No. 12 State Tennis Hosts No. 40 Gamecocks In SEC Weekend Closer
STARKVILLE, Miss. - On the heels of a stellar 4-3 upset over the No. 11 Florida Gators, the 12th-ranked Mississippi State men's tennis team (13-4, 4-1 SEC) returns home as they host the No. 40 Gamecocks of South Carolina on Sunday.
The Bulldogs return home after earning a big 4-3 upset over Florida, their first win over the Gators since 2002 and their first in Gainesville since 1998.
MSU is led by a trio of seniors including 14th-ranked Artem Ilyushin, No. 36 George Coupland and 37th-ranked Louis Cant. Also earning a spot in the rankings for MSU is 113th-ranked sophomore Malte Stropp.
Cant and Stropp lead the charge for MSU in doubles as they are ranked 24th in the latest ITA poll.
In the overall campaign, MSU holds a 14-9 advantage over USC with the Bulldogs taking a 5-2 win over the Gamecocks last spring.
South Carolina is led by 104th-ranked Ivan Machado followed by No. 117 Thiago Pinheiro. In doubles, Chip Cox and Nick Jones lead the charge as they are ranked 64th in the recent ITA poll.
Match time is slated for 1:00 p.m. CT at the A.J. Pitts Tennis Centre on Mississippi State's campus.
Live stats will be available through www.hailstate.com. Follow @mstateMT on Twitter for live updates.