Mississippi State
Kentucky
Lady Bulldog Netters Oust Kentucky For 5-2 Win In SEC Opener
March 05, 2010 | Women's Tennis
STARKVILLE, Miss. - Mississippi State's 72nd -ranked women's tennis team (8-1, 1-0) picked up its seventh-straight win of the season with a 5-2 victory against No. 69 Kentucky (1-8, 0-1) in Friday's Southeastern Conference opener at the A.J. Pitts Tennis Centre.
The victory gives Mississippi State its first win in an opening SEC match since the year 2000, when the Lady Bulldogs defeated LSU, 6-3, in Baton Rouge, La.
"Whether we won or lost, we were competitive at every court," said Lady Bulldog Head Coach Daryl Greenan. "I thought the girls did a great job of playing disciplined tennis. We had a plan and they did a good job of sticking with it."
State swept the doubles courts, taking the elusive point and an early 1-0 lead. Senior Valeriya Makarycheva and first-year player Danielle Terpko blanked their Wildcat counterparts Nicole Skates and Elle Coldiron, 8-0, before teammates Radka Ferancova and Mariia Ryzhova clinched the point with an 8-3 victory over UK's tandem of Megan Broderick and Christine Johnston at the second position. Meanwhile, the Lady Bulldog pair of Olesya Tsigvintseva and Natalia Mayuk picked up an 8-6 victory at court No. 1.
With a 1-0 advantage, State looked to the singles courts to pick up its first win of the SEC season. The Lady Bulldogs started strong with two straight-set wins at the fifth and sixth positions. Makarycheva ousted Coldiron 6-0, 6-0, while Terpko also took a 6-0, 6-0 triumph over Skates at the No. 6 court.
Up 3-0, Ryzhova came through for the Lady Bulldogs with a match-clinching 6-3, 6-2 win at court No. 4 against Piensaar, giving State the 4-0 lead.
With the match in hand, Mississippi State looked for more wins on the top three courts. The Lady Bulldogs found just that when Tsigvintseva battled through a tight match with 114th-ranked Broderick for a 7-6, 7-5 victory. Meanwhile, Mayuk and Ferancova lost hard-fought matches at the No. 2 and No. 3 courts.
Mississippi State returns to the courts Sunday to take on the 24th-ranked Vanderbilt Commodores. Match time is slated for 1 p.m. CT, with free admission to the public.
#72 MISSISSIPPI STATE 5, #69 KENTUCKY 2
3/5/10 - A.J. Pitts Tennis Centre
DOUBLES - Olesya Tsigivntseva/Natalia Mayuk (MSU) def. Caroline Lilley/Minnette Piensaar (UK) 8-6; Radka Ferancova/Mariia Ryzhova (MSU) def. Megan Broderick/Christine Johnston (UK) 8-3; Valeriya Makarycheva/Danielle Terpko (MSU) def. Nicole Skates/Elle Coldiron (UK) 8-0
SINGLES - Tsigvintseva (MSU) def. #114 Broderick (UK) 7-6 (2), 7-5; Lilley (UK) def. Ferancova (MSU) 4-6, 6-4 (10-8); Johnston (UK) def. Mayuk (MSU) 7-6, 7-5; Ryzhova (MSU) def. Pienaar (UK) 6-3, 6-2; Makarycheva (MSU) def. Coldiron (UK) 6-0, 6-0; Terpko (MSU) def. Skates (UK) 6-0, 6-0
Order of finish... DOUBLES (3, 2, 1) SINGLES (5, 6, 4, 2, 1, 3)
Players Mentioned
