Bulldog Netmen Set To Open NCAA Action Friday Vs. VCU
State, at 12-9 overall, will enter the tournament guaranteed of its first winning season since 2001. At 6-5 in the Southeastern Conference, the Bulldogs finished tied for fourth in the league this season, their best league finish in seven years. VCU, 16-10, finished second in the Colonial Athletic Association.
MSU and VCU have met just one time in history, the lone clash coming in 1995 in the consolation draw of the Blue-Gray National Collegiate Classic in Montgomery, Ala. In that meeting, the Bulldogs downed the Rams 6-0.
State is guided by fourth-year head coach Sylvain Guichard, who has been named Co-Coach of the Year in both the SEC and the Intercollegiate Tennis Association's Southeast Region this season. VCU is led by 15th-year mentor Paul Kostin, who has guided the school to 13-straight NCAA appearances and nine CAA titles. Under his leadership, the Rams reached the NCAA title match in 2000.
The Bulldogs' top two players this season have been junior Florent Girod and true freshman Pierre Mouillon. Girod went 15-4 in dual matches and won 13 straight contests to open the season. Mouillon was 14-5 in team competition and led the squad with a 9-2 SEC mark. VCU has two players currently ranked in the top 100 nationally. Sophomore Arnaud Lecloerec is ranked 17th nationally while senior Marton Ott is 96th.
"Friday's match will be a war," Guichard said. "VCU is one of the most underrated teams in the country and will be a very tough first-round challenge for our team. It will take a great effort from our guys to move on in the tournament."
The winner of Friday's affair will move into Saturday's second round, also a 1 p.m. match, to face the Duke/SCSU winner for the right to advance to the round of 16, to be held May 21 in College Station, Texas. The final four rounds of the 2005 NCAA Men's Tennis Championship will be held in College Station, May 21-24.
Live stats of this weekend's first and second rounds will be available on Duke's athletic web site, goduke.com.