MSU Netmen Move Into NCAA Second Round With Win Over Wake; Meet No. 10 Virginia Saturday
The Bulldogs, which improved to 9-13 overall, will meet 10th-ranked host Virginia (the nation's No. 6 seed overall) Saturday afternoon at 1 p.m. ET on the UVA campus. The Cavaliers (23-3) advanced to the second round with a 4-0 blanking of American University Friday morning. MSU and UVA have never met in men's tennis competition. Saturday's match will be for a spot in the NCAA ?Sweet Sixteen", which begins next Saturday, May 22, in Tulsa, Okla.
On Friday, the Demon Deacons got out to the early 1-0 lead in the match with State by securing the doubles point, claiming identical 8-5 wins at the No. 1 and 3 spots. But MSU would come out and fight very hard in singles, claiming the first set in four of the six matches to position itself for the comeback.
Tying the score at 1-1 would be 37th-ranked senior Romain Ambert. The two-time, all-American registered a 6-0, 7-5 win over WFU's 57th-ranked Derrick Spice at the top singles position. The victory was Ambert's first since March 11, when Ambert first started feeling the effects of severe tendinitis in his ankle, an injury that was a significant factor in him, and the Bulldogs, struggling in the last two months of the season.
The Demon Deacons regained the lead when Brett Ross notched a 6-2, 6-3 triumph over Bulldog Max Fomine at the No. 4 spot, a point that would be the last of the day for Wake Forest. State evened the contest once again when sophomore Jose-Carlos Pinto finished off a tight 6-4, 7-6(4) triumph at No. 2, downing Demon Deacon Todd Paul. MSU then went up 3-2 when sophomore Florent Girod turned his match with Andrew Hamar at No. 5 to register a 2-6, 6-2, 6-2 victory.
In the final two matches of the day (courts 3 and 6), the Bulldogs had secured close first sets in both, but the second sets were fierce battles as well. At one point, Wake Forest simultaneously held set point on both courts, and would make good on the opportunity at No. 3, as David Loewenthal splits sets with MSU's Luiz Carvalho.
But at the No. 6 spot, State true freshman Arnaud Roussel would fight off his set point, along with two others with Demon Deacon Andrew Simpson serving, to complete a 6-4, 7-6(11) win that clinched the team victory for the Bulldogs. Roussel had also overcome a 4-1, two-service-break deficit in the first set in that contest.
"This was a great win for our team and our program," MSU head coach Sylvain Guichard said. ?Considering what our guys went through this season, just to get into the NCAAs was big. Winning a match is even bigger.
"But we aren't going to get complacent with the win today. We knew at the beginning of the season we had a team that was capable of being top 15 in the country. And with Romain now playing tennis like we know he can, we are starting to feel that way once again. Virginia is obviously a very good and very talented team, and they are at home. But if we give our best effort tomorrow, we will have a chance."
MSU is now 15-13 overall in the NCAA Championship, 2-2 under Guichard's guidance. The Bulldog netters have now won their opening match in 11 of their 14 consecutive NCAA appearances. Two of the three times MSU did not win its opener, the NCAAs were a 16-team event.
#29 MISSISSIPPI STATE 4, #42 WAKE FOREST 2
DOUBLES - Brett Ross/Derrick Spice (WFU) def. Luiz Carvalho/Florent Girod (MSU) 8-5; Romain Ambert/Max Fomine (MSU) vs. Andrew Hamar/David Loewenthal (WFU) 3-6, susp.; Todd Paul/Andrew Simpson (WFU) def. Matt Armstrong/Jose-Carlos Pinto (MSU) 8-5.
SINGLES - #37 Ambert (MSU) def. #57 Spice (WFU) 6-0, 7-5; Pinto (MSU) def. Paul (WFU) 6-4, 7-6(4); Carvalho (MSU) vs. Loewenthal (WFU) 7-6(6), 4-6, susp.; Ross (WFU) def. Fomine (MSU) 6-2, 6-3; Girod (MSU) def. Hamar (WFU) 2-6, 6-2, 6-2; Arnaud Roussel (MSU) def. Simpson (WFU) 6-4, 7-6(11).
(numbers preceding names are current national rankings)