Bulldogs Head East For A Pair Of SEC Matchups

Gainesville, Fla. - Mississippi State's women's tennis team heads to the East Coast to face SEC foes South Carolina on Friday at 4 p.m. CT and Florida on Sunday at noon respectively.

The 54^th-ranked Bulldogs (10-8, 1-5 SEC) upset then No. 31 Alabama in Starkville to earn a big SEC win this past weekend in a 4-2 score.

No. 42 South Carolina (8-7, 3-3 SEC) earned a 5-2 road win against Missouri their last time out. They are headlined by No. 2 Sarah Hamner in singles play as well as three ranked duos in doubles play.

Winners of four straight, No. 16 Florida (12-4, 4-2 SEC) is anchored by the 6^th-ranked duo of Carly Briggs and Marlee Zein along with the 34^th-ranked pairing of Alicia Dudeney and Bente Spee.

State earned their first-ever win against Florida last time the two programs played in Gainesville with the Bulldogs earning a 4-3 in 2019. Tamara Racine clinched the match for the Bulldogs with a thrilling 6-3, 2-6, 6-4 win over Marlee Zein.

In singles play for the Bulldogs, No. 123 Racine is coming off one of her most exciting matches as a Bulldogs as she clinched the match against Alabama with a 2-6, 6-3, 6-2 win over Ola Pitak.

Also during the Alabama match, No. 95 Emmanouela Antonaki took down then 75^th-ranked Loudmilla Bencheikh 6-1, 3-6, 6-3 to earn her second ranked win of the spring.

Junior Alexandra Mikhailuk comes in on a hot streak, having won her past two SEC singles matches in straight sets. Last weekend, Mikhailuk defeated Auburn's Adeline Flach 6-3, 7-5 and Alabama's Anne Marie Hiser 7-5, 6-1.

Chloé Cirotte and Marta Falceto have each won their last two matches and earned their first wins of the year at the No. 2 and No. 5 spot respectively.

The No. 1, 2, and 4 spots have excelled for the Bulldogs, combining for an impressive 31-18 record this season.

In doubles play, the duo of Emmanouela Antonaki and Marta Falceto earned two wins this past weekend in the No. 2 spot of the lineup.

Antonaki moved up in MSU's record books this past weekend. With her two doubles wins, she moved into a tie for fifth-place all-time with fellow Greeks Anastasia Rentouli (2016-19) and Georgiana Patrasc (2013-16) in career doubles wins with 63. One more win would put her alone in fifth place.

Similarly, with her singles win this past weekend, Antonaki now stands alone in fourth place all-time with 73 career singles wins. She is three wins behind teammate Magda Adaloglou for third all-time.

For more information on the Bulldog women's tennis program, visit HailState.com or search for "HailStateWT" onTwitter, Instagram and Facebook.

Bulldogs Head East For A Pair Of SEC Matchups

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Players Mentioned

Magda Adaloglou

Emmanouela Antonaki

Chloé Cirotte

Marta Falceto

Alexandra Mikhailuk

Tamara Racine

Mississippi State University Athletics