. Following on court 1, the 12th-ranked Aggie duo of Rutuja Bhosale and Rachel Pierson setback the 11th-ranked State tandem of Jasmine Lee and Lisa Marie Rioux 6-3.
The doubles point would then come down to the wire on court 2 where MSU's Jennifer Brown and Khrystyna Vozniak won four straight games to overcome a 5-3 deficit and edge out A&M's Domenica Gonzalez and Eva Paalma 7-5 to put State up 1-0.
"We really hung around today," Greenan said. "I am so proud of our girls' resiliency. Along with a tremendous effort overall, it started with the doubles. We had a match point against us and once we turned that around we started to get more and more enthusiastic."
In singles, MSU won four of the six first sets to get in position for the win, but it would not come without a strong fight from the Aggies.
State's true freshman Lizariturry made quick work of A&M's Olivares 6-1, 6-1 at the No. 5 position to extend the Bulldog lead 2-0. The Aggies responded with their own 6-1, 6-1 victory, as Gonzalez defeated State's Vozniak on court 4.
Despite MSU holding one-set leads in three of the remaining four contests, A&M had battled back to split sets in two of those three to tighten up the match considerably.
In a tough battle that went the distance at the No. 1 spot, State's 32nd-ranked Lee gave State a 3-1 lead by rallying from a 4-1 deficit in a third-set tiebreaker to outlast the 39th-ranked Aggie Pierson 6-2, 0-6, 7-6(5). It was Lee's fifth straight triumph.
The clinching match would then come on court 6 where State's Brown, playing singles for the first time since early March, provided her first match-clinching victory of the year with a hard-fought 7-5, 6-3 victory over A&M's Tina Bokhua. The win secured MSU's 4-1 victory and first against the Aggies in seven all-time meetings.
"I knew she (Brown) was ready," Greenan said. "I believed in her and it was a matter if she believed in herself. I felt like she was ready. To get the clinch means a lot to her and the team."
The remaining two matches were suspended with two Bulldogs fighting hard. On court 2, State's rookie Rioux trailed TAMU's No. 91 Bhosale 7-5, 5-3. After a tough second set, the Maroon and White's Rentouli held a 7-5, 2-6, 2-0 lead on court 3 against Aggie Saska Gavrilovska.
"SEC women's tennis is at a ridiculous level this year," Greenan added. "For us, 5-4 is a bigger deal than ever. Every single SEC match is huge and we are really excited to get this win. We will enjoy this one but have to get ready for another battle on Sunday."
Up Next
State will host 19th-ranked LSU Sunday at 1 p.m. to continue SEC play and close out their 2017 regular season home slate. The match will be Senior Day, honoring MSU's lone senior, All-American and two-time first-team, All-SEC selection Jasmine Lee.
Additional Notes
Social Media
For more information on the Mississippi State women's tennis program, follow "HailStateWT" on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
No. 24 Mississippi State 4, No. 25 Texas A&M 1
March 31, 2017 – A.J. Pitts Tennis Centre – Starkville, Miss.
Doubles
Order of match finish…3,1,2
1. No. 12 Rutuja Bhosale/Rachel Pierson (TAMU) def. No. 11 Jasmine Lee/Lisa Marie Rioux (MSU) 6-3
2. Jennifer Brown/Khrystyna Vozniak (MSU) def. Domenica Gonzalez/Eva Paalma (TAMU) 7-5
3. Sara Lizariturry/Anastasia Rentouli (MSU) def. Stefania Hristov/Macarena Olivares (TAMU) 6-2
Singles
Order of match finish…5,4,1,6
1. No. 32 Jasmine Lee (MSU) def. No. 39 Rachel Pierson (TAMU) 6-2, 0-6, 7-6(5)
2. No. 91 Rutuja Bhosale (TAMU) vs. Lisa Marie Rioux (MSU) 7-5, 5-3 (susp.)
3. Anastasia Rentouli (MSU) vs. Saska Gavrilovska (TAMU) 7-5, 2-6, 2-0 (susp.)
4. Domenica Gonzalez (TAMU) def. Khrystyna Vozniak (MSU) 6-1, 6-1
5. Sara Lizariturry (MSU) def. Macarena Olivares (TAMU) 6-1, 6-1
6. Jennifer Brown (MSU) def. Tina Bokhua (TAMU) 7-5, 6-3
"The crowd was awesome today," MSU head coach Daryl Greenan said. "Our girls are fun to watch and play their heart out. We appreciate our fans and feed off them."
The Bulldogs defended their home court Friday in doubles grabbing the doubles point to take an early 1-0 lead, but not without some heroics to do so. On court 3, MSU's tandem of Sara Lizariturry and Anastasia Rentouli recorded their first conference win of the season after downing A&M's pair of Stefania Hristov and Macarena Olivares 6-2. Following on court 1, the 12th-ranked Aggie duo of Rutuja Bhosale and Rachel Pierson setback the 11th-ranked State tandem of Jasmine Lee and Lisa Marie Rioux 6-3.
The doubles point would then come down to the wire on court 2 where MSU's Jennifer Brown and Khrystyna Vozniak won four straight games to overcome a 5-3 deficit and edge out A&M's Domenica Gonzalez and Eva Paalma 7-5 to put State up 1-0.
"We really hung around today," Greenan said. "I am so proud of our girls' resiliency. Along with a tremendous effort overall, it started with the doubles. We had a match point against us and once we turned that around we started to get more and more enthusiastic."
In singles, MSU won four of the six first sets to get in position for the win, but it would not come without a strong fight from the Aggies.
State's true freshman Lizariturry made quick work of A&M's Olivares 6-1, 6-1 at the No. 5 position to extend the Bulldog lead 2-0. The Aggies responded with their own 6-1, 6-1 victory, as Gonzalez defeated State's Vozniak on court 4.
Despite MSU holding one-set leads in three of the remaining four contests, A&M had battled back to split sets in two of those three to tighten up the match considerably.
In a tough battle that went the distance at the No. 1 spot, State's 32nd-ranked Lee gave State a 3-1 lead by rallying from a 4-1 deficit in a third-set tiebreaker to outlast the 39th-ranked Aggie Pierson 6-2, 0-6, 7-6(5). It was Lee's fifth straight triumph.
The clinching match would then come on court 6 where State's Brown, playing singles for the first time since early March, provided her first match-clinching victory of the year with a hard-fought 7-5, 6-3 victory over A&M's Tina Bokhua. The win secured MSU's 4-1 victory and first against the Aggies in seven all-time meetings.
"I knew she (Brown) was ready," Greenan said. "I believed in her and it was a matter if she believed in herself. I felt like she was ready. To get the clinch means a lot to her and the team."
The remaining two matches were suspended with two Bulldogs fighting hard. On court 2, State's rookie Rioux trailed TAMU's No. 91 Bhosale 7-5, 5-3. After a tough second set, the Maroon and White's Rentouli held a 7-5, 2-6, 2-0 lead on court 3 against Aggie Saska Gavrilovska.
"SEC women's tennis is at a ridiculous level this year," Greenan added. "For us, 5-4 is a bigger deal than ever. Every single SEC match is huge and we are really excited to get this win. We will enjoy this one but have to get ready for another battle on Sunday."
Up Next
State will host 19th-ranked LSU Sunday at 1 p.m. to continue SEC play and close out their 2017 regular season home slate. The match will be Senior Day, honoring MSU's lone senior, All-American and two-time first-team, All-SEC selection Jasmine Lee.
Additional Notes
- MSU produced its first win against the Aggies in program history (seven meetings).
- The Bulldogs are now 10-0 this year when winning the doubles point
- State's Sara Lizariturry and Anastasia Rentouli notched their first conference doubles victory
- In singles, Lizariturry recorded her 16th triumph of the season and fourth in SEC action
- Senior Jasmine Lee has now defeated 38 ranked opponents during her career
- Junior Jennifer Brown provided her first match-clinching victory of the season
Social Media
For more information on the Mississippi State women's tennis program, follow "HailStateWT" on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
No. 24 Mississippi State 4, No. 25 Texas A&M 1
March 31, 2017 – A.J. Pitts Tennis Centre – Starkville, Miss.
Doubles
Order of match finish…3,1,2
1. No. 12 Rutuja Bhosale/Rachel Pierson (TAMU) def. No. 11 Jasmine Lee/Lisa Marie Rioux (MSU) 6-3
2. Jennifer Brown/Khrystyna Vozniak (MSU) def. Domenica Gonzalez/Eva Paalma (TAMU) 7-5
3. Sara Lizariturry/Anastasia Rentouli (MSU) def. Stefania Hristov/Macarena Olivares (TAMU) 6-2
Singles
Order of match finish…5,4,1,6
1. No. 32 Jasmine Lee (MSU) def. No. 39 Rachel Pierson (TAMU) 6-2, 0-6, 7-6(5)
2. No. 91 Rutuja Bhosale (TAMU) vs. Lisa Marie Rioux (MSU) 7-5, 5-3 (susp.)
3. Anastasia Rentouli (MSU) vs. Saska Gavrilovska (TAMU) 7-5, 2-6, 2-0 (susp.)
4. Domenica Gonzalez (TAMU) def. Khrystyna Vozniak (MSU) 6-1, 6-1
5. Sara Lizariturry (MSU) def. Macarena Olivares (TAMU) 6-1, 6-1
6. Jennifer Brown (MSU) def. Tina Bokhua (TAMU) 7-5, 6-3
Players Mentioned
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
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