#15 Netmen Fall To #22 South Carolina 5-2
The loss dropped MSU to 11-7 overall, 6-4 in Southeastern Conferenceaction. USC improved to 18-7, 6-4 in the league, while taking its fourthstraight win over the Bulldogs. MSU still leads the series with theGamecocks 12-5.
The Gamecocks got the early lead on Sunday, registering doubles wins atthe No. 1 and 2 positions for the first point of the afternoon. No. 2finished first with USC's duo of Jaime Cuellar and Tom Eklund taking an 8-4decision from Bulldogs Philippe Frayssinoux and Florent Girod. At No. 1,Gamecocks Geraldo Knorr and Pedro Rodrigues edged State's 37th-ranked tandemof Luiz Carvalho and Jose-Carlos Pinto 9-8(2).
In singles, South Carolina gained control of the match by taking thefirst set in four contests. MSU evened the score at 1-all when the seniorCarvalho broke a seven-match losing skid with a solid 6-4, 6-0 win overDmitry Babenko at No. 4. Ben Atkinson put USC back on top 2-1 with a 6-3,6-4 decision over State's Girod at the No. 6 spot.
The Gamecocks went up 3-1 when Rodrigues held off the MSU rookieFrayssinoux 6-4, 1-6, 6-4 at the No. 2 position in an emotional matchup. MSUtrimmed the lead to 3-2 when true freshman Pierre Mouillon claimed his 11thwin in 12 outings, rallying to down the 106th-ranked Cuellar 3-6, 6-4, 6-1at No. 3.
The match clincher for South Carolina came at the No. 1 position. It wasthere that Eklund, ranked 41st nationally, grabbed a tight win over State'sIvan Bjelica, edging him in two tiebreakers 7-6(8), 7-6(3). The final pointof the day would also go the way of the Gamecocks, as Knorr came back todown State's Pinto 4-6, 6-4, 6-2 at No. 5.
MSU concludes its 2005 regular season slate next Saturday, April 16,hosting fourth-ranked, arch-rival Mississippi. First serve is slated for 1p.m. at the Pitts Tennis Centre. MSU will then compete in the 2005 SECChampionship, to be held April 21-24 in Athens, Ga.
#22 SOUTH CAROLINA 5, #15 MISSISSIPPI STATE 2
DOUBLES - Geraldo Knorr/Pedro Rodrigues (USC) def. #37 LuizCarvalho/Jose-Carlos Pinto (MSU) 9-8(2); Jaime Cuellar/Tom Eklund (USC) def.Philippe Frayssinoux/Florent Girod (MSU) 8-4; Ivan Bjelica/Pierre Mouillon(MSU) def. Ben Atkinson/Dmitry Babenko (USC) 9-8(4).
SINGLES - #41 Eklund (USC) def. Bjelica (MSU) 7-6(8), 7-6(3); Rodrigues(USC) def. Frayssinoux (MSU) 6-4, 1-6, 6-4; Mouillon (MSU) def. #106 Cuellar(USC) 3-6, 6-4, 6-1; Carvalho (MSU) def. Babenko (USC) 6-4, 6-0; Knorr (USC)def. Pinto (MSU) 4-6, 6-4, 6-2; Atkinson (USC) def. Girod (MSU) 6-3, 6-4.
(numbers preceding names are current national rankings)