No. 26 MSU Set For Battle Of Bulldogs Against No. 6 Georgia
STARKVILLE, Miss. – Riding a three-match winning streak and looking to keep their momentum rolling, the 26th-ranked Mississippi State Bulldogs (15-5, 6-2 SEC) host the sixth-ranked Georgia Bulldogs (16-2, 8-0 SEC) on Friday, April 3, at the A.J. Pitts Tennis Centre.
First serve between the two pairs of Bulldogs is set for 5 p.m. CT. With the threat of inclement weather entering the Starkville area Friday afternoon, fans should consult HailStateMT on Twitter and HailState.com for updates on the match’s status.
The Bulldogs invite all fraternity and sorority members to the Pitts Tennis Centre this weekend as a part of MSU's Greek Challenge. The group with the largest attendance will receive prizes courtesy of MSU marketing. Fans in attendance will also receive Hail State sunglass and can enter a StarkVegas t-shirt raffle.
State will be looking to capture its second win in the last three meetings against UGA and its fourth-straight win of the season.
MSU comes into this weekend of home matches after putting together a solid 3-0 showing last week while also making some history. The Bulldogs took down rival No. 13 Ole Miss, 4-1, last Wednesday at Pitts before hitting the road to defeat both Kentucky and No. 52 Tennessee to the tune of 4-3. MSU defeated Kentucky for the first time since 2007 and took down both the Wildcats and the Volunteers in the same season for the first time since 1998.
With both wins coming on the road, it also marks the first time in recorded history that State has defeated UK and UT on the road in the same season.
State’s stellar showings helped them jump eight spots to No. 26 in the latest ITA National Rankings. Individually, junior Mate Cutura went 3-0 on the week in singles play to be named SEC Player of the Week. Cutura joins Julian Cash, who was named SEC Freshman of the Week previously this season, as the two Bulldogs to receive the conference’s weekly award.
Entering the weekend, Rishab Agarwal leads the Bulldogs with 13 victories this spring and 19 for the overall season and currently is riding a six-match winning streak. Also reeling off his sixth-straight win was Cutura, who has compiled a 10-3 record this spring and has a 6-0 SEC record, which ties Ole Miss’ Stefan Lindmark for best in the league.
No. 108 Florian Lakat remains at the top of the MSU lineup with an 11-5 record this spring, all coming at the No. 1 position. Three of the sophomore’s wins have come against ranked opponents.
Juan Cruz Estevarena has been a solid contributor at the No. 2 position for the Bulldogs this season. The MSU freshman is 9-3 in dual match play after his match-clinching win against Tennessee’s Hunter Reese last weekend. His fellow freshman Cash moved to 6-4 for the spring slate after his match-clinching win against the Wildcats last Friday.
Senior Tassilo Schmid, ranked 122nd nationally, has earned four wins this season while playing mainly at the No. 3 position in the lineup.
The Bulldogs moved to 3-1 this season when dropping the doubles point after falling short to UK and UT. However, MSU has still been dominant in grabbing the opening point, capturing it in 13 of its last 16 contests. State is 12-3 this year when doing so.
The 14th-ranked duo of Cash and Lakat is still an impressive 6-1 despite dropping their first match of the spring last weekend. State’s tandem of Cutura and Schmid is 10-3 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 5-4 this spring after winning four of their last five matches.
League-leading Georgia heads to Starkville on a 10-match winning streak after most recently taking down No. 17 Vanderbilt last weekend at home, 4-1. UGA is led by No. 18-ranked Nathan Pasha (11-3 this spring), No. 28 Wayne Montgomery (9-3 this spring) and No. 31 Austin Smith (11-3 this spring).
UGA is led in doubles by the nation’s No. 1-ranked squad of Smith and Ben Wagland, who are 9-1 this season. Rounding out the ranked doubles squads for the visiting Bulldogs is the 37th-ranked team of Wagland and Paul Oosterbaan and the No. 70 tandem of Smith and Eric Diaz.
MSU will close out its home weekend by hosting the 45th-ranked South Carolina Gamecocks on Sunday, April 5. First serve is set for 1 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.