No. 18 Bulldogs To Open 2015 NCAA Championship Against Denver
STARKVILLE, Miss. – For the Mississippi State Bulldogs, it all begins in Chapel Hill, N.C. The road to the 2015 NCAA Championship finals in Waco, Texas, begins Friday, May 8, as the 20th-ranked Bulldogs (19-7) take on the No. 50 Denver Pioneers (18-8) in the NCAA Championship First Round.
First serve between the Bulldogs and the Pioneers is set for 9 a.m. CT, in the first match of the day. The host, No. 13 North Carolina, will battle William & Mary following MSU and UD, with that match slated to start not before noon. The winners of the two Friday matches at UNC’s Cone-Kenfield Tennis Center will meet in the second round Saturday at 2 p.m. CT, for the right to advance to the NCAA Round of 16 in Waco on May 14.
“This is what we have worked for all season and we’re excited to get things going here in Chapel Hill,” MSU coach Matt Roberts said. “We have gotten in a couple good practices since getting here and are ready to take the court for the real thing tomorrow.”
The Bulldogs are making their fifth-straight appearance in the NCAA Championship and its 24th in program history. State will be looking to return to the round of 16 for the second time in three years, last advancing the NCAA Championship Finals in 2013. That year MSU defeated Austin Peay and Harvard at home to punch its ticket the finals for the first time since 2001.
Leading the way for the Bulldogs is sophomore and First Team All-SEC member Florian Lakat. Ranked 60th nationally, Lakat was 17-9 on the year and 14-6 this spring, with all dual match wins coming at the No. 1 position. Six of Lakat’s wins have come against ranked foes.
MSU will have three other All-SEC honorees in their lineup. Juan Cruz Estevarena, named to the All-SEC Second and Freshman Teams, will be at the second spot in the order while holding a 10-5 spring record. At the No. 3 spot is All-SEC Second Team member Mate Cutura, who has 12 wins this spring and turned in an impressive 8-2 showing during SEC play.
Also in the heart of the order has been one of State’s more impressive players this season. Rishab Agarwal, who landed on the All-SEC Second Team, leads MSU with 24 wins this year and an 18-3 record this spring. One of three players in the SEC to go 8-0 in the league, Agarwal also boasts an impressive 11-match winning streak, second best in the conference.
Rounding out the Bulldog order is MSU’s lone senior Tassilo Schmid and freshman Julian Cash. Schmid has five dual match victories, while Cash, a former SEC Freshman of the Week, has nine spring wins.
Doubles play has been the strong point of the Bulldogs this season, having won the point 19 times, going 15-4 when doing so.
At the top of State’s doubles lineup is the sixth-ranked team of Cash and Lakat. Going 8-3 this spring, the duo became State’s 22nd and 23rd ITA All-Americans by earning a national seed in the NCAA Doubles Championship field of 32. They are the highest ranked MSU duo going into postseason play since Laurent Miquelard and Joc Simmons were ranked fifth in 1994, the year they claimed the NCAA Doubles title.
At the No. 2 spot is Cutura and Schmid, who are a team-best 14-4 this spring, catalyzed by an impressive 10-0 start to the dual match slate. Rounding out the order is Estevarena and Robin Haden, who are 7-5 going into postseason play.
The Pioneers come into Chapel Hill after capturing their second-consecutive Summit League title. Denver has won nine of its last 10 contests as well. The Pioneers are entering their third-straight NCAA Championship and their fourth overall in school history. Individually, the Pioneers are led by No. 112 Henry Craig and No. 114 Diogo Rocha. In doubles, Craig teams up with Alex Gasson for the 49th-ranked duo in the nation.
Friday will mark the first ever meeting between the two squads. Live stats for all matches in Chapel Hill this weekend can be found at www.GoHeels.com.
For more information on Mississippi State men’s tennis and updates, fans can follow the Bulldogs on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at HailStateMT.