MSU Men's Tennis Set For SEC Opening Weekend; Hosting Two Top 5 Teams
STARKVILLE, Miss. ? The Mississippi State men’s tennis team (4-2) will host a couple of Southeastern Conference matches this weekend to open the league season, with the first against the fifth-ranked Tennessee Volunteers (7-2) on Friday, March 6, at 2 p.m.. State will follow that with a Sunday, March 8, 1 p.m. match against the Georgia Bulldogs (11-1), who come to campus ranked fourth nationally.
MState is coming off an off week, but prior to that, the Bulldogs were able to notch three straight wins at home against UAB,
“We are really excited to begin the conference season with two of the top teams in the conference coming to our home courts,” said head coach Per Nilsson. “We have done everything you are suppose to do to compete in this conference and look forward to this new step in our season.”
MSU is led by senior Ryan Farlow who has moved into the national rankings at 118th, now with two ranked wins that the Madison, Miss.-native has posted this season.
Sophomore Antonio Lastre is sporting a 4-1 record since dual match play began, and, in doubles, he and rookie teammate Daniel Sanchez are 5-0 on the season. MSU has a trio of freshman boasting current win streaks, with Sanchez, Artem Ilyushin and Louis Cant, all winners of three-straight affairs.
Tennessee is led by sophomore John-Patrick Smith, who is ranked 10th in the country, and fellow classmate, 33rd ranked Boris Conkic. The Vols lead doubles tandem stands ninth in the country with the pair of Smith and Davey Sandgren.
UGA is paced by three ranked singles players, led by seventh ranked sophomore Nate Schnugg, followed by 60th ranked sophomore Jamie Hunt and freshman Javier Garrapiz who stands at 84th in the nation. The duo of Hunt and Schnugg is ranked 12th in the country.
Admission is free to all home Mississippi State tennis matches. Live stats will be available at www.mstateathletics.com.