Saturday, March 13
Tucsaloosa, Ala.
1:00 PM
Mississippi State
4
at
3
Alabama
Photo by: Mississippi State Athletics
No. 36 MSU Women’s Tennis Fights Back For 4-3 Victory At No. 48 Alabama
March 13, 2021 | Women's Tennis
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – After dropping a close doubles point and getting down 3-1 in the match, the 36th-ranked Mississippi State women's tennis team stormed back to claim an exciting 4-3 victory over No. 48 Alabama on the road Saturday afternoon at the Alabama Tennis Stadium.
With the victory, State improved to 10-6, 2-6 in SEC play, while the Crimson Tide dropped to 9-8, 0-7 in conference action. Alabama still owns a 36-17 advantage over State all-time, but the Bulldogs have claimed five of the last six meetings between the programs, including three straight in Tuscaloosa.
"That was a big win for us in many ways," head coach Daryl Greenan said. "First of all it is so hard to win on the road in this league. Our girls have been battling, and we have been so close in several duals where we just ran out of time and ended up with nothing to show for it. Finally, today we were able to win a few matches in straight sets. We were disappointed to not get the doubles point but I thought our energy was better than usual which definitely carried over into singles. We are looking forward to a bye week and then playing our final five matches at home."
State's tandem of Emma Antonaki and Marta Falceto grabbed the first win in doubles Saturday with a 6-3 victory over Alabama's Alba Cortina Pou and Anna Parkhomenko on court 3. However, the Crimson Tide claimed the top two positions in close 6-4 decisions to grab the early 1-0 lead. UA's Loudmilla Bencheikh and Ito Moka Ito upended MSU's 41st-ranked pair of Magda Adaloglou and Tamara Racine at the top spot, before Bulldogs Alexandra Mikhailuk and Lilian Poling fell to the Tide's Anne Marie Hiser and Sydney Riley at No. 2.
But the Bulldogs roared back in singles, taking five first sets to set up the comeback win.
On court 2, State's 69th-ranked Antonaki cruised past Alabama's Ito 6-3, 6-3 for State's first point of the day to even the score at 1-1. Antonaki improved to 11-2 in singles dual matches this season and has claimed 18 of her last 20 singles outings, dating back to last season.
UA took a 3-1 lead with wins in the next two matches complete. Cortina Pou handed MSU's Mikhailuk a 6-3, 6-2 defeat on court 4 and the Bulldogs' Poling fell in a tough three-set battle at No. 5 - 3-6, 6-0, 6-3 to the Crimson Tide's Hiser.
But State was in command in the final three matches at that point and would take care of business in all of them to secure the Bulldog victory.
Adaloglou finished just seconds after Poling with a 7-5, 6-2 triumph over UA's Parkhomenko at the No. 3 position. The MSU veteran extended her team-leading singles win streak to eight matches and has recorded wins in 18 of her last 20 outings, which dates back to last season. The victory also enabled the Veria, Greece, native to move into seventh place in MSU program history in total victories with 120 (64 singles, 56 doubles).
After splitting the first two sets on court 6, Bulldog Chloé Cirotte took the third set with relative ease, posting a 6-1, 3-6, 6-2 triumph over the Tide's Sydney Riley to knot the team score at 3-3. The true freshman improved to 10-4 in singles during her rookie campaign in the Maroon and White, 9-3 in dual matches.
State's Racine then provided the final heroics of the afternoon at the top spot in the lineup, as she ousted Alabama's Bencheikh 7-5, 6-4 to clinch the victory for the Bulldogs. Racine had rallied from a 4-1 first-set deficit to register what proved to be the match-deciding win.
Next Up
The Bulldogs will enjoy a week off before hosting South Carolina to begin a five-match SEC homestand on March 25 at 5 p.m. CT.The five-match league stretch at home will conclude the 2021 regular season for State.
For more information on Mississippi State women's tennis team, visit HailState.com and follow "HailStateWT" on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
#36 Mississippi State 4, #48 Alabama 3
March 13, 2021
Tuscaloosa, Ala. – Alabama Tennis Stadium
Doubles
1. Loudmilla Bencheikh/Moka Ito (UA) def. #41 Magda Adaloglou/Tamara Racine (MSU) 6-4
2. Anne Marie Hiser/Sydney Riley (UA) def. Alexandra Mikhailuk/Lilian Poling (MSU) 6-4
3. Emma Antonaki/Marta Falceto (MSU) def. Alba Cortina Pou/Anna Parkhomenko (UA) 6-3
Order of finish: 3,1,2
Singles
1. Tamara Racine (MSU) def. Loudmilla Bencheikh (UA) 7-5, 6-4
2. #69 Emma Antonaki (MSU) def. Moka Ito (UA) 6-3, 6-3
3. Magda Adaloglou (MSU) def. Anna Parkhomenko (UA) 7-5, 6-2
4. Alba Cortina Pou (UA) def. Alexandra Mikhailuk (MSU) 6-3, 6-2
5. Anne Marie Hiser (UA) def. Lilian Poling (MSU) 3-6, 6-0, 6-3
6. Chloé Cirotte (MSU) def. Sydney Riley (UA) 6-1, 3-6, 6-2
Order of finish: 2,4,5,3,6,1
With the victory, State improved to 10-6, 2-6 in SEC play, while the Crimson Tide dropped to 9-8, 0-7 in conference action. Alabama still owns a 36-17 advantage over State all-time, but the Bulldogs have claimed five of the last six meetings between the programs, including three straight in Tuscaloosa.
"That was a big win for us in many ways," head coach Daryl Greenan said. "First of all it is so hard to win on the road in this league. Our girls have been battling, and we have been so close in several duals where we just ran out of time and ended up with nothing to show for it. Finally, today we were able to win a few matches in straight sets. We were disappointed to not get the doubles point but I thought our energy was better than usual which definitely carried over into singles. We are looking forward to a bye week and then playing our final five matches at home."
State's tandem of Emma Antonaki and Marta Falceto grabbed the first win in doubles Saturday with a 6-3 victory over Alabama's Alba Cortina Pou and Anna Parkhomenko on court 3. However, the Crimson Tide claimed the top two positions in close 6-4 decisions to grab the early 1-0 lead. UA's Loudmilla Bencheikh and Ito Moka Ito upended MSU's 41st-ranked pair of Magda Adaloglou and Tamara Racine at the top spot, before Bulldogs Alexandra Mikhailuk and Lilian Poling fell to the Tide's Anne Marie Hiser and Sydney Riley at No. 2.
But the Bulldogs roared back in singles, taking five first sets to set up the comeback win.
On court 2, State's 69th-ranked Antonaki cruised past Alabama's Ito 6-3, 6-3 for State's first point of the day to even the score at 1-1. Antonaki improved to 11-2 in singles dual matches this season and has claimed 18 of her last 20 singles outings, dating back to last season.
UA took a 3-1 lead with wins in the next two matches complete. Cortina Pou handed MSU's Mikhailuk a 6-3, 6-2 defeat on court 4 and the Bulldogs' Poling fell in a tough three-set battle at No. 5 - 3-6, 6-0, 6-3 to the Crimson Tide's Hiser.
But State was in command in the final three matches at that point and would take care of business in all of them to secure the Bulldog victory.
Adaloglou finished just seconds after Poling with a 7-5, 6-2 triumph over UA's Parkhomenko at the No. 3 position. The MSU veteran extended her team-leading singles win streak to eight matches and has recorded wins in 18 of her last 20 outings, which dates back to last season. The victory also enabled the Veria, Greece, native to move into seventh place in MSU program history in total victories with 120 (64 singles, 56 doubles).
After splitting the first two sets on court 6, Bulldog Chloé Cirotte took the third set with relative ease, posting a 6-1, 3-6, 6-2 triumph over the Tide's Sydney Riley to knot the team score at 3-3. The true freshman improved to 10-4 in singles during her rookie campaign in the Maroon and White, 9-3 in dual matches.
State's Racine then provided the final heroics of the afternoon at the top spot in the lineup, as she ousted Alabama's Bencheikh 7-5, 6-4 to clinch the victory for the Bulldogs. Racine had rallied from a 4-1 first-set deficit to register what proved to be the match-deciding win.
Next Up
The Bulldogs will enjoy a week off before hosting South Carolina to begin a five-match SEC homestand on March 25 at 5 p.m. CT.The five-match league stretch at home will conclude the 2021 regular season for State.
For more information on Mississippi State women's tennis team, visit HailState.com and follow "HailStateWT" on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
#36 Mississippi State 4, #48 Alabama 3
March 13, 2021
Tuscaloosa, Ala. – Alabama Tennis Stadium
Doubles
1. Loudmilla Bencheikh/Moka Ito (UA) def. #41 Magda Adaloglou/Tamara Racine (MSU) 6-4
2. Anne Marie Hiser/Sydney Riley (UA) def. Alexandra Mikhailuk/Lilian Poling (MSU) 6-4
3. Emma Antonaki/Marta Falceto (MSU) def. Alba Cortina Pou/Anna Parkhomenko (UA) 6-3
Order of finish: 3,1,2
Singles
1. Tamara Racine (MSU) def. Loudmilla Bencheikh (UA) 7-5, 6-4
2. #69 Emma Antonaki (MSU) def. Moka Ito (UA) 6-3, 6-3
3. Magda Adaloglou (MSU) def. Anna Parkhomenko (UA) 7-5, 6-2
4. Alba Cortina Pou (UA) def. Alexandra Mikhailuk (MSU) 6-3, 6-2
5. Anne Marie Hiser (UA) def. Lilian Poling (MSU) 3-6, 6-0, 6-3
6. Chloé Cirotte (MSU) def. Sydney Riley (UA) 6-1, 3-6, 6-2
Order of finish: 2,4,5,3,6,1
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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