MState Men's Tennis Serves Up SEC Opening Weekend On Road
State has dropped its last four SEC openers and are 0-2 in conference openers under head coach Per Nilsson. Since 1969, the Bulldogs are 14-27 in conference lid lifters and on the road this season, the Bulldogs are 1-1.
All-time against Kentucky, MSU is 18-22 and 5-15 in matches played at Lexington, Ky. MState has dropped two-straight against the Wildcats and have not won at UK since 2002.
"All our non-conference matches were helping us prepare for our conference schedule," said Nilsson. "We are excited about getting SEC play started and are looking forward to improving as the season goes along."
The 6-3 Bulldogs are led by sophomore Louis Cant who stands at No. 100 in the country and boasts a perfect 8-0 record this season. Cant is also 5-2 in doubles matches playing with senior Chris Doerr. Sophomore George Coupland ranks 101st nationally and is 3-5 in dual match play.
State junior Antonio Lastre has posted a 7-2 record this season, primarily from the No. 4 position and has won four-straight matches. Lastre is also 3-3 in doubles action, playing with sophomore Daniel Sanchez. Sanchez is winner of five-straight in singles. Sophomore Artem Ilyushin of MSU is 6-3 this season and was victorious in his last three matches.
The 8th-ranked Wildcats are 9-4, sport two players ranked inside the top 40 nationally and the 15th-ranked doubles team in the country. Leading UK is sophomore Eric Quigley who stands at No. 8 in the country followed by 37th-ranked sophomore Alex Musialek. Pacing Kentucky in doubles is No. 15 Wildcat duo Quigley and junior Brad Cox.
Against Vanderbilt, MState holds a 31-10 all-time advantage and is 13-7 in matches played at Nashville, Tenn. The Bulldogs have dropped two-straight against the Commodores and also have not won at Vandy since 2002.
The 30th-ranked Commodores are 8-3 this season and will play its conference opener on Friday at home against No. 15 Ole Miss. Vandy boasts the 48th-ranked player in the country and two nationally ranked doubles teams. No. 48 freshman Ryan Lipman paces Vandy and is 6-4 this season playing from the No. 1 spot. The Commodores sport three players with eight-or-more wins led by 10-0 junior Alex Zotov, followed by junior Bryant Salcedo with nine wins and junior Adam Baker who is 8-1. In doubles Vanderbilt is led by Baker and sophomore Charlie Jones who stand at No. 25 in the country followed by the 42nd-ranked tandem of senior Vijay Paul and Lipman.
MSU will serve up on Friday, Mar. 5 at 3 p.m. CT against the 8th-ranked Wildcats, and will conclude the weekend against Vandy on Sunday at 1 p.m. CT. Live stats will be available at www.mstateathletics.com.