State Tennis Serves Up Final Non-Conference Match At South Florida
"We are excited about the match against South Florida," said head coach Per Nilsson. "They are a quality team and we know we have to be ready to play in order to be successful. We cannot lose focus on what we're trying to do this season and this week is a big week for us to accomplish part of that goal."
This is the fourth all-time meeting between the Bulldogs and the Bulls, with MSU holding a 2-1 advantage, with its only loss coming at USF in 1988. The last meeting between the two schools was a 5-4 win by MSU in the O'Charley's Tennis Classic in 1990.
MSU is paced by super sophomore Louis Cant who stands at 100th-nationally. Cant is currently enduring a two-match losing streak, but boasts a 9-2 record in dual match play. Cant is also an impressive 8-3 in doubles this season, playing alongside senior Chris Doerr. The tandem are 3-1 in league action and currently sport a two-match win streak playing at the No. 3 position for MSU. Doerr is on a current two-match win streak in singles and has won three of his previous four matches.
State's 101st-ranked sophomore George Coupland currently owns a two-match streak of his own and boasts a 2-2 SEC record. In doubles, Coupland plus sophomore Artem Ilyushin have been victorious in their previous two matches and are 6-5, including a 3-1 league ledger. Coupland and Ilyushin are fresh off an 8-6 upset victory over Arkansas' 26th-ranked doubles team and are a perfect 3-0 against ranked doubles tandems this season.
Junior Antonio Lastre of MSU snapped a three-match skid this past Sunday, where he was the match-clinching point for MState's 4-1 victory over Arkansas. Lastre is 8-5 in doubles and is one win shy of reaching 20 wins for the 2009-10 season.
South Florida is 5-6 this season and are currently riding a two-match win streak entering the bout with the Bulldogs. The Bulls are led by 114th-nationally ranked sophomore Wael Kilani.
The match is set to begin at 1 p.m. CT. MSU will follow up its match with South Florida with an SEC battle against seventh-ranked Florida in Gainesville on Sunday, Mar. 21.