State Tennis Hosts Alabama And Auburn In Final Home Matches This Weekend
The Bulldogs (8-9, 1-6) enter this weekend on a three-match losing skid. MSU's match against the Crimson Tide will be 49th all-time, with State holding a 25-23 advantage, but has dropped the previous three matches against Alabama. Sunday's match will be the 40th meeting between the Bulldogs and Tigers, while Auburn has a one-match lead over MSU in the all-time series. State has claimed two of the previous three matches with the Tigers, including a thrilling come-from-behind 4-3 victory last season at Auburn.
"We are excited about the opportunity to pick up a couple of wins over two quality opponents in Alabama and Auburn," said head coach Per Nilsson. "We are coming off a tough road stretch where we played two top 10 opponents, but if we play with the focus and effort we are capable of we can come out on top this weekend."
The Bulldogs are led by 67th-ranked sophomore Louis Cant who is 10-5 in dual match play and has tallied two conference victories. 125th-ranked sophomore George Coupland of MSU is fresh off a career day this past Sunday against third-ranked Tennessee, where Coupland earned a doubles win over the No. 2 nationally ranked Volunteer tandem and defeated 26th-ranked Boric Conkic of Tennessee in singles. Coupland leads the Maroon and White with three SEC wins and has posted six dual match victories.
MSU Sophomore Artem Ilyushin has posted a 9-7 dual match ledger on the season, while junior Antonio Lastre of the Bulldogs is tied for the team-lead in wins with 10. State sophomore Daniel Sanchez leads MState in winning percentage, claiming 70-percent of his dual matches.
In doubles, State is led by the tandem of Cant and lone-senior Chris Doerr, who have notched 11 wins in dual match play this season and are an impressive 5-2 in conference action. MSU's Coupland along with Ilyushin have notched nine victories as well as a 5-2 conference ledger and are a perfect 4-0 when facing ranked opponents.
Alabama (10-10, 3-5) enters this weekend winners of two-straight and are coached by former Bulldog, Billy Pate, who is in his eighth season with the Tide. Bama is paced by 31st-ranked senior Saketh Myneni, who is the reigning Southeastern Conference Player of the Week. Myneni is on a four-match win streak and has earned a team-high 11 wins, all coming from the No. 1 position. Three Tide players have tallied nine wins this season, with senior Houssam Yassine having the best winning percentage among the trio followed by sophomore Ricky Doverspike and freshman Jarryd Botha.
The Crimson Tide tandem of sophomore Michael Davis and Myneni are ranked 64th nationally with a 9-6 record and are on a two-match win streak. Alabama's Botha and Trey Walston are winners of three-straight and are an impressive 5-1 in dual match play.
Auburn (8-9, 4-4) is riding a four-match win streak and will play at No. 17 Ole Miss on Friday. The Tigers are led by 20th-ranked junior Tim Puetz, who is 9-5 from the No. 1 position. Tiger sophomore Alex Stamchev ranks 107th nationally with an 8-2 ledger. Auburn freshman Tim Hewitt has a team-high 11 wins on the season.
In doubles, the Tigers are led by the 10th-ranked duo of Puetz and Stamchev, who are 9-4 in dual match play.
Friday's match against the Crimson Tide will begin at 3 p.m., followed with a 1 p.m. Sunday match against the Auburn Tigers, which will include a Senior Day presentation for MSU's Doerr. Matches will be played at the A.J. Pitts Tennis Centre; admission is free to all home MSU tennis matches. Live stats will be available at www.mstateathletics.com.