#39 Bulldog Netmen Upset #12 Kentucky 5-2
The Bulldogs (6-3, 1-0 SEC), broke a three-match losing streak to the Wildcats (7-4, 0-1) while improving to 5-1 at home this season. The win also marked State's second-highest ranked win over an opponent under head coach Sylvain Guichard's guidance. The highest-rated squad MSU has defeated under Guichard was also the Wildcats in a 4-3 decision in Lexington in 2002 when UK was ranked No. 4 in the country.
Kentucky gained the early lead in Friday's match by posting wins at the No. 1 and 3 doubles positions. But State made a furious rally in singles, winning the first set in four matches to help set up the victory.
Evening the contest at 1-1 was true freshman Philippe Frayssinoux, who nearly shutout Wildcat Matt Emery at the No. 2 spot, posting a 6-1, 6-0 victory. State took a 2-1 advantage in the contest with a 6-2, 6-3 win from junior Florent Girod at the No. 6 position. Girod remained perfect (7-0) in dual matches this season and has not dropped a set yet this spring.
Kentucky reknotted the score at 2-2 with a 6-1, 7-6(3) victory from third-ranked senior Jesse Witten, as he bested State's Luiz Carvalho at the top spot in the lineup. MSU then gained a 3-2 lead in the match when sophomore Ivan Bjelica completed a 6-4, 6-2 upset of UK's 41st-ranked Nate Emge at No. 3.
The last two matches of the day would both go three sets and the Bulldogs would ultimately claim victory in both affairs. Pierre Mouillon would prove to be the match-clincher for State. The true freshman from Le Perreux, France, overcame a one-set deficit to notch a 4-6, 6-3, 6-1 win over Alex Hume at the No. 5 position to hand the Bulldogs the win.
In the last match of the day, MSU's Jose-Carlos Pinto, after winning the first set, found himself down 5-2 and two service breaks in the third set. But the junior rallied back to force a tiebreaker and claim a 6-4, 3-6, 7-6(2) win over Wildcat Tigran Martirosyan at No. 4.
"With the youth that we have on this team, we knew going into the year that we would lose some matches we probably shouldn't and we have done that couple of times early this year. But we also knew that there would be some days like this one, where we would pull off some upsets," MSU head coach Sylvain Guichard said. "If we had let up for one second today after we were in position to win, Kentucky could have taken this away from us.
"But our team did a great job of working to finish their matches and that's a big step forward for us. We are gaining valuable experience every time we play. Now we have to turn around and get ready for another big challenge Sunday against a talented Vanderbilt team."
State closes out its current five-match homestand Sunday, hosting the 31st-ranked Commodores at 1 p.m. at the Pitts Tennis Centre. VU (8-2) dropped its SEC opener at fifth-ranked Mississippi Friday afternoon.
#39 MISSISSIPPI STATE 5, #12 KENTUCKY 2
DOUBLES - #49 Tigran Martirosyan/Jesse Witten (UK) def. #15 Luiz Carvalho/Jose-Carlos Pinto (MSU) 8-5; Philippe Frayssinoux/Florent Girod (MSU) def. Matt Emery/Marcus Sundh (UK) 8-5; Nate Emge/Alex Hume (UK) def. Ivan Bjelica/Florent Girod (MSU) 8-2.
SINGLES - #3 Witten (UK) def. Carvalho (MSU) 6-1, 7-6(3); Frayssinoux (MSU) def. Emery (UK) 6-1, 6-0; Bjelica (MSU) def. #41 Emge (UK) 6-4, 6-2; Pinto (MSU) def. Martirosyan (UK) 6-4, 3-6, 7-6(2); Mouillon (MSU) def. Hume (UK) 4-6, 6-3, 6-1; Girod (MSU) def. Nolan Polley (UK) 6-2, 6-3.
(numbers preceding names are current national rankings)