#15 MSU Netmen Continue To Roll; Upset #7 Georgia In Athens, 4-3
The victory improved State to 10-3 overall. With Georgia and No. 21Tennessee both suffering their first league losses Friday, MSU is now tiedfor the Southeastern Conference lead with sixth-ranked Mississippi andeighth-ranked Florida at 5-0, MSU's best SEC start since a 6-0 beginning in1997. Georgia, which only had losses to Illinois and Duke, ranked No. 2 and4 nationally at present, on its ledger this season, fell to 12-3 overall,4-1 in SEC action, while having a 21-match home winning streak broken byMSU. The win was also only State's second ever in Athens, the other comingin the team's last trip there in 2003.
State went up 2-0 in the match early on, only to see Georgia regain a3-2 advantage with three straight wins. But the last two matches of the daywould belong to the Bulldogs from Starkville. The true freshman Mouillonregistered a 5-7, 6-3, 6-1 win, his seventh in a row, over Georgia'sStrahinja Bobusic at the No. 4 position to tie the match at 3-3. Then, thesophomore Roussel notched his third match-clinching victory of 2005,claiming a 6-7(4), 6-1, 6-3 upset win over UGA's 63rd-ranked Matias Ormazaat No. 6. Roussel won on the fourth match point with Ormaza serving at 3-5in the third set.
State gained the early lead on the day by claiming the doubles point.After 22nd-ranked Bulldogs Luiz Carvalho and Jose-Carlos Pinto dropped an8-4 decision to Georgia's second-ranked tandem of John Isner and AntonioRuiz at the top position, MSU rallied for wins at No. 2 and 3. At No. 2,MSU's duo of Philippe Frayssinoux and Florent Girod upended UGA's51st-ranked team of Bobusic and Colin Purcell 8-6. Then, State's pair ofIvan Bjelica and Mouillon pulled out a tight 9-7 decision from Georgia'sRicardo Gonzalez and Matic Omerzel. It marked only the fifth time thisseason UGA had dropped the doubles point and the first time in its lasteight outings. MSU grabbed a 2-0 lead in the match when Girod continued his torrid pacethis season. The junior from Belfort, France, turned in a 6-4, 6-2 decisionover Purcell at the No. 4 singles position to remain perfect (now 11-0) insingles dual matches this year. Girod has dropped only one set in those 11decisions.
Georgia got its first point of the day when Isner, ranked 13thnationally, finished off a 6-1, 7-5 victory over State's Bjelica, who wasplaying No. 1 singles for the first time during his career. UGA tied thematch when Omerzel, ranked 68th in the country, claimed a tight 7-6(3), 6-4triumph over State's Pinto at No. 3. That was followed by a 6-1, 2-6, 7-5win from Ruiz, ranked 61st, who held off the MSU rookie Frayssinoux 6-1,2-6, 7-5 at No. 2. Frayssinoux held two match points in that contest whenleading 5-4 in the third set.
"This was an incredible effort by our team," MSU head coach SylvainGuichard said. "We knew when we won the doubles point, we had a chance, butGeorgia put our backs to the wall in singles, winning the first set in fiveof the matches. But we found a way to get the job done again. I am veryproud of the way our guys are working and improving, and those things arereally paying off for us right now.
"But as it always is in the SEC, we have to get ready for yet anothervery difficult match on Sunday in Knoxville. Tennessee is every bit astalented as Georgia. I can assure you there aren't 20 other programs in thecountry that are better than Tennessee right now. They are a top 10-levelteam. We will have to be very prepared once again."
The Bulldogs and 21st-ranked Volunteers will square off Sunday afternoonat 1 p.m. ET at UT's Varsity Courts. Tennessee, which dropped a 5-2 decisionto No. 6 Mississippi on Friday, is 9-3, 4-1 in the SEC, with all three ofits losses having come to teams currently ranked in the top 6 in the nation.
Following Sunday's action, State closes out its current five-match roadswing at No. 71 Arkansas next Friday, April 1. MSU then returns home April 3to welcome No. 16 LSU to start a four-match homestand that will end theregular season slate. During that homestand, State will also host No. 8Florida (Apr. 8), No. 41 South Carolina (Apr. 10) and No. 6 Mississippi(Apr. 16). The Florida and South Carolina matchups will be part of SuperBulldog Weekend activities.
#15 MISSISSIPPI STATE 4, #7 GEORGIA 3
DOUBLES - #2 John Isner/Antonio Ruiz (UGA) def. #22 LuizCarvalho/Jose-Carlos Pinto (MSU) 8-4; Philippe Frayssinoux/Florent Girod(MSU) def. #51 Strahinja Bobusic/Colin Purcell (UGA) 8-6; IvanBjelica/Pierre Mouillon (MSU) def. Ricardo Gonzalez/Matic Omerzel (UGA) 9-7.
SINGLES - #13 Isner (UGA) def. Bjelica (MSU) 6-1, 7-5; #61 Ruiz (UGA)def. Frayssinoux (MSU) 6-1, 2-6, 7-5; #68 Omerzel (UGA) def. Pinto (MSU);7-6(3), 6-4; Mouillon (MSU) def. Bobusic (UGA) 5-7, 6-3, 6-1; Girod (MSU)def. Purcell (UGA) 6-4, 6-2; Arnaud Roussel (MSU) def. #63 Matias Ormaza(UGA) 6-7(4), 6-1, 6-3.
(numbers preceding names are current national rankings)