MSU Netters Knock Off Alabama 4-3 To Earn First SEC Win
The Crimson Tide struck for the first point of the match, winning two ofthree doubles matches. The first completed was at the #2 position where theUA duo of Javier Bes and Billy Mertz knocked off State's pair of Ryan Farlowand Florent Girod 8-2. Alabama clinched the point when Dan Buikema andAndrew Felsenthal won 8-5 over the MSU tandem of Eric Lim and PierreMouillon. Ivan Bjelica and Jose-Carlos Pinto won the final doubles match atthe #1 spot by an 8-6 margin, outlasting Alabama's Joseph Jung and MathieuThibaudeau.
When singles play began, Mississippi State jumped out early, winning thefirst set in five of the six matches. State's Girod was the first off thecourt after breezing by UA's Dan Buikema 6-1, 6-1 at the #5 spot, eveningthe match at a point a piece. At the #3 position, MSU's Mouillon won isstraight sets, 6-3, 6-2, giving the Maroon and White a 2-1 lead. Alabamafought back to even the match at 2-2 when the Tide's Struyf closed outState's Lim 6-2, 6-4 at the #6 court.
With the outcome riding on the three matches left in progress, State'sPinto and Bjelica proved to be the difference. Pinto won the first set 6-2over UA's Thibaudeau at the #4 position but struggled to close out the matchin the second set. Up 4-0 in the second set, Pinto dropped the next fivegames and faced a possible third set. However, Pinto held serve twice andbroke serve once to prevail 7-5, giving State a 3-2 lead and the momentum.At the #1 position, Bjelica won the first set 6-4 and was up 4-3 overAlabama's Jung when State clinched its third point. Both players held servefor the remainder of the set, as Bjelica closed out Jung 6-4 in the secondset giving State the clinching fourth point. At the #2 spot PhilippeFrayssinoux won the first set 6-2 but could not hold on as UA's Javier Beswon the final two sets 6-3, 6-3, making the final score 4-3.
With the win, Mississippi State is now 3-1 at home this season. It wasalso State's third straight win over the Crimson Tide. Alabama fell to 4-6overall and 1-3 in the SEC with the loss. Bjelica notched his first SEC winof the season while Mouillon moved to 3-1 in conference play this year. MSUnow leads Alabama 25-20 in the overall series and have won 12 of the 22meetings in Starkville.
MSU's next action will be March 16-19 when the Bulldogs travel toMontgomery, Ala., to compete in the Blue-Gray National Tennis Classic. The18-team tournament will be played in a dual match format with the firstround beggining Thursday at the Lagoon Park Tennis Center.
MISSISSIPPI STATE 4, ALABAMA 3
3/12/06 - STARKVILLE, Miss.
Doubles - Ivan Bjelica/Jose-Carlos Pinto (MSU) def. Joseph Jung/MathieuThibaudeau (UA) 8-6; Javier Bes/Billy Mertz (UA) def. Ryan Farlow/FlorentGirod (MSU) 8-2; Dan Buikema/Andrew Felsenthal (UA) def. Eric Lim/PierreMouillon (MSU) 8-5.
Singles- Bjelica (MSU) def. Jung (UA) 6-4, 6-4; Bes (UA) def. PhilippeFrayssinoux (MSU) 2-6, 6-3, 6-3; Mouillon (MSU) def. Mertz (UA) 6-3, 6-2;Pinto (MSU) def. Thibaudeau (UA) 6-2, 7-5; Girod (MSU) def. Buikema (UA)6-1, 6-1; Sammy Struyf (UA) def. Lim (MSU) 6-2, 6-4.