Mississippi State
Georgia
Lady Bulldogs Miss Out On Near Upset Of No. 13 Georgia In 4-3 Battle
April 02, 2010 | Women's Tennis
STARKVILLE, Miss. - The 72nd-ranked Mississippi State women's tennis team dropped a heartbreaking 4-3 decision on beautiful Friday afternoon at the A.J. Pitts Tennis Centre to 13th-ranked Lady Bulldogs of Georgia.
UGA took a 3-0 lead before State surged back to even the score, when all eyes turned to court number four, where the Georgia Lady Bulldogs eventually clinched the match in a very tight two-set battle. With the loss, MSU (9-8, 1-6 SEC) fell to 0-32 all-time against Georgia and dropped its fourth-straight match, while UGA (11-4, 7-0 SEC) remains perfect in league play.
"We put ourselves in a position to earn one of the team's biggest wins ever," said first-year head coach Daryl Greenan. "Olesya's (Tsigvintseva) win over the #29 player in the nation was certainly a highlight. We are determined to get the most out of the remainder of the season and today was a great start."
MSU fell behind early after dropping the doubles point. At the No. 1 position, Lady Bulldog tandem Radka Ferancova and Danielle Terpko were blanked by UGA's 10th-ranked doubles team Nadja Gilchrist and Chelsey Gullickson, 8-0. UGA would clinch the doubles point at the No. 2 slot when MSU's Natalia Mayuk and Olesya Tsigivntseva fell 8-3 to Cameron Ellis and Yvette Hyndman of Georgia. Georgia completed the sweep in doubles at No. 3, where State duo Valeriya Makarycheva and Mariia Ryzhova were downed by Lara Fakhoury and Naoko Ueshima of UGA, 8-5.
The Lady Bulldogs of Georgia would gain momentum in singles and extend its lead to 2-0 with a win at the No. 3 spot when MSU sophomore Mayuk fell 6-0, 6-2 to UGA's Hyndman. At the No. 1 position, State's Ferancova slipped up to 10th-ranked Gullickson of Georgia, 6-1, 6-2, to extend UGA's lead to 3-0.
The MSU Lady Bulldogs began their rally at the No. 2 slot, where Lady Bulldog sophomore Tsigivntseva upset No. 29 nationally ranked Gilchrist of UGA in dramatic come-from-behind fashion. Tsigivntseva dropped the first set 6-3, but rebounded soundly in set two, 6-1. Tsigivntseva did not let up in the third set, eventually claiming the match, 6-2, giving the Lady Bulldogs their first point of the afternoon.
Down 3-1, MState's freshman Terpko claimed a straight-set win at the No. 6 spot to help the Lady Bulldogs move within one point of Georgia. Terpko downed Georgia's Fakhoury, 6-2, 7-5, to make the score 3-2 in favor of Georgia.
At the No. 5 position, State freshman Ryzhova's come-from-behind win evened the score for MSU. Ryzhova dropped the opening set to Georgia's Ellis, 6-1, but responded with a 6-3 win in the second set. With the momentum in Ryzhova's favor, she went on to win the third set 6-2, and claim the match.
With the score tied at three-all, all the focus turned to court four, where Lady Bulldog senior Makarycheva was fighting a tight battle with UGA's Ueshima. Makarycheva had a steady lead in the opening set before Ueshima stormed back to force a tiebreaking decision eventually coming out in Georgia's favor, 7-6(7). With the match on the line and down 5-2, Ueshima went on to win the next five games and claim the match 7-5, giving Georgia the 4-3 victory.
The Lady Bulldogs will return to the courts this Easter Sunday with a 1 p.m. match against the 14th-ranked Tennessee Lady Volunteers. Admission is free to all MSU home tennis matches.
#13 GEORGIA 4, #72 MISSISSIPPI STATE 3
Starkville, Miss. - 4/2/10
DOUBLES
No. 1 - #10 Chelsey Gullickson/Nadja Gilchrist (UGA) def. Radka Ferankova/Danielle Terpko (MSU) 8-0
No. 2 - Cameron Ellis/Yvette Hyndman (UGA) def. Natalia Mayuk/Olesya Tsigivntseva (MSU) 8-3
No. 3 - Lara Fakhoury/Naoko Ueshima (UGA) def. Valeriya Makarycheva/Mariia Ryzhova (MSU) 8-5
Order of Finish: 1,2,3
SINGLES
No. 1 - #10 Gullickson (UGA) def. Ferancova (MSU) 6-1, 6-2
No. 2 - Tsigivntseva (MSU) def. #29 Gilchrist (UGA) 3-6, 6-1, 6-2
No. 3 - Hyndman (UGA) def. Mayuk (MSU) 6-0, 6-2
No. 4 - Ueshima (UGA) def. Makarycheva (MSU) 7-6(7), 7-5
No. 5 - Ryzhova (MSU) def. Ellis (UGA) 1-6, 6-3, 6-2
No. 6 - Terpko (MSU) def. Fakhoury (UGA) 6-2, 7-5
Order of Finish: 3,1,2,6,5,4
Players Mentioned
