Bulldog Netmen To Battle No. 20 LSU Thursday In First Round Of SEC Championship
* Championship Bracket (PDF)
STARKVILLE, Miss. - The Mississippi State men's tennis team will open play at the SEC Championship Thursday, taking on 20th-ranked LSU at 2 p.m. This year's tournament is being hosted by the Alabama and is being played at the University of Alabama Tennis Complex in Tuscaloosa, Ala.
The 12th-seeded Bulldogs enter the tournament with a 4-13 overall record and are 1-10 in Southeastern Conference play. LSU (14-8, 7-4) is the fifth-seed in the tournament. Despite a seven match losing skid, the Bulldogs have only dropped two matches in that span to teams ranked outside the top-20. LSU is coming off two straight 4-3 setbacks to Auburn and Arkansas. The Tigers most recent loss to Arkansas kept them from claiming a share of the SEC Western Division Title. Earlier this season, LSU defeated State 7-0 in a meeting in Baton Rouge, La. The Tigers own a 13-4 lead in the overall series since 1969 and have won the last five meetings. State andLSU have met twice in the SEC Championship since it was initiated in 1990. MSU won the first meeting in the second round of the 1991Championship while LSU won in a second round matchup in the tournament when it was held in Baton Rouge, La. in 1995.
State is led by junior Ivan Bjelica, ranked 80th nationally, and sophomore Pierre Mouillon who leads the team in overall victories with 18 and dual match victories with 10. Bjelica and Mouillon are tied for the lead on the team with five SEC wins.
The Tigers have two players ranked in singles as well as two doubles teams ranked. LSU's Ken Skupski is ranked 24th nationally while Colt Gaston is ranked 110th. LSU's tandem of Skupski and Mark Growcott are ranked ninth and the duo of Gaston and Danny Bryan are ranked 30th.
"We are excited about playing in the SEC Championship this week," said MSU head coach Sylvain Guichard. "We open by playing a very talented LSU team who beat us earlier in the year. We look forward to the challenge and are ready to get back out on the court."
The winner in Thursday's match will advance to face fourth-seeded Kentucky on Friday at 2 p.m.
The Wildcats are currently ranked 30th nationally and defeated State 4-3 earlier this season in Lexington, Ky.
State is 17-15, all time in the SEC Championship and has reached at least the quarterfinals in 13 of the 15 previous tournaments.