No. 26 Pepperdine Eliminates No. 39 MSU From NCAA Tennis Championship
MSU finished the year 8-13 overall. Pepperdine, which improved to 17-10, advances to Sunday's second round to meet the winner of the Vanderbilt-Tennessee Tech contest, which was being played Saturday afternoon. The Waves cut MSU's series lead to 3-2. The teams had not met since 1996.
MSU was without the services of senior Jerome Le Belicard, who underwent knee surgery two weeks ago, in the match. In addition, junior Max Fomine, still recovering from a wrist ailment, played doubles but was not at full strength and was pulled from the singles lineup. The players had normally played the No. 3 and 4 positions during the season.
Pepperdine gained the early lead in the contest with victories at the top two doubles positions. First off the court was the No. 2 spot, where the Wave tandem of Scott Doerner and Pedro Rico downed MSU's Florent Girod and Michael Hailey 8-2. At No. 1, the sixth-ranked PU duo of Diego Acuna and Calle Hansen were 8-4 victors over Bulldogs Romain Ambert and Rene-Charles Combette. The No. 3 match was tied at 7-7 when play was suspended after Pepperdine clinched the point.
The Waves would put themselves in position for the team win in singles by taking the first set in four of the six matches and would claim three of the first four matches complete to secure the victory.
Giving PU a 2-0 lead in the match would be Kevin Borzenski, who posted a 6-1, 6-2 triumph over MSU's Hailey at the No. 6 position. The Waves went up 3-0 with a win at No. 3 from Acuna, who bested Girod 6-2, 6-3.
In his last match as a Bulldog, Combette registered State's only point of the day with a 6-3, 6-4 victory over Rico, ranked 79th, at the No. 2 spot. Posting the clinching match for the Waves would be Alexis Radifison, who was a 7-5, 6-1 winner over State's Matt Armstrong at the No. 5 spot.
In the remaining matches, Pepperdine's 53rd-ranked Hansen led MSU's 19th-ranked Ambert 6-3, 5-5 at the No. 1 spot, but Ambert had won the last three games of the second set. At No. 4, State's Luc Maasdorp was in the third set with Doerner, trailing 6-2, 1-6, 5-3.
"Obviously, we were hurting today without Jerome and Max at full strength," MSU head coach Sylvain Guichard said. "But we gave the best effort we could. We are disappointed that our season is over, but we were happy to be here. As I said before, for our team to make the tournament this season, given the adversity we dealt with all year, was a compliment to our guys' ability to overcome the odds. I was very proud of their work effort this season. Now we must build for next year and continue the Mississippi State tennis tradition."
Though State's team competition is complete for the season, MSU tennis is not completely done for the year. Ambert will be competing in the 64-player NCAA Singles Championship which begins May 21 in Athens, Ga. A junior, the Toulouse, France, product will be making his third career appearance in the field, only the second Bulldog ever to make the draw in each of his first three campaigns in Starkville.
#26 PEPPERDINE 4, #39 MISSISSIPPI STATE 1
DOUBLES -- #6 Diego Acuna/Calle Hansen (PU) def. Romain Ambert/Rene-Charles Combette (MSU) 8-4; Scott Doerner/Pedro Rico (PU) def. Florent Girod/Michael Hailey (MSU) 8-2; Matt Armstrong/Max Fomine (MSU) vs. Kevin Borzenski/Alex Rafidison (PU) 7-7, susp.
SINGLES -- #19 Ambert (MSU) vs. #53 Hansen (PU) 3-6, 5-5, susp.; Combette (MSU) def. #79 Rico (PU) 6-3, 6-4; Acuna (PU) def. Girod (MSU) 6-2, 6-3; Luc Maasdorp (MSU) vs. Doerner (PU) 2-6, 6-1, 3-5, susp.; Rafidison (PU) def. Armstrong (MSU) 7-5, 6-1; Borzenski (PU) def. Hailey (MSU) 6-1, 6-2.
numbers preceding names indicate current national rankings