No. 34 MSU Looks To Build On Winning Streak At No. 52 Tennessee
STARKVILLE, Miss. – After a thrilling comeback win on Friday at Kentucky, the 34th-ranked Mississippi State men’s tennis team (14-5, 5-2 SEC) looks to capture its third-straight win when they travel to Knoxville to face No. 52 Tennessee (11-8, 3-4 SEC) on Sunday, March 29.
First serve between the Bulldogs and the Volunteers is set for Noon CT, at Barksdale Stadium in Knoxville. MSU will look to snap a three-match skid against the Volunteers. For the series, State is 15-34 and 5-16 in Knoxville.
Both MSU’s last overall and away wins against UT came in 2012, when the Bulldogs took down the Volunteers in Knoxville and then again at home in the SEC Championship, 4-3 and 4-2, respectively.
The Maroon and White enter Sunday’s match after taking down No. 13 Ole Miss and Kentucky in its previous two contests. After a 4-1 upset of the Rebels at home, the Bulldogs fought back from down 3-2, gaining clutch wins from Rishab Agarwal and Julian Cash to take down the Wildcats for the first time since 2007 on Friday.
Agarwal leads the Bulldogs with 12 victories this spring and 18 for the overall season after winning his fifth-straight match on Friday. Also reeling off his fifth-straight win was Mate Cutura, who has compiled a 9-3 record this spring and is a team-best 5-0 in SEC play.
No. 108 Florian Lakat remains at the top of the MSU lineup with an 11-4 record this spring, all coming at the No. 1 position. The sophomore has picked up five victories in his last seven decisions.
Juan Cruz Estevarena has been a solid contributor at the No. 2 position for the Bulldogs this season. The MSU freshman is 8-3 in dual match play. Fellow freshman Cash moved to 5-4 for the spring slate after his match-clinching win to start the weekend.
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 victory being the clincher versus Ole Miss on Wednesday.
The Bulldogs moved to 2-1 this season when dropping the doubles point after falling short to UK. However, MSU has still been dominant in grabbing the opening point, capturing it in 13 of its last 15 contests. State is 12-3 this year when doing so.
Despite suffering their first setback of the spring against the Wildcats, the 14th-ranked duo of Cash and Lakat is still an impressive 6-1. State’s tandem of Cutura and Schmid is 10-2 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 5-3 this spring after winning their last four matches.
The Volunteers have picked up two wins in their last three matches, with victories at home against South Carolina and Alabama. UT is led by No. 16 Mikelis Libietis, who is 12-1 in dual matches. Pacing the Vols’ doubles attack will be the No. 2-ranked duo of Libietis and Hunter Reese, the defending NCAA Doubles National Champions. The UT tandem is 19-4 this season and 4-2 in SEC play.
MSU will return home next weekend with a pair of matches against No. 5 Georgia (Friday, April 3) and No. 42 South Carolina (Sunday, April 5). First serves are set for 5 p.m. CT, and 1 p.m. CT, respectively, at the A.J. Pitts Tennis Centre.
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