No. 35 Bulldogs Kick Off Home Stretch Against No. 7 Texas A&M
STARKVILLE, Miss. – Coming off an impressive shutout win on the Plains Sunday, the 35th-ranked Mississippi State Bulldogs (12-4, 3-1 SEC) begin a three-match home stretch with a showdown against the No. 7 Texas A&M Aggies (9-3, 4-1 SEC) on Friday, March 20.
The SEC battle is set for 5 p.m. CT at MSU’s A.J. Pitts Tennis Centre. State will be looking to capture its second-straight win and its sixth victory in its last seven matches. State will also shoot to keep its dominance at home alive, having won 21 of its last 23 matches in Starkville. Live stats can be found at HailState.com.
Friday’s contest will be a part of MSU tennis’ Greek Challenge. The Bulldogs invite all Greek members to attend, with the largest-attending fraternity and sorority at the end of the season receiving prizes. Also, fans will receive free StarkVegas t-shirts while supplies last.
The Bulldogs and Aggies battle for the seventh time in history, with TAMU holding a 4-2 advantage and having won the last two contests. The series is split at a match apiece in Starkville.
MSU is coming off a 4-0 victory at No. 39 Auburn last weekend. The shutout win was the ninth of the season for the Bulldogs and the third against an SEC opponent, which ties a single-season program record set back in 1993.
Sophomores Rishab Agarwal and No. 112 Florian Lakat have paced the Bulldogs in singles play so far this year, both with 10 wins each in dual match action. Lakat has captured all 10 wins at the No. 1 position, with his latest being a straight-sets win against Auburn’s No. 59 Lukas Ollert. Agarwal, currently riding a three-match winning streak, has earned eight of his victories this spring at the No. 5 spot.
Newcomers Juan Cruz Estevarena and Mate Cutura have also been solid contributors to State’s singles attack. Estevarena is 8-1 this spring, splitting the wins between the No. 2 and 3 spots. Cutura, who is on a three-match winning streak and leads MSU with a 3-0 SEC record, is 7-3 this spring.
Senior Tassilo Schmid, ranked 105th nationally, has earned three wins this season while playing mainly at the third position in the lineup recently. Julian Cash is 4-2 this spring after winning three of his last four contests.
MSU rebounded last Sunday after dropping the doubles point for the first time in 10 matches against No. 18 Florida last Friday. State now has won the match’s opening point in 11 of the last 12 matches and is 11-2 this season when doing so.
The 46th-ranked duo of Cash and Lakat are 4-0 at the No. 1 position after a pair of wins last weekend. The Bulldog tandem is now 3-0 in conference play. State’s tandem of Cutura and Schmid are 10-1 this spring, picking up nine of those victories at the No. 2 position.
Rounding out the doubles order is the team of Estevarena and Robin Haden, who are 2-3 this spring after clinching the doubles point last weekend at No. 39 Auburn.
The Aggies are paced by four ranked singles players. No. 65 Jeremy Efferding has a 7-2 record this spring, including a 3-1 posting at the No. 1 position. No. 71 Shane Vinsant has also seen time at the top spot, going 2-2 this spring. No. 89 A.J. Catanzariti is 8-3 this spring and leads the Aggies with a 25-8 record for the year. No. 48 Harrison Adams has a total of eight wins for the overall season.
In doubles, TAMU is led by the No. 9-ranked duo of Adams and Vinsant, who are 6-3 this spring at the top spot. Efferding and Jordan Szabo, ranked 26th nationally, are 8-3 in dual match play.
Following Friday’s contest, State will host a Sunday, March 22, affair against No. 23 LSU. First serve is set for 1 p.m. at the Pitts Tennis Centre. State will round out the home stretch with a Wednesday, March 25, showdown against No. 13 Ole Miss (3 p.m.), a match rescheduled from earlier in the year.
For more information on Mississippi State men’s tennis and updates, fans can follow the Bulldogs on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at HailStateMT.