MState Tennis Closes Out SEC Road Schedule This Weekend

STARKVILLE, Miss. ? The 69th-ranked Mississippi State men’s tennis team closes out its Southeastern Conference road schedule this weekend with a pair of matches. On Friday, April 10, MSU will faceoff against the No. 42 Arkansas Razorbacks at 2 p.m. CT and then conclude the road schedule at 32nd-ranked LSU on Sunday, April 12, at 1 p.m. CT.

Mississippi State (5-12, 1-7 Southeastern Conference) will be looking to snap an eight-match losing skid on Friday when they serve up against the Razorbacks (10-10, 2-6), who have dropped three of their last four matches. The LSU Tigers (7-10, 2-6) are fresh off an upset of No. 17 South Carolina, which snapped a four-match Tiger skid.

“We need a total team effort this weekend,” said Mississippi State head coach Per Nilsson. “Both Arkansas and LSU have been playing very well lately and these will be two very tough road matches.”

MState is led by senior Ryan Farlow who is ranked 88th nationally and winner of two of his last three matches. State’s No. 89 true freshman Artem Ilyushin has been on a tear lately winning four of his last six matches for the Maroon and White.

Arkansas boasts the 13th-ranked player in the country in senior Blake Strode, who has totaled 10 wins this season, and is the winner in three of his last four matches. The Razorbacks’ doubles tandem of Dimitry Lebedev and Chris Nott, who stand at 58th nationally, have posted 10 wins this season.

LSU is led by the sixth-ranked Michael Venus who is 10-5 this season and 6-2 in SEC action. In doubles play, LSU is paced by the No. 8 tandem of Venus and Neal Skupski.

Live stats will be available at www.msstateathletics.com.

Mississippi State University Athletics

MState Tennis Closes Out SEC Road Schedule This Weekend