Three Bulldogs Set For 2014 NCAA Individual Championships
STARKVILLE, Miss. – Looking to cap another successful season with a strong finish, three Mississippi State men’s tennis Bulldogs will travel to Athens, Ga., this week for the 2014 NCAA Individual Championship at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex on the campus of the University of Georgia.
MSU freshman Florian Lakat, ranked 61st nationally, begins competition in the NCAA Singles Championship on Wednesday, May 21, while the 17th-ranked duo of Jordan Angus and Malte Stropp begins play in the NCAA Doubles Championship on Thursday, May 22.
Lakat, who was named the SEC Freshman of the Year and All-SEC Second Team, begins play in the singles field of 64 against East Carolina’s No. 25 Joran Vliegen at 10:30 a.m. CT Wednesday. The Paris, France, native enters the individual postseason holding a 22-14 record in 2013-14, with 16 of those victories coming in the spring.
The top MSU team of Angus and Stropp kick off doubles play on Thursday against North Carolina’s No. 25 tandem of Brett Clark and Brayden Schnur, with their start time to be set by the NCAA on Wednesday. Appearing in their second-straight NCAA Doubles Championship, the Bulldog pair will look to best their round of 16 appearance from last season. Angus and Stropp enter tourney play with 19 overall wins and 13 dual match victories, while having won five of their last six matches.
All three Bulldogs have a chance to obtain their first ever All-America honor in individual play this week. To become an All-American, Lakat must to advance to the round of 16 in singles, while Angus and Stropp must make their way to quarterfinal play in doubles.
Mississippi State has now had at least one representative in the NCAA Individual Championships for the fourth-straight season and for the 29th year in the program’s history.
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