STARKVILLE, Miss. ? The 71st-ranked Mississippi State’s Lady Bulldog tennis team closes out its 2008 regular season at home this weekend, hosting 52nd-ranked in-state rival Mississippi on Saturday, April 12. Match time with the Lady Rebels is slated for a 1 p.m. CT start at the A.J. Pitts Tennis Centre on campus.
MSU enters Saturday’s action with a 7-11 overall record and 0-10 in Southeastern Conference play. MSU dropped Wednesday’s matchup with the Tigers of LSU 5-1. MSU’s Valeriya Makarycheva claimed the lone point for State by claiming victory in a three-set match. Mississippi State is led by Junior Martina Banikova and 112th-ranked senior Renee Joseph.
Mississippi (6-14, 2-8 SEC) comes into the match off a weekend where they posted a 4-3 upset victory at #15 Arkansas and suffered a 6-1 loss to #30 LSU. Leading the Lady Rebs is freshman Karen Nijssen who currently ranks 99th in the country in singles.
Sunday’s meeting will serve as the 50th all-time between the two programs. Mississippi holds a 44-5 record against MSU while posting a 17-2 record in matches held in Starkville. In their last meeting last season in Oxford, MSU was defeated 4-1 at Mississippi.
Joseph and teammate Tatiana Feit will be honored during the match, which will be their final contest in the Maroon and White.
Following Saturday’s battle, head coach Tracy Lane and the Lady Bulldogs will be back in action Thursday, April 17, when they compete in the opening round of the 2008 Southeastern Conference Championship, being hosted by Auburn University April 17-20 in Auburn, Ala.
