State Netmen Drop 4-3 Heartbreaker To #20 Kentucky
The Wildcats won the opening point of the match in closely contesteddoubles action. State's Florent Girod and Pierre Mouillon defeated UK'sMarcus Sundh and Greg Johnstone 8-2 on the #2 court. At the #3 spotKentucky's duo of Bruno Agostinelli and Kenny Hodge won an 8-4 decision overMSU's Ryan Farlow and Philippe Frayssinoux, making the match on court #1 thedecisive match. In that match, the Bulldog tandem of Ivan Bjelica andJose-Carlos Pinto fell to Wildcats Nate Emge and Alex Hume 8-5, giving UKthe opening point.
When singles play began, the Bulldogs quickly snached the momentum fromthe Wildcats. The first match completed was at the #2 position where MSU'sBjelica downed Kentucky's 54th-ranked Agostinelli 6-4, 6-4, evening thematch at one point a piece. State senior Pinto gave the Bulldogs a 2-1advantage with a 6-4, 6-3 upset of 87th-ranked Emge at the #3 position.After dropping the first set 6-2, MSU's Mouillon fought back to win thesecond set in a tiebreaker and the third 6-3 over Kentucky's 46th-rankedHume at the #1 spot, giving State the 3-1 advantage in the match.
The Wildcats waisted no time in regaining the momemtum in the finalthree matches. Wildcat Carey Rubin gave Kentucky its second point of thematch with a 7-5, 6-7, 6-1 win over State's Frayssinoux at the #4 position.Kentucky evened the match at 3-3 when UK's Marcus Sundh beat MSU's Girod6-2, 6-3 on the #5 court. The decisive match came at the #6 position whereKentucky's Johnstone clinched the win for the Wildcats with a 6-4, 6-4 winover State's Farlow.
Kentucky (12-3, 5-0 SEC) now leads the overall series with State 20-16and nothced their fourth win in the last five meetings with the Bulldogs.Mouillon's win was his fifth straight,moving to 9-2 in dual match play thisseason, including a 4-1 mark in the SEC.
State's next action will be Sunday when the Bulldogs take on Vanderbiltin Nashville, Tenn. The match is set for 1 p.m. CT at VU's Currey TennisCenter.
Kentucky 4, Mississippi State 3
3/24/06
Lexington, Ky.
Doubles - Emge/Hume (UK) def. Bjelica/Pinto (MSU) 8-5; Mouillon/Girod (MSU)def. Johnstone/Sundh (UK) 8-2; Agostinelli/Hodge (UK) def.Farlow/Frayssinoux (MSU) 8-4.
Singles - Pierre Mouillon (MSU) def. #46 Alex Hume (UK) 2-6, 7-6, 6-3; IvanBjelica (MSU) def. #54 Bruno Agostinelli (UK) 6-4, 6-4; Jose-Carlos Pinto(MSU) def. #87 Nate Emge (UK) 6-4, 6-3; Carey Rubin (UK) def. PhilippeFrayssinoux (MSU) 7-5, 6-7, 6-1; Marcus Sundh (UK) def. Florent Girod (MSU)6-2, 6-3; Greg Johnstone (UK) def. Ryan Farlow (MSU) 6-4, 6-4.