No. 31 Arkansas Downs No. 33 Bulldog Netters 5-2
With the loss, State fell to 7-11 overall and 3-7 in Southeastern Conference action. Arkansas improved to 10-9, 3-6. It was the Razorbacks' first win over MSU since UA joined the SEC in 1992. The Bulldogs, which still lead the series 15-5, had won 12 in a row between the teams.
Arkansas gained the first point of the day by posting victories at the top two doubles positions. After the teams traded wins at the No. 2 and 3 positions, Razorbacks Aleksey Bubis and Eduardo Pacheco broke Bulldogs Romain Ambert and Jerome Le Belicard at 6-5 to go on to an 8-5 win.
In singles, UA jumped on State quickly, winning the first set in four of the six matches, and would hold all of those leads for the victory.
MSU evened the score 1-1 when Ambert, ranked 25th nationally, had just won the first set 6-0 at the No. 1 position against Nathan Price when Price retired due to injury. It was the first match Price had played since March 4.
Arkansas then produced the next three points of the contest to clinch the win. Adrians Zguns downed MSU's Max Fomine 6-3, 6-1 at the No. 4 spot. Rohan Gajjar was a 6-4, 6-3 winner against MSU's Florent Girod at No. 5. Securing the deciding point for UA would be Matt Roberts, who downed State's Luc Maasdorp 6-3, 6-3 at the No. 6 spot.
The teams would split the final two matches of the day in close contests. Bulldog Rene-Charles Combette bested Bubis 7-6(5), 6-4 at No. 2, while Arkansas' Pacheco held off MSU's Le Belicard 6-4, 7-6(3) at No. 3.
"We actually tried pretty hard today, but Arkansas played a little better," MSU head coach Sylvain Guichard said. "We had to go indoors because of the weather and it was difficult for our guys to adjust since we have not played an indoor match in nearly two months. Arkansas has played most of theirs indoors and they are a better team inside as well. We will put this behind us and focus on our last regular season match next weekend."
State now sets its eyes on closing out the regular season next Saturday, April 12, when the Bulldogs host fifth-ranked, arch-rival Mississippi as part of Super Bulldog Weekend activities. Match time is set for 1 p.m. at MSU's A.J. Pitts Tennis Centre.
#31 ARKANSAS 5, #33 MISSISSIPPI STATE 2
DOUBLES -- Aleksey Bubis/Eduardo Pacheco (UA) def. Romain Ambert/Jerome Belicard (MSU) 8-5; Matt Roberts/Adrians Zguns (UA) def. Florent Girod/Michael Hailey (MSU) 8-6; Rene-Charles Combette/Max Fomine (MSU) def. Rohan Gajjar/Tally Parker (UA) 8-5.
SINGLES -- #25 Ambert (MSU) def. Nathan Price (UA) 6-0, ret.; Combette (MSU) def. Bubis (UA) 7-6(5), 6-4; Pacheco (UA) def. Le Belicard (MSU) 6-4, 7-6(3); Zguns (UA) def. #123 Fomine (MSU) 6-3, 6-1; Gajjar (UA) def. Girod (MSU) 6-4, 6-3; Roberts (UA) def. Luc Maasdorp (MSU) 6-3, 6-3.
numbers preceding names indicate current national rankings