Mississippi State
Jackson State
No. 21 Bulldog Men?s Tennis Sweeps Season-Opening Doubleheader
January 18, 2015 | Men's Tennis
STARKVILLE, Miss. – Day one of the Matt Roberts era ended in dominating fashion, as the Mississippi State men's tennis Bulldogs swept a season-opening doubleheader at the A.J. Pitts Tennis Centre. MSU defeated Jackson State, 7-0, and Alabama State, 4-0, on Saturday.
The win gives Roberts his first two career victories as a head coach and gives MSU wins in its season opener for the fourth-straight season.
State started off the 7-0 victory against the Tigers with a strong showing in doubles. MSU's team of Rishab Agarwal and Florian Lakat downed JSU's Hernan Gerla and Styllanon Gkontsaris 6-2 on court three to start off doubles play. The clinching victory came on court two as State's Juan Cruz Estevarena and Robin Haden defeated the Tiger tandem of Miguel Martin and Richie Agarwal, 6-3.
Play on court one was suspended at the clinch, with the Bulldogs' Mate Cutura and Tassilo Schmid leading JSU's Carlos Martinez and Camilo Patino, 5-3.
In singles, MSU did not relinquish a set and only dropped six total games against the Tigers. Estevarena was the first off the court, dominating JSU's Martin 6-0, 6-0 at the No. 3 position. Agarwal, Lakat and No. 63 Schmid all executed near-perfect matches, all picking up 6-1, 6-0 wins, with the clincher coming on court one from Lakat.
Singles play wrapped with Cutura picking up a 6-2, 6-1 win on court four against the Tigers' Agarwal and Haden sealing the 7-0 win with a 6-1, 7-5 victory versus JSU's Gerla on No. 6.
State picked up where it left off when it took on Alabama State in the afternoon matchup. Doubles play kicked off with a 6-0 win from Lakat and Estevarena against the Hornets' Divijay Singh Naruka and Patrik Cvik at the No. 1 position. The clinching win came on the second court of play, with Cutura and Schmid picking up their first doubles win of the season, downing ASU's Adam Coyne and Ronald Mataba 6-4.
Play on court three was suspended when MSU took the 1-0 lead, with Agarwal and Haden leading ASU's duo of Takura Mlambo and Karlo Skovrc, 5-2.
State capped off the day with a trio of singles victories to seal the 4-0 win. Agarwal led off with a 6-1, 6-0 defeat of the Hornets' Nakura on court five. Haden and Lakat followed suit, both firing off wins in rapid succession. Haden downed ASU's Coyne 6-1, 6-1 on court six and Lakat defeated the Hornets' Mataba 6-2, 6-0 on the top court to clinch the victory.
Play on the final three courts was suspended with MSU's No. 63 Schmid leading 6-4, 1-0 on court two, Estevarena leading 6-1, 3-3 on court three and Cutura leading 6-2, 3-1 on court four.
“Today was a great way to kick off the season getting two wins,” Roberts said. “Doubleheaders are always a challenge to stay sharp and focused all day and our guys did a great job of staying in the zone. We are looking forward to two hard training days to prepare for our ITA Kick-Off Weekend in Berkeley, Calif.”
The Bulldogs will head out west for the 2015 ITA Kick-Off Weekend in Berkeley, Calif, next weekend. State will face No. 28 North Carolina State on Friday, Jan. 23, at 3 p.m. CT., and close out the weekend against either host No. 15 California or No. 29 Harvard on Saturday, Jan. 24. The winners of the Kick-off Weekend sites around the country advance to the ITA National Indoor Championships, which will be held Feb. 13-16 at the University of Illinois.
For more information on Mississippi State men's tennis and updates, fans can follow the Bulldogs on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at HailStateMT.
No. 21 Mississippi State 7, Jackson State 0
January 17, 2014 – A.J. Pitts Tennis Centre – Starkville, Miss.
Doubles
1. Mate Cutura/Tassilo Schmid (MSU) vs. Carlos Martinez/Camilo Patino (JSU) 5-3(susp.)
2. Juan Cruz Estevarena/Robin Haden (MSU) def. Richie Agarwal/Miguel Gomez Martin (JSU) 6-3
3. Rishab Agarwal/Florian Lakat (MSU) def. Hernan Gerla/Styllanon Gkontsaris (JSU) 6-2
Singles
1. Lakat (MSU) def. Martinez (JSU) 6-1, 6-0
2. No. 63 Schmid (MSU) def. Patino (JSU) 6-1, 6-0
3. Estevarena (MSU) def. Martin (JSU) 6-0, 6-0
4. Cutura (MSU) def. Agarwal (JSU) 6-2, 6-1
5. Agarwal (MSU) def. Gkontsaris (JSU) 6-1, 6-0
6. Haden (MSU) def. Gerla (JSU) 6-1, 7-5
Order of finish… Doubles (3,2)… Singles (3,5,1,2,4,6)
No. 21 Mississippi State 4, Alabama State 0
January 17, 2014 – A.J. Pitts Tennis Centre – Starkville, Miss.
Doubles
1. Estevarena/Lakat (MSU) def. Divijay Singh Naruka/Patrik Cvik (ASU) 6-0
2. Cutura/Schmid (MSU) def. Adam Coyne/Ronald Mataba (ASU) 6-4
3. Agarwal/Haden (MSU) vs. Takura Mlambo/Karlo Skovrc (ASU) 5-2(susp.)
Singles
1. Lakat (MSU) def. Mataba (ASU) 6-2, 6-0
2. No. 63 Schmid (MSU) vs. Mlambo (ASU) 6-4, 1-0(susp.)
3. Estevarena (MSU) vs. Cvik (ASU) 6-1, 3-3(susp.)
4. Cutura (MSU) vs. Skovrc (ASU) 6-2, 3-1(susp.)
5. Agarwal (MSU) def. Nakura (ASU) 6-1, 6-0
6. Haden (MSU) def. Coyne (ASU) 6-1, 6-1
Order of finish… Doubles (1,2)… Singles (5,6,1)
Players Mentioned
