No. 36 MSU Netmen Upset No. 19 Alabama 4-3
With the victory, State improved to 5-6 overall while securing its first Southeastern Conference victory of the year (now 1-2). Alabama, which lost for only the third time this season, fell to 13-3, 2-3. State broke a two-match losing skid to the Crimson Tide with the win as well and has now won 11 of the last 13 meetings between the schools.
MSU got off to a solid start in the match by securing the opening doubles point. After State dropped an 8-3 decision at the No. 2 spot, the Bulldogs reeled off simultaneous victories at the No. 1 and 3 positions by the same score.
Things got very tight in singles as the teams each won three of the first sets played and the outcome of the match would ultimately come down to the last match on the court.
The Bulldogs took a 2-0 lead when junior Romain Ambert, ranked 60th, downed the Tide's 82nd-ranked Maxim Belski 6-2, 6-4 at the No. 1 position in a battle of all-Americans. State went up 3-0 with a triumph from senior Jerome Le Belicard, who rallied from a 3-0, two-service-break deficit in the first set to upset UA's 76th-ranked Chris Gostek 6-4, 7-6(0) at No. 3.
'Bama then made a strong charge at the Bulldogs, winning the next three matches off the court. Tide senior William Boyles cut the lead to 3-1 by coming back for a 3-6, 6-2, 6-2 win over MSU rookie Luc Maasdorp at No. 6. UA's Geoff Hiscox then completed a 6-2, 6-7(6), 6-4 triumph over State's Florent Girod at the No. 4 spot. At No. 5, Alabama's Christian Brodersen edged Max Fomine 7-6(14), 6-4 in a fierce battle to knot the team score at 3-3.
That left the No. 2 court, where the teams had split sets, to decide the match and Bulldog senior Rene-Charles Combette would come up big. The Ajaccio, Corsica, native, earned a service break in the first game of the third frame and would hold that advantage the rest of the set to down UA's 108th-ranked Stephen Mitchell 4-6, 6-3, 6-4.
"This was a big win for our team," MSU head coach Sylvain Guichard said. "It was big because it was close and because it was against a very good Alabama team on the road. We have had so many close matches like this go the other way on us in the past couple of years, it feels good to finally get one to go our way.
"Our guys really did a nice job of continuing to fight and play their games today and that was what made the difference in this match. Now we have to focus on another difficult test at Auburn Sunday."
The Bulldogs return to action Sunday, continuing their road trip at 24th-ranked Auburn. Match time is set for 1:30 p.m. at AU's Luther Young Tennis Center.
#36 MISSISSIPPI STATE 4, #19 ALABAMA 3
DOUBLES -- Romain Ambert/Rene-Charles Combette (MSU) def. Maxim Belski/Geoff Hiscox (UA) 8-3; Brad Freidman/Stephen Mitchell (UA) def. Florent Girod/Jerome Le Belicard (MSU) 8-3; Max Fomine/Michael Hailey (MSU) def. Wiliam Boyles/Chris Gostek (UA) 8-3.
SINGLES -- #60 Ambert (MSU) def. #82 Belski (UA) 6-2, 6-4; Combette (MSU) def. #108 Mitchell (UA) 4-6, 6-3, 6-4; Le Belicard (MSU) def. t#76 Gostek (UA) 6-4, 7-6(0); Hiscox (UA) def. Girod (MSU) 6-2, 6-7(6), 6-4; Christian Brodersen (UA) def. Fomine (MSU) 7-6(14), 6-4; Boyles (UA) def. Luc Maasdorp (MSU) 3-6, 6-2, 6-2.
numbers preceding names indicate current national rankings