Saturday, April 15
Oxford, Miss.
1:00 PM
Mississippi State
4
at
3
Ole Miss
Lisa Marie Rioux clinched No. 20 MSU's thrilling 4-3 victory against No. 27 Ole Miss in Oxford.
No. 20 MSU Women’s Tennis Wins 4-3 Thriller At No. 27 Ole Miss
April 15, 2017 | Women's Tennis
OXFORD, Miss. – To close out its 2017 regular season schedule, the 20th-ranked Mississippi State women's tennis team (14-7, 7-6 SEC) captured a thrilling 4-3 road victory over in-state rival No. 27 Ole Miss (13-11, 3-10) at the Palmer/Salloum Tennis Center Saturday afternoon.
The victory was the Bulldogs' second straight over the Rebels and the first for MSU in Oxford since 1989. The win also gave MSU its seventh SEC win of the season, tying last year's school record for conference triumphs in a season.
The hero of the day Saturday for State would be a true freshman, as the Maroon & White's Lisa Marie Rioux was last on the court, battling Ole Miss's 77th-ranked junior Natalie Suk in a three-set war at the No. 2 spot with the match's outcome on the line. With all other matches complete and the score tied 3-3 in the third set at their position, Rioux and Suk went to work for the decisive point. After trading service games back-and-forth, and Rioux leading 6-5, the State rookie built a 15-40 lead on Suk's serve and then won the next point for an exciting 7-6(6), 3-6, 7-5 win, clinching the 4-3 victory for MSU after a long battle between the teams all afternoon.
"I am so proud of the effort from our girls today," head coach Daryl Greenan said. "Both teams showed up ready to battle and it turned into an incredible college match. It took a big heart and plenty of courage from Lisa to clinch it for us. She fights hard every time she steps on the court and this was a huge win for her and the team."
To start the day, doubles was just as close as Rioux's clinching contest, but MSU outlasted the Rebels to claim the point. On court 2, UM's Suk and Zalina Khairudinova made quick work of State's Jennifer Brown and Khrystyna Vozniak 6-2. But the Bulldogs rallied, getting their first doubles match at No. 1 as the third-ranked tandem of Jasmine Lee and Rioux outlasted the Rebels' 53rd-ranked Alexa Bortles and Arianne Hartono 7-5.
To clinch what turned out to be a very critical doubles point, the Maroon & White's Madison Harrison and Sara Lizariturry defeated UM's Tereza Janatova and Brooke Stevens in a tiebreaker - 7-6(2) - on court 3, giving MSU the early 1-0 lead.
In singles, things would be just as tight as the two teams split the six opening sets evenly.
On court 1, State's 16th-ranked Lee picked up her 11th ranked win of the season with a convincing 6-3, 6-2 victory over UM's No. 38 Hartono to extend MSU's lead 2-0.
The Rebels grabbed the next two points to even the score at 2-2. On court 4, Ole Miss's Anna Vrbenska defeated State's Anastasia Rentouli 6-1, 6-4. UM would claim the following match on court 5 as Tea Jandric held off the Bulldogs' Vozniak 6-3, 6-3 to tie the match at 2-2.
State would reclaim the lead when its other rookie – Lizariturry - outlasted UM's Bortles in a tough contest on court 6, winning the last four games of her match for a 7-5, 7-5 triumph and a 3-2 lead for the Bulldogs. Despite battling back to force a third set, MSU's Harrison fell to the Rebels' Khairudinova 6-4, 5-7, 6-2 at the No. 3 spot to tie the match again at 3-all.
Up Next
State starts postseason action at the SEC Championship in Nashville, Tenn., April 19-23. The draw for the tournament will be released following all SEC regular season play on Sunday.
Additional Notes
Social Media
For more information on the Mississippi State women's tennis program, follow "HailStateWT" on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
No. 20 Mississippi State 4, No. 27 Ole Miss 3
April 15, 2017 – Palmer/Salloum Tennis Center – Oxford, Miss.
Doubles
Order of match finish…2,1,3
1. No. 3 Jasmine Lee/Lisa Marie Rioux (MSU) def. No. 53 Alexa Bortles/Arianne Hartono (UM) 7-5
2. Natalie Suk/Zalina Khairudinova (UM) def. Jennifer Brown/Khrystyna Vozniak (MSU) 6-2
3. Madison Harrison/Sara Lizariturry (MSU) def. Tereza Janatova/Brooke Stevens (UM) 7-6(2)
Singles
Order of match finish…1,4,5,6,3,2
1. No. 16 Jasmine Lee (MSU) def. No. 38 Arianne Hartono (UM) 6-3, 6-2
2. Lisa Marie Rioux (MSU) def. No. 77 Natalie Suk (UM) 7-6(6), 3-6, 7-5
3. Zalina Khairudinova (UM) def. Madison Harrison (MSU) 6-4, 5-7, 6-2
4. Anna Vrbenska (UM) def. Anastasia Rentouli (MSU) 6-1, 6-4
5. Tea Jandric (UM) def. Khrystyna Vozniak (MSU) 6-3, 6-3
6. Sara Lizariturry (MSU) def. Alexa Bortles (UM) 7-5, 7-5
The victory was the Bulldogs' second straight over the Rebels and the first for MSU in Oxford since 1989. The win also gave MSU its seventh SEC win of the season, tying last year's school record for conference triumphs in a season.
The hero of the day Saturday for State would be a true freshman, as the Maroon & White's Lisa Marie Rioux was last on the court, battling Ole Miss's 77th-ranked junior Natalie Suk in a three-set war at the No. 2 spot with the match's outcome on the line. With all other matches complete and the score tied 3-3 in the third set at their position, Rioux and Suk went to work for the decisive point. After trading service games back-and-forth, and Rioux leading 6-5, the State rookie built a 15-40 lead on Suk's serve and then won the next point for an exciting 7-6(6), 3-6, 7-5 win, clinching the 4-3 victory for MSU after a long battle between the teams all afternoon.
"I am so proud of the effort from our girls today," head coach Daryl Greenan said. "Both teams showed up ready to battle and it turned into an incredible college match. It took a big heart and plenty of courage from Lisa to clinch it for us. She fights hard every time she steps on the court and this was a huge win for her and the team."
To start the day, doubles was just as close as Rioux's clinching contest, but MSU outlasted the Rebels to claim the point. On court 2, UM's Suk and Zalina Khairudinova made quick work of State's Jennifer Brown and Khrystyna Vozniak 6-2. But the Bulldogs rallied, getting their first doubles match at No. 1 as the third-ranked tandem of Jasmine Lee and Rioux outlasted the Rebels' 53rd-ranked Alexa Bortles and Arianne Hartono 7-5.
To clinch what turned out to be a very critical doubles point, the Maroon & White's Madison Harrison and Sara Lizariturry defeated UM's Tereza Janatova and Brooke Stevens in a tiebreaker - 7-6(2) - on court 3, giving MSU the early 1-0 lead.
In singles, things would be just as tight as the two teams split the six opening sets evenly.
On court 1, State's 16th-ranked Lee picked up her 11th ranked win of the season with a convincing 6-3, 6-2 victory over UM's No. 38 Hartono to extend MSU's lead 2-0.
The Rebels grabbed the next two points to even the score at 2-2. On court 4, Ole Miss's Anna Vrbenska defeated State's Anastasia Rentouli 6-1, 6-4. UM would claim the following match on court 5 as Tea Jandric held off the Bulldogs' Vozniak 6-3, 6-3 to tie the match at 2-2.
State would reclaim the lead when its other rookie – Lizariturry - outlasted UM's Bortles in a tough contest on court 6, winning the last four games of her match for a 7-5, 7-5 triumph and a 3-2 lead for the Bulldogs. Despite battling back to force a third set, MSU's Harrison fell to the Rebels' Khairudinova 6-4, 5-7, 6-2 at the No. 3 spot to tie the match again at 3-all.
That set the stage for Rioux's exhilarating match-clinching victory over Suk at No.2.
"It is a very special win for us to close out the regular season with a winning record in the SEC," Greenan said. "It was one of our goals and now we are peaking at the right time and ready to finish strong in post season play."Up Next
State starts postseason action at the SEC Championship in Nashville, Tenn., April 19-23. The draw for the tournament will be released following all SEC regular season play on Sunday.
Additional Notes
- The win marks the first time the Bulldogs have won back-to-back contests against the Rebels since 1988-89
- It is the first time State has won in Oxford since 1989
- State is 12-0 when winning the doubles point this season
- This is only the second time MSU has won the doubles point on the road in 2017
- MSU tied the program record for most conference wins with its victory today; the record was set last season
- Rookie Lisa Marie Rioux clinched her third match of the season
- Rioux defeated her second ranked opponent of the year in No. 77 Natalie Suk
- Senior Jasmine Lee now has a combined 120 wins between singles and doubles and stands fourth in the Mississippi State record books
- Third-ranked Lee and Rioux have now defeated nine ranked opponents in doubles this year
Social Media
For more information on the Mississippi State women's tennis program, follow "HailStateWT" on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
No. 20 Mississippi State 4, No. 27 Ole Miss 3
April 15, 2017 – Palmer/Salloum Tennis Center – Oxford, Miss.
Doubles
Order of match finish…2,1,3
1. No. 3 Jasmine Lee/Lisa Marie Rioux (MSU) def. No. 53 Alexa Bortles/Arianne Hartono (UM) 7-5
2. Natalie Suk/Zalina Khairudinova (UM) def. Jennifer Brown/Khrystyna Vozniak (MSU) 6-2
3. Madison Harrison/Sara Lizariturry (MSU) def. Tereza Janatova/Brooke Stevens (UM) 7-6(2)
Singles
Order of match finish…1,4,5,6,3,2
1. No. 16 Jasmine Lee (MSU) def. No. 38 Arianne Hartono (UM) 6-3, 6-2
2. Lisa Marie Rioux (MSU) def. No. 77 Natalie Suk (UM) 7-6(6), 3-6, 7-5
3. Zalina Khairudinova (UM) def. Madison Harrison (MSU) 6-4, 5-7, 6-2
4. Anna Vrbenska (UM) def. Anastasia Rentouli (MSU) 6-1, 6-4
5. Tea Jandric (UM) def. Khrystyna Vozniak (MSU) 6-3, 6-3
6. Sara Lizariturry (MSU) def. Alexa Bortles (UM) 7-5, 7-5
Players Mentioned
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