No. 50 MSU Falls In Close Affair At No. 29 Tennessee 4-2

Friday, March 22

Knoxville, Tenn.

2:30 PM

Mississippi State

Tennessee

Despite a solid start for the Bulldogs, Mississippi State women’s tennis (11-7, 2-4 SEC) ultimately fell to the 29th-ranked Tennessee Volunteers (13-5, 3-3) 4-2 Friday in a close contest at UT’s Goodfriend Tennis Center.

No. 50 MSU Falls In Close Affair At No. 29 Tennessee 4-2

March 22, 2019 | Women's Tennis

by Emily Pschigoda, Student Assistant/Communications

Knoxville, Tenn. – Despite a solid start for the Bulldogs, Mississippi State women's tennis (11-7, 2-4 SEC) ultimately fell to the 29th-ranked Tennessee Volunteers (13-5, 3-3) 4-2 Friday in a close contest at UT's Goodfriend Tennis Center.

State came out firing early in the match, taking the doubles point for the fourth straight match. On court two, Emma Antonaki and Anastasia Rentouli fell to UT's Maia Haumuller and Tenika McGiffin 6-1 to put MSU a step behind early. But the Bulldogs would rally.

On court 1, Magda Adalolgou and Tamara Racine answered swiftly with a 6-4 upset triumph over the nation's sixth-ranked doubles tandem of Volunteers Sadie Hammond and Kaitlin Staines, which put all eyes on court three for the clincher.

In a back-and-forth battle between MSU's pair of Janina Braun and Sara Lizariturry and the UT duo of Rebeka Mertena and Johanna Silva, State broke in the final game to prevail 6-4 and put State up 1-0 early on the Vols.

After State took the early advantage, Tennessee responded by claiming the first set in five of the six matches and took the first two matches complete.

State's Adaloglou was downed by UT's Staines in the second position 6-1, 6-1 to even the match up 1-1. Tennessee then went up 2-1, with the Volunteers' Mertena ousting MSU's Racine 6-0, 6-4 on court four.

Then, battling back from a 4-1, first-set deficit to win five straight games, State's 82^nd-ranked Antonaki went on to capture a 6-4, 6-3 decision over Tennesse's 85th-ranked Hammond at the top position. The State true freshman won her team-leading 22 singles match of the year and improved to 14-3 in dual matches this spring.

After dropping a tight first set, MSU's Braun then fell 7-6(4), 6-1 to Ariadna Riley at No. 5 to put UT up 3-2 in the match, putting all focus on the remaining two matches on courts three and six to decide the outcome.

The Volunteers sealed the match on court 6 when State's Meredith Roberts, as the Vols' Haumuller held off a second-set comeback effort by Roberts 6-4, 6-4.

The final match of the day was suspended at that point with Bulldog Rentouli a game away from splitting sets with UT's Silva, up 5-2 in the second frame after dropping the first 6-4.

Tennessee's victory over MSU snapped the Bulldogs' four-match win streak in the series. The Volunteers now lead 36-9 all-time.

Next Up For MSU…
State will conclude the weekend's SEC road stint Sunday, as MSU takes on the second-ranked Georgia Bulldogs at 12 p.m. CT at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex in Athens, Georgia. UGA boasts a pristine 13-0 ledger overall on the season, 5-0 in SEC action.

Social Media
For more information on the Mississippi State women's tennis program, follow "HailStateWT" on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

No. 29 Tennessee 4, No. 50 Mississippi State 2
March 22, 2019
Knoxville, Tenn. - Goodfriend Tennis Center

Doubles
1. Magda Adaloglou/Tamara Racine (MSU) def. No. 6 Sadie Hammond/Kaitlin Staines (UT) 6-4
2. Maia Haumuller/Tenika McGiffin (UT) def. Emma Antonaki/Anastasia Rentouli (MSU) 6-1
3. Janina Braun/Sara Lizariturry (MSU) def. Rebeka Mertena/Johanna Silva (UT) 6-4
Order of finish: 2,1,3

Singles
1. No. 82 Antonaki (MSU) def. No. 85 Hammond (UT) 6-4, 6-3
2. Staines (UT) def. Adaloglou (MSU) 6-1, 6-1
3. Rentouli (MSU) vs. Silva (UT) 4-6, 5-2 (susp.)
4. Mertena (UT) def. Racine (MSU) 6-0, 6-4
5. Ariadna Riley (UT) def. Braun (MSU) 7-6(4), 6-1
6. Haumuller (UT) def. Meredith Roberts (MSU) 6-4, 6-4
Order of finish: 2,4,1,5,6