Bulldogs Return Home To Host Nebraska In Midweek Match
"We have a contest going on with all the sororities on campus which begins tomorrow and Tri Delta will be the first ones to host for us," Coach Per Nilsson said. "Even though it isn't a conference match Nebraska is a quality team and would be a big win for us so we need all the fans to come out and support the guys and cheer us to a victory."
State is riding a current three-match win streak into Wednesday's match against the Cornhuskers who have won seven-straight matches and will play at 44th-ranked LSU today. MSU is 3-1 at home this season and this will be the first Wednesday match for the Bulldogs.
MSU is fresh off of a dominating 7-0 victory this past Saturday at South Carolina. It was the first 7-0 victory against a SEC opponent since 2001 and State has now claimed three matches in 7-0 fashion this season.
The Bulldogs, who currently hold a one-match lead over the SEC western division, boast three-ranked players in singles led by junior Artem Ilyushin who is 84th in the country. Ilyushin has won two-straight matches and picked up his 45th career singles win when donning the Maroon and White this past Saturday. Also ranked are juniors George Coupland and Louis Cant. Coupland stands at 85th nationally and has also won two-straight while Cant is ranked 92nd and has won three-straight. Other notable Bulldogs include sophomore James Chaudry who is a stellar 8-1 in dual match play, Malte Stropp who has been named the SEC's Freshman of the Week three times this season and most recently picked up the honor last week and freshman Zach White who is a solid 4-1 in SEC matches and winner of three-straight.
In doubles MSU is led by the tandem of Cant and Stropp who stand at 69th nationally. State is a perfect 4-0 this year when they claim the all-important doubles point.
Nebraska's Christopher Aumueller is ranked 81st nationally and is 8-6 in dual match play. The Huskers' Calin Paar is a solid 10-5 in dual match action, playing primarily at the No. 1 and No. 2 spots and Sebastian Florczyk is an impressive 12-1 in dual match play.
The Cornhusker tandem of Aumueller and Benedikt Lindheim are ranked 65th in the country and have a 9-2 dual match record. The Huskers have won the doubles point in 12 of their 16 matches this season.
The Bulldogs and Huskers will serve it up at 2 p.m. CT at the A.J. Pitts Tennis Centre on Wednesday, March 23. Admission is free and live stats will be available at www.mstateathletics.com.