No. 48 Bulldog Men?s Tennis Set For Saturday Doubleheader
STARKVILLE, Miss. – After a month on the road, the No. 48 Mississippi State Bulldogs (9-3, 1-0 SEC) return home to host No. 55 Arkansas (11-5, 1-1 SEC) and Nicholls State (1-6, 0-1 SLC) in a Saturday twinbill at the A.J. Pitts Tennis Centre.
The Bulldogs kick off Saturday with a 12 p.m. CT showdown with the Razorbacks and will wrap up the day against the Colonels of NSU at 5 p.m.
State is looking to keep its league record perfect after recording a shutout victory in Tuscaloosa last weekend against Alabama. State has won its last six matches against UA and is 25-7 all time (10-3 in Starkville) against the Razorbacks. Against the Colonels, State is 10-2 overall and has not lost at home (5-0). State has won its last six against NSU.
MSU will also look to earn its sixth win in the last seven contests this season after this weekend.
The Bulldogs are paced by a pair of ranked singles players in Florian Lakat and Tassilo Schmid. No. 114 Lakat, the Bulldogs’ No. 1 in the lineup, holds an 8-2 record this spring and has won his last two matches. Schmid, ranked 97th, 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. Estevarena is 6-1 in dual matches and 10-5 overall this year. Holding strong in the middle of the order is junior Mate Cutura, who has four wins this spring while playing mainly at the No. 4 position.
Rounding out State’s singles lineup is freshman Julian Cash and sophomore Rishab Agarwal. Cash, who picked up his first collegiate career singles win at the Blue Gray two weekends ago, will play the fifth spot. Agarwal, who leads MSU with nine spring wins and 15 overall, will round out play at the sixth position.
The Maroon and White will have two ranked squads to help continue its dominance in doubles play this season. Heading up the lineup is the No. 27 duo of Cash and Lakat, who will play together for the first time this spring after dominating in the fall en route to the ITA/USTA Southern Regional Doubles Championship. Right behind is the No. 46 tandem of Cutura and Schmid, who are a perfect 8-0 this spring, which is the best record amongst SEC doubles squads.
Filling out the order is the duo of Esteverana and Robin Haden who are 1-0 this season.
State’s dominance in doubles so far this season has been highly impressive. The Bulldogs have captured the doubles point in eight-straight matches and are 8-2 this season when capturing the opening point.
Arkansas, led by former MSU tennis coach Andy Jackson, is 11-5 this season and picked up its first SEC win on Thursday at home against Alabama. UA dropped its conference opener against No. 14 Vanderbilt.
Nicholls State enters the weekend looking to snap a four-match losing streak.
After this weekend, State will hit the road to face No. 11 Florida and No. 35 Auburn. MSU will head to Gainesville on Saturday, March 13, for a 4 p.m. start against the Gators and close out in Auburn with a 1 p.m. first serve on Sunday, March 15.
For updates and more information on Mississippi State men’s tennis, fans can follow the Bulldogs on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at HailStateMT, as well as on HailState.com.
Arkansas Match Promotions
- Rally Rags
- Free Popcorn
Nicholls St. Promotions
- Mississippi Tennis Association Kid's Day
- Rally Rags
- HailStateBB Ticket Giveaway
- Post-Match Autographs