MSU Lady Netters Gear Up For Home Match With Samford
STARKVILLE, Miss. - Mississippi State 's 68th-ranked women's tennis team (2-1) welcomes Samford (4-1) to the A.J. Pitts Tennis Center Thursday afternoon for the second of eight-straight home matches. Thursday's contest is slated for a 2 p.m. CT first serve.
The Lady Bulldogs are off to a strong start this season. In fact, both wins this year have come against teams ranked in the ITA Top-75. It is the first time since 2005 the Lady Bulldogs have won two matches against ranked opponents in the first three contests of the year.
A big part of MSU's early success has been the play of senior Radka Ferancova. The Slovakia native is 2-1 in singles this season with a win over 114th-ranked Emma Hayman of College of Charleston. Sophomore teammate Natalia Mayuk has also been instrumental in singles this year. Mayuk has a 2-1 record with wins at the No. 3 and No. 5 positions.
Mississippi State comes into Thursday's match after a 4-1 victory over then 57th-ranked Georgia State last Friday. Playing in the two-court McCarthy Gymnasium, the Lady Bulldogs used a strong team effort at every position to take the win. Elizabeth Hall and Jordan Zachary picked up a default win in doubles, while the MSU combination of Mayuk and Olesya Tsigvintseva took an 8-3 victory to claim the doubles point. The Lady Bulldogs then put it out of reach with three wins in singles to put the final score at 4-1 in State's favor.
Meanwhile, Samford comes into the match after splitting a pair of contests in Memphis, Tenn. The Bulldogs defeated Austin Peay 4-0 and lost to Memphis 4-2 in a pair of Saturday contests. The Memphis loss was their first of the season.
Following the matchup with Samford, the Lady Bulldogs of Mississippi State have a quick turnaround on Sunday when MSU plays host to Louisiana-Monroe. That contest is scheduled for a 1 p.m. CT start. Admission to all Mississippi State home matches is free.