No. 42 Bulldog Men?s Tennis Hits The Road To Face No. 18 Florida
STARKVILLE, Miss. – Looking to stay perfect in Southeastern Conference play, the 42nd-ranked Mississippi State Bulldogs (11-3, 2-0 SEC) take to the road to face No. 18 Florida (6-5, 1-2 SEC) in Gainesville on Friday, March 13.
Friday’s contest is set for 4 p.m. CT, at the Alfred A. Ring Tennis Complex.
The outing to the Sunshine State is a part of a two-match road trip for the Bulldogs, as they will travel to No. 39 Auburn on Sunday, March 15 to close out the weekend. MSU and AU is set for a 1 p.m., first serve.
The Maroon and White will be looking to keep its successful 2015 season going after wins against No. 55 Arkansas and Nicholls State last weekend in Starkville. MSU is seeking to capture its seventh win in its last eight matches this year.
Despite dropping a 4-1 decision last season in Starkville against the Gators, State is vying for its third victory in the past four contests with UF. MSU downed the Gators in a 4-3 decision its last time in Gainesville in 2013.
Leading the way for the Bulldogs are a pair of ranked singles players in Florian Lakat and Tassilo Schmid. No. 112 Lakat, the Bulldogs’ No. 1 in the lineup, is 9-2 this spring and is currently riding a three-match winning streak. Schmid, ranked 105th, has three victories this spring, with his most recent against Alabama’s Becker O’Shaughnessey to clinch State’s SEC opener.
Freshman Juan Cruz Estevarena has been a mainstay near the top of the MSU lineup this season, most recently holding the No. 2 spot. Having won his last three contests, Estevarena is 8-1 in dual matches and 12-5 overall this year. Holding strong in the middle of the order is junior Mate Cutura, who is 5-3 in dual match play while competing mainly at the No. 4 position. Cutura’s straight-sets win last weekend against Arkansas’ William Albanese clinched State’s victory against the Razorbacks.
Rounding out State’s singles lineup is reigning SEC Freshman of the Week honoree Julian Cash and sophomore Rishab Agarwal. At the No. 5 spot, Cash went 4-0 last weekend in singles and doubles to earn the conference honor and is 3-1 this spring. Agarwal, who leads MSU with 10 dual match wins and 16 overall, will round out play at the sixth position.
The Maroon and White will be led by the ranked squad of Cash and Lakat to help continue its dominance in doubles play this season. The 46th-ranked duo made their first appearance of the spring last season, picking up a pair of victories and moving to 10-3 on the year. Right behind is the tandem of Cutura and Schmid, who are a perfect 10-0 this spring and 2-0 in the SEC. The duo leads the Bulldogs by clinching seven doubles points so far this year.
Filling out the order is the duo of Estevarena and Robin Haden who are 1-2 this season.
State’s dominance in doubles in 2015 has been highly impressive. The Bulldogs have captured the doubles point in 10-straight matches and are 10-2 this season when winning the opening point.
The 18th-ranked Gators, who are coming off a mid-week loss to No. 10 Ohio State, present a trio of ranked singles players and a pair of ranked doubles squads to enter the weekend. No. 64 Diego Hidalgo sits atop the UF lineup with a 21-5 record this year, going 7-1 in the spring. At No. 78, Maxx Lipman is 14-10 this year, while No. 99 Elliott Orkin is 18-6.
In doubles, UF is led by the No. 33 tandem of Hidalgo and Gordon Watson and the 72nd-ranked team of Oliver Landert and Joshua Wardell.
For more information on Mississippi State men’s tennis and updates, fans can follow the Bulldogs on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at HailStateMT.