MSU Serves Up League Home Opening Weekend To No. 62 LSU and No. 42 Arkansas
State (6-5, 0-2) is looking to snap a two-match skid and pick up its first conference win of the season, after recently dropping a pair of matches at No. 8 Kentucky and No. 30 Vanderbilt. Prior to that losing streak the Bulldogs had won four straight.
"This is a key weekend for us to get back to winning and regain some confidence," said head coach Per Nilsson. "We were very close last weekend to beating some quality teams and will have another opportunity this weekend against LSU and Arkansas to pick up some quality wins."
MSU is led by 100th-ranked sophomore Louis Cant who is an impressive 9-1 this season. Cant recently took down No. 8 nationally ranked Eric Quigley of Kentucky in straight sets last Friday in Lexington, Ky.
MState sophomore Daniel Sanchez has been victorious in seven-straight matches, boasting an impressive 7-1 record in dual match play and is a perfect 3-0 in home action. Sophomore Artem Ilyushin of MSU has won four of his previous five matches and is 1-1 in the conference.
Bulldog junior Antonio Lastre is tied for the second most wins for State with seven and is looking to get back on the winning track after dropping his previous two matches. No. 101 nationally ranked sophomore George Coupland of MSU is also looking to get back in the win column and break his current two-match losing streak.
In doubles, MSU is paced by the tandem of Cant and senior Chris Doerr, who sport a 6-3 record and are 1-1 in SEC play. Bulldog duo Coupland and Ilyushin are currently 4-5 and 1-1 in the SEC and recently took down the Kentucky's nationally ranked No. 15 doubles team.
This will be the 43rd meeting between the Tigers and the Bulldogs, with MSU trailing 9-32-1 in the all-time series. MSU has dropped four-straight to LSU including losses in nine of the previous 10 matches and last season fell in a 4-2 to decision in Baton Rouge, La. The Tigers are winners of three of its previous five matches after dropping its four opening matches to begin the season. Versus nationally ranked opponents, LSU is 1-6, with its lone win coming over then-ranked No. 41 South Carolina in its league opener.
LSU has three players who are tied for the team lead in wins, with Mark Bowtell, Stefan Szacinski and James Tuberbill, each with four. 44th-ranked Tiger Neal Skupski has won five matches over ranked opponents this season and sports a 2-6 record in dual match play, 1-1 in the SEC. The Tigers duo of Skupski and Roger Anderson lead LSU in doubles with five wins.
Sunday's match against Arkansas is the 28th all time between the two schools, while MSU holds a 20-7 advantage, but have dropped the three previous home meetings against the Razorbacks. Last season State upended Arkansas, 4-3 in Fayeteville, Ark. Arkansas is 8-4 this season and 1-1 in SEC play, while going 2-4 against ranked opponents
The Hogs are led by junior Chris Nott who stands at 57th in the country and is 8-3 in dual match play. Freshman Gregoire Lehmann of Arkansas has a team-high 10 wins in dual match action. Razorback sophomore Matt Walters is an impressive 6-1, while true freshman Mike Ward is close behind with a record of 5-1.
Arkansas doubles team Nott and Dmitry Lebedev rank No. 26 nationally and boast a record of 9-1, while Razorback tandem Taylor King and Bradwin Williams are 56th in the country with an unblemished record of 6-0.
State will serve up against LSU on Friday, Mar. 12 at 2 p.m., followed with a 10 a.m. Sunday, Mar. 14 match against Arkansas. Both matches will be played at the A.J. Pitts Tennis Centre. Admission is free to all home MSU tennis matches and live stats will be available at www.mstateathletics.com.