No. 34 Bulldogs Look To Keep Momentum Rolling At Kentucky
STARKVILLE, Miss. – Looking to carry over their success from a 4-1 upset of rival No. 13 Ole Miss on Wednesday, the 34th-ranked Mississippi State Bulldogs (13-5, 4-2 SEC) head to Lexington on Friday, March 27 to take on the Kentucky Wildcats (9-12, 0-6 SEC).
The Bulldogs and Wildcats will meet at 4 p.m. CT, at the Boone Tennis Complex. Kentucky holds the series lead with a 29-18 record all-time and an 18-5 advantage in Lexington. MSU will look to snap a nine-match skid against UK on Friday, with its last victory coming in 2007 in Starkville.
Live stats can be found at www.UKAthletics.com.
State makes their way to Lexington after a thrilling 4-1 defeat of in-state rival Ole Miss on Wednesday. The Bulldogs captured the doubles point and coupled it with wins from Mate Cutura, Rishab Agarwal and the clincher from No. 122 Tassilo Schmid to earn the upset of the 13th-ranked Rebels.
Agarwal leads the Bulldogs with 11 victories this spring and 17 for the overall season. Cutura has also been impressive this season, compiling an 8-3 record this spring and standing 4-0 in SEC play. Both Agarwal and Cutura have won four-straight matches, which leads the Bulldogs.
No. 108 Florian Lakat remains at the top of the MSU lineup with a 10-4 record this spring, all coming at the No. 1 position. The sophomore has picked up four victories in his last six decisions.
Newcomers Juan Cruz Estevarena has also been a solid contributor to State’s singles attack this season. Estevarena is 8-2 this spring, splitting the wins between the No. 2 and 3 spots.
Senior Tassilo Schmid, ranked 122nd nationally, has earned four wins this season while playing mainly at the No. 3 position in the lineup, with his most recent being the clincher against UM’s Kallberg on Wednesday. Schmid fought back from down a break 5-3 in the third set to seal MSU’s victory.
MSU kept its dominance in doubles rolling on Wednesday. State has now won the match’s opening point in 13 of the last 14 matches and is 12-3 this season when doing so.
The 14th-ranked duo of Cash and Lakat is 6-0 at the No. 1 position after picking up a 6-4 win on Wednesday. The Bulldog tandem is now 5-0 in conference play. State’s tandem of Cutura and Schmid is 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 4-3 this spring after winning their last three matches.
The Wildcats have won two of their last three matches, but are looking to capture their first conference win of the season on Friday. Beck Pennington, ranked 62nd nationally, is 8-6 this spring in singles play. UK presents two ranked doubles squads, with Pennington joining Kevin Lai as the 59th-ranked duo in the nation and William Bushamuka and Jerry Lopez coming in at No. 79. The duos have four and five wins this spring, respectively.
MSU will cap off this two-match road swing with a Sunday, March 29, contest at No. 40 Tennessee at 12 p.m.
For more information on Mississippi State men’s tennis and updates, fans can follow the Bulldogs on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at HailStateMT.