Bulldogs Set For Road Contest With Arkansas
State enters Friday's match, led by reigning SEC player of the week recipient Ivan Bjelica. The junior from Belgrade, Serbia is 22-10 this season, including a 10-1 mark at the #1 singles position. Bjelica has also accumulated a 5-1 record in SEC competition. Sophomore Ryan Farlow has won two straight matches and has upped his dual match record this season to 9-3. Freshman Chris Doerr is coming off a pair of wins this past weekend and improved his dual match record to 5-1. Freshman Artem Kuznetsov snapped a seven match losing skid this weekend as he won a match at the #3 position while junior Philippe Frayssinoux also picked up a win at the #2 spot.
Arkansas (7-15, 0-6) is coming off a pair of losses this past weekend at Florida and at South Carolina. The Razorbacks are led this season by sophomore Blake Strode. The Saint Louis, Mo., native is 12-7 this season at #1 singles and is 21-10 overall. In doubles, UA's tandem of Strode and Colin Mascall are 13-4 at the #1 spot and are 17-5 overall.
Mississippi State leads the overall series with Arkansas 18-6. The Bulldogs also hold a 7-2 advantage in matches played in Fayatteville. In the meeting last season, Arkansas won a close 4-3 decision in Starkville.
Following Friday's match, the Bulldog netmen will return home to face #13 LSU on Sunday. Match time is slated for 1 p.m. at the A.J. Pitts Tennis Centre.