MSU Netmen Conclude Regular Season With Road Tilt At #7 Mississippi
STARKVILLE, Miss. - The Mississippi State men's tennis team will conclude its regular season slate Saturday, as it travels to Oxford, Miss., to face arch rival and seventh-ranked Mississippi. Match time at UM's Palmer/Salloum Tennis Center is set for 11 a.m.
State (8-10, 2-8 Southeastern Conference) will be trying to stop a five match losing skid in conference play. The Bulldogs are coming off a pair close losses this past weekend against Arkansas and LSU to close out its home schedule. After notching a pair of singles wins this past weekend, 26th-ranked senior Ivan Bjelica has upped his SEC record to 7-2 and has notched 15 overall wins this spring. Bjelica has won three straight, all against ranked opponents at the #1 position. Senior Philippe Frayssinoux, ranked 57th nationally, currently leads the team with 23 overall singles wins and 12 doubles victories.
Mississippi enters Saturday's contest with a 17-4 overall record, 8-2 in the SEC. The Rebels have won five straight and recently clinched the SEC West title. UM is led by 14th-ranked senior Matthias Wellerman and 30th-ranked senior Erling Tveit. Wellermann is 21-11 this season while Tveit is 18-10.
"Obviously, this will be a big challenge for us," said MSU head coach Per Nilsson. "They have a great team and will be ready. We just have to have great energy and play our best tennis of the year to have a chance."
UM has won 20 straight in the series including a matchup earlier this season at the River Hills Cup. Last season in Starkville, the Rebels claimed a 6-1 victory over State. Since 1969, MSU is 22-40 against the Rebels.
Following Saturday's match, MSU will prep for the SEC Championships which will be held April 17-20 in Fayetteville, Ark.