Friday, March 18
Starkville
4 p.m.
Mississippi State
2
vs
5
Auburn
Photo by: Austin Perryman/MSU Athletics
Bulldogs Fall To Seventh-Ranked Auburn
March 18, 2022 | Women's Tennis
STARKVILLE – Mississippi State's women's tennis team dropped a 5-2 decision to No. 7 Auburn on Friday.
The Bulldogs picked up a pair of singles victories on the afternoon at the A.J. Pitts Tennis Centre. Chloé Cirotte earned her first career ranked singles win with a 3-6, 6-2, 1-0 [11-9] triumph over No. 114 Carolyn Ansari.
With the victory, Cirotte improved to 6-2 while playing in the No. 3 spot.
Alexandra Mikhailuk also earned a win over the Tigers' Adeline Flach. Mikhailuk dominated in the first 6-3 and took the match with an ace in the second set 7-5.
No. 94 Emmanouela Antonaki fought in all three sets against Tigers' 57th-ranked Selin Ovenc. Ovenc took the first set 7-5 while Antonaki dominated the second set 6-2. Ultimately, it was Ovenc who took the third set 7-5.
"We preach and we are proud of the effort of our girls to never give up," said associate head coach Sachin Kirtane. "We gave ourselves a shot. We turned some matches around in the second set. We turned some sets around. Great job by Alex. Great job by Chloé. Obviously, Emmanouela against one of the better players in the country, anybody after having set point in the first set would have gone away. She came back, fought hard, and gave herself a chance."
The Bulldogs' Marta Falceto lost in straight sets to Yu Chen 6-1, 6-4 as did Alessia Tagliente to Georgie Axon 6-1, 6-4. Auburn's No. 54 Ariana Arseneault was awarded her match against 116th-ranked Tamara Racine after Racine was forced to retire in the second set due to injury.
Auburn also took the doubles point to start the match. The Tigers' 21st-ranked tandem of Ovenc and Arseneault took down the duo of Racine and Cirotte 6-1. Ansari and Madeline Meredith clinched the point with their 6-4 win over Mikhailuk and Tagliente.
The Bulldogs fell 8-8 on the season and 0-5 in SEC play. Auburn improved to 13-2 on the season and 4-0 in SEC play.
"Today we competed really well," Kirtane said. "The doubles point, at one point and time, we had chances to win at No. 2 and 3. Auburn did a good job of making a little bit of a push. We came out a little bit flat on a couple courts in the first sets after losing the doubles point. We bounced back really well. We had chances at no. 6 and 5 … We are competing and doing everything we can. Now it is just a matter of something going our way. Why not the next one? That is all we can do. Keep preaching to them. Keep doing what you are doing and relish the opportunity to go out there Sunday and play Alabama."
Mississippi State continues its homestand with a doubleheader on Sunday. The Bulldogs host 31st-ranked Alabama at 12 p.m. followed by Alcorn State at 4 p.m.
For more information on the Bulldog women's tennis program, visit HailState.com or search for "HailStateWT" on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
Auburn 5, Mississippi State 2
Starkville, Miss. | A.J. Pitts Tennis Centre
Mar. 18, 2022
Doubles
1. #21 Ariana Arseneault/Selin Ovunc (AU) def. Chloé Cirotte/Tamara Racine (MSU) 6-1
2. Emmanouela Antonaki/Marta Falceto (MSU) vs. Georgie Axon/Adeline Flach (AU) 4-5, unfinished
3. Carolyn Ansari/Madeline Meredith (AU) def. Alexandra Mikhailuk/Alessia Tagliente (MSU) 6-4
Order of finish: (1,3)
Singles
1. #57 Selin Ovunc (AU) def. #94 Emmanouela Antonaki (MSU) 7-5, 2-6, 7-5
2. #54 Ariana Arseneault (AU) def. #116 Tamara Racine (MSU) 6-3, 1-0, retired
3. Chloé Cirotte (MSU) def. #114 Carolyn Ansari (AU) 3-6, 6-2, 1-0(9)
4. Alexandra Mikhailuk (MSU) def. Adeline Flach (AU) 6-3, 7-5
5. Georgie Axon (AU) def. Alessia Tagliente (MSU) 6-1, 6-4
6. Yu Chen (AU) def. Marta Falceto (MSU) 6-1, 6-4
Order of finish: (2,5,6,4,3,1)
The Bulldogs picked up a pair of singles victories on the afternoon at the A.J. Pitts Tennis Centre. Chloé Cirotte earned her first career ranked singles win with a 3-6, 6-2, 1-0 [11-9] triumph over No. 114 Carolyn Ansari.
With the victory, Cirotte improved to 6-2 while playing in the No. 3 spot.
Alexandra Mikhailuk also earned a win over the Tigers' Adeline Flach. Mikhailuk dominated in the first 6-3 and took the match with an ace in the second set 7-5.
No. 94 Emmanouela Antonaki fought in all three sets against Tigers' 57th-ranked Selin Ovenc. Ovenc took the first set 7-5 while Antonaki dominated the second set 6-2. Ultimately, it was Ovenc who took the third set 7-5.
"We preach and we are proud of the effort of our girls to never give up," said associate head coach Sachin Kirtane. "We gave ourselves a shot. We turned some matches around in the second set. We turned some sets around. Great job by Alex. Great job by Chloé. Obviously, Emmanouela against one of the better players in the country, anybody after having set point in the first set would have gone away. She came back, fought hard, and gave herself a chance."
The Bulldogs' Marta Falceto lost in straight sets to Yu Chen 6-1, 6-4 as did Alessia Tagliente to Georgie Axon 6-1, 6-4. Auburn's No. 54 Ariana Arseneault was awarded her match against 116th-ranked Tamara Racine after Racine was forced to retire in the second set due to injury.
Auburn also took the doubles point to start the match. The Tigers' 21st-ranked tandem of Ovenc and Arseneault took down the duo of Racine and Cirotte 6-1. Ansari and Madeline Meredith clinched the point with their 6-4 win over Mikhailuk and Tagliente.
The Bulldogs fell 8-8 on the season and 0-5 in SEC play. Auburn improved to 13-2 on the season and 4-0 in SEC play.
"Today we competed really well," Kirtane said. "The doubles point, at one point and time, we had chances to win at No. 2 and 3. Auburn did a good job of making a little bit of a push. We came out a little bit flat on a couple courts in the first sets after losing the doubles point. We bounced back really well. We had chances at no. 6 and 5 … We are competing and doing everything we can. Now it is just a matter of something going our way. Why not the next one? That is all we can do. Keep preaching to them. Keep doing what you are doing and relish the opportunity to go out there Sunday and play Alabama."
Mississippi State continues its homestand with a doubleheader on Sunday. The Bulldogs host 31st-ranked Alabama at 12 p.m. followed by Alcorn State at 4 p.m.
For more information on the Bulldog women's tennis program, visit HailState.com or search for "HailStateWT" on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
Auburn 5, Mississippi State 2
Starkville, Miss. | A.J. Pitts Tennis Centre
Mar. 18, 2022
Doubles
1. #21 Ariana Arseneault/Selin Ovunc (AU) def. Chloé Cirotte/Tamara Racine (MSU) 6-1
2. Emmanouela Antonaki/Marta Falceto (MSU) vs. Georgie Axon/Adeline Flach (AU) 4-5, unfinished
3. Carolyn Ansari/Madeline Meredith (AU) def. Alexandra Mikhailuk/Alessia Tagliente (MSU) 6-4
Order of finish: (1,3)
Singles
1. #57 Selin Ovunc (AU) def. #94 Emmanouela Antonaki (MSU) 7-5, 2-6, 7-5
2. #54 Ariana Arseneault (AU) def. #116 Tamara Racine (MSU) 6-3, 1-0, retired
3. Chloé Cirotte (MSU) def. #114 Carolyn Ansari (AU) 3-6, 6-2, 1-0(9)
4. Alexandra Mikhailuk (MSU) def. Adeline Flach (AU) 6-3, 7-5
5. Georgie Axon (AU) def. Alessia Tagliente (MSU) 6-1, 6-4
6. Yu Chen (AU) def. Marta Falceto (MSU) 6-1, 6-4
Order of finish: (2,5,6,4,3,1)
Players Mentioned
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
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