MSU Tennis Looks To End Streak At Ole Miss
State is fresh off an upset victory at home on senior day over the 37th-ranked Auburn Tigers, 5-2, improving to 9-10 on the season and 2-7 in Southeastern Conference action. Ole Miss recently clinched the SEC western division title, but is coming off a 4-2 setback at home to the No. 5 Ohio State Buckeyes, bringing the Rebels to 15-6 on the season and 6-4 in conference.
"We are excited about the final match of the regular season," said Bulldogs head man Per Nilsson. "We know Ole Miss is a good team, but we feel we are playing very well right now and are capable of pulling off the upset."
State faced the Rebels earlier this season in the 13th annual River Hills Cup, played at River Hills Club in Jackson, Miss. Despite early momentum and a commanding 3-0 lead, MSU eventually fell to the Rebels, 4-3.
The Bulldogs are led by 63rd-ranked sophomore Louis Cant, who boasts a team-best 24 wins during the 2009-10 season. Also ranked for the Maroon and White is No. 87 George Coupland of State. Coupland is 5-4 in league action and is riding a three-match win streak. Bulldog junior Antonio Lastre has tallied a team-best 11 dual match victories, followed by sophomore Artem Ilyushin, who has 10 and is an impressive 5-2 at the No. 3 position. MSU sophomore Daniel Sanchez has a team-best winning percentage, claiming 75.0-percent of his dual matches and is riding a two-match win streak into Saturday.
In doubles, the Bulldogs are paced by the 30th-ranked tandem of Coupland and Ilysuhin. Coupland and Ilyushin have won four-straight and are 11-6 in dual matches and 7-2 in SEC play. Coupland and Ilyushin are also an impressive 6-1 against nationally ranked opponents. Playing at the No. 3 position for MState is Bulldog duo of Cant and senior Chris Doerr, who have posted a team-best 13 wins this season in addition to its 7-2 conference ledger. Cant and Doerr are also winners of four-straight. At the No. 2 spot, MSU's Sanchez and junior Tanner Stump have claimed its last two matches. State has won the doubles point in four-straight matches, sweeping it in its previous two.
Ole Miss is led by No. 54 nationally ranked sophomore Marcel Thiemann, who is a solid 12-7 in dual match play. Also ranked for the Rebels is No. 81 junior Tucker Vorster. Sophomore Chris Thiemann has posted a team-best 15 dual match wins, while freshmen Adrian Skogeng and Jonas Lutjen have notched double-digit victories with 12 and 10, respectively.
The Rebels boast two doubles ranked teams, led by 26th-ranked duo of Thiemann and Thiemann. No. 83 nationally ranked Rebel duo of Lutjen and Vorster is the other Ole Miss ranked tandem.
The Bulldogs will serve up against the Rebels at 3 p.m. in Oxford, Miss. Live stats will be available at www.mstateathletics.com.