State Tennis Looks To Snap Skid At No. 3 Tennessee
State is 12-30 all-time when facing the Volunteers, and are currently enduring a four-match losing streak to UT, with the Bulldogs last victory over the Vols coming in the 2004 SEC tournament. On top of looking to snap the skid against Tennessee, MSU will also be looking for its first win over a top 10 opponent on Sunday, with tomorrow's matching being its fourth attempt to do so.
The Bulldogs are led by super sophomore Louis Cant, who ranks 67th nationally and snapped a four-match losing streak this past Friday, with an upset come-from-behind victory over Georgia's 22nd-ranked Javier Garrapiz. Cant is tied for the team-lead in dual match victories with 10 and has picked up two conference victories thus far.
MState junior Antonio Lastre stands alongside Cant with 10 wins on the season and two SEC victories 125th-ranked Bulldog sophomore George Coupland is looking to snap a three-match skid.
State is paced in doubles by the team of Cant and Chris Doerr who have a team-best 10 wins and four conference victories, while Bulldog tandem Coupland and Artem Ilyushin have also picked up four conference victories this season.
Tennessee boasts five ranked individuals as well as two ranked doubles teams. Junior John-Patrick Smith stands at No. 2 nationally and is tied for the team lead in wins with 13. Vols Boris Conkic ranks 26th and has posted a 12-2 dual match ledger this season. Freshman Rhyne Williams ranks 49th nationally and is an impressive 13-2 in dual match action. Fellow freshman Tennys Sandgren is No. 111 in the country and has also tallied 13 victories this season. Senior Matt Brewer rounds out the ranked Vols, standing 112th nationally.
In doubles, the Volunteers boast No. 2 doubles team in the country, with Smith and Davey Sandgren, who are an impressive 15-1 in doubles play. Also ranked is Volunteer duo Conkic and Williams who stand at fourth nationally, recently suffering its first setback of the season against Ole Miss.
Match play will begin at noon; live stats will be available at www.mstateathletics.com.