MSU Netmen Post Impressive 6-1 Victory At Tennessee
State got on the board early by claiming the opening doubles point in the match, something MSU has struggled with this season (the Bulldogs had only claimed doubles four times in 14 previous matches). However, MSU is now 5-0 this season when claiming the doubles point.
After MSU dropped an 8-3 decision at the No. 2 position, the Bulldogs rebounded to claim the No. 1 and 3 spots. Romain Ambert and Jerome Le Belicard posted an 8-5 upset of 57th-ranked Volunteers Mark Dietrich and Wade Orr at No. 1. State's tandem of Rene-Charles Combette and Max Fomine finished things off by pulling out a 9-7 win at No. 3 over Rawl Martin and Simon Rea.
Things were extremely tight in singles, as five of the six matches went to first-set tiebreakers. MSU won three of them and two of those would eventually be decided by 7-6, 7-6 scores. State also gained the early lead in the other match by a 6-4 margin.
The Bulldogs would take a 2-0 lead in the match when true freshman Florent Girod notched a solid 6-4, 6-2 victory over UT's Mark Henderson at the No. 5 position. The win was Girod's second in his last three contests after dropping eight in a row. State gained a 3-0 advantage with a 7-6(7), 6-3 victory from the senior Le Belicard, who downed Orr at No. 3.
The clinching point came at the No. 2 spot, where the MSU senior Combette overcame a 4-2 deficit in the second set to upset UT's 76th-ranked Dietrich 7-6(3), 7-6(2-4, def.). Dietrich led 4-2 in the second set breaker but received a code violation during the change-over, his second of the match, resulting in a game penalty that gave Combette the win.
The Volunteers' first and only singles win came at the No. 6 position, where Martin downed State rookie Luc Maasdorp 7-6(5), 6-3.
State would pick up wins in the last two matches of the day. At No. 1, Ambert, ranked 25th nationally, posted another barn-burning victory, holding off UT's 33rd-ranked Rea 7-6(4), 7-6(4). On court No. 4, Fomine rallied to post a 6-7(6), 6-4, 6-4 comeback win over Vincent Perna to improve to 11-4 in dual matches this year.
"This match just continues to prove how close the SEC is this year," MSU head coach Sylvain Guichard said. "I don't know that I've ever seen a match be that close early, with so many tiebreakers going on at the same time in the first set.
"Our guys did an outstanding job of fighting during those tiebreakers and throughout the match, and doing the things we were telling them to do. If they had let up any at all, Tennessee could definitely have come back on us today. This is a good win to build on for the remainder of our season. We have another tough one coming up at Georgia that will be just as difficult."
State closes out its two-match road swing Sunday, visiting 19th-ranked Georgia. Match time is set for 1 p.m. ET at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex in Athens.
#46 MISSISSIPPI STATE 6, #35 TENNESSEE 1
DOUBLES -- Romain Ambert/Jerome Belicard (MSU) def. #57 Mark Dietrich/Wade Orr (UT) 8-5; Mark Henderson/Vincent Perna (UT) def. Florent Girod/Michael Hailey (MSU) 8-3; Rene-Charles Combette/Max Fomine (MSU) def. Rawl Martin/Simon Rea (UT) 9-7.
SINGLES -- #25 Ambert (MSU) def. #33 Rea (UT) 7-6(4), 7-6(4); Combette (MSU) def. #76 Dietrich (UT) 7-6(3), 7-6(2-4, def.); Le Belicard (MSU) def. Orr (UT) 7-6(7), 6-3; #123 Fomine (MSU) def. Perna (UT) 6-7(6), 6-4, 6-4; Girod (MSU) def. Henderson (UT) 6-4, 6-2; Luc Maasdorp (MSU) 7-6(5), 6-3.
numbers preceding names indicate current national rankings