Bulldog Netters Suffer First SEC Loss In Tight 4-3 Setback At #21 Tennessee
UT, which had not lost the opening doubles point all season, kept thatstatistic in check Sunday, as the Volunteers swept the Bulldogs in doublesaction, led by an 8-4 win from the seventh-ranked duo of Ockie Oosthuizenand Ben Rogers over State's 22nd-ranked pair of Luiz Carvalho andJose-Carlos Pinto. The point would prove to be very important, as the teamswould split the six singles contests.
First off the court was MSU true freshman Philippe Frayssinoux, whonotched a solid 6-3, 6-2 victory over Vol Morgan Wilson at the No. 3position. Tennessee regained the lead at 2-1 when 53rd-ranked Mark Dietrich,the lone UT player being honored on UT's Senior Day, held off MSU's IvanBjelica 6-4, 6-4 at the top spot in the lineup.
State tied the match again at 2-2 when rookie Pierre Mouillon extendedhis current singles win streak to eight in a row, downing UT's Kaden Hensel6-4, 6-4 at No. 5. Mouillon improved to 6-0 in SEC battles.
But the Volunteers would claim the next two matches to finish to clinchthe team win. Putting UT up 3-2 was Bobby Cameron, who won a close first setwith State's Carvalho to propel him to a 7-5, 6-1 triumph at No. 2. Thedeciding point would come at the No. 4 position. There, MSU's Pinto foundhimself down a set and a break in the second set to Tennessee's Oosthuizen.Pinto fought back to force a tiebreaker, but Oosthuizen would take thatbreaker and the match 6-3, 7-6(2).
In the last match of the day, State's Florent Girod kept his singlesrecord this season unblemished. His 6-4, 4-6, 6-0 victory over Rogers at theNo. 6 spot improved him to an incredible 12-0 in singles dual matches (6-0in the SEC) in 2005.
"We knew that Tennessee would be a tough match for us," MSU head coachSylvain Guichard said. "They are extremely good in doubles and even thoughwe gave a good comeback effort in singles, they proved to be just a littlebetter than us today. Tennessee is a very talented team.
"But we are encouraged with our position right now. To be 5-1 in the SECat this point is a testament to the hard work our guys have been putting in.We are steadily improving every time we play and that is our goal. We lookforward to starting the second half of the conference schedule nextweekend."
State will play its final SEC road affair of '05 this Friday, April 1,meeting No. 71 Arkansas in Fayetteville. MSU then returns home this Sunday,April 3, to welcome No. 16 LSU to start a four-match homestand that will endthe regular season slate. During that homestand, State will also entertainNo. 8 Florida (Apr. 8), No. 41 South Carolina (Apr. 10) and No. 6Mississippi (Apr. 16). The Florida and South Carolina matchups will be partof Super Bulldog Weekend activities.
t#21 TENNESSEE 4, #15 MISSISSIPPI STATE 3
DOUBLES - #7 Ockie Oosthuizen/Ben Rogers (UT) def. #22 LuizCarvalho/Jose-Carlos Pinto (MSU) 8-4; Mark Dietrich/Morgan Wilson (UT) def.Philippe Frayssinoux/Florent Girod (MSU) 8-5; Bobby Cameron/Kaden Hensel(UT) def. Ivan Bjelica/Pierre Mouillon (MSU) 8-4.
SINGLES - #53 Dietrich (UT) def. Bjelica (MSU) 6-4, 6-4; Cameron (UT)def. Carvalho (MSU) 7-5, 6-1; Frayssinoux (MSU) def. Wilson (UT) 6-3, 6-2;Oosthuizen (UT) def. Pinto (MSU) 6-3, 7-6(2); Mouillon (MSU) def. Hensel(UT) 6-4, 6-4; Girod (MSU) def. Rogers (UT) 6-3, 4-6, 6-0.
(numbers preceding names are current national rankings)