Mississippi State
Texas Tech
No. 23 Bulldogs Upended By No. 42 Texas Tech As Rally Falls Short
February 01, 2015 | Men's Tennis
STARKVILLE, Miss. – Forced indoors due to inclement weather, the 23rd-ranked Mississippi State Bulldogs (5-2) were upset by the No. 42 Texas Tech Red Raiders (8-2) 4-2 in men's tennis action Sunday at McCarthy Gymnasium.
With singles playing first, the Bulldogs found themselves down 3-0 early after dropping a pair of tough three-set decisions and a straight-set affair. MSU would rally to within one, but could not complete the comeback to force doubles play.
TTU's early run began on court two, where No. 63 Tassilo Schmid and the Red Raiders' Hugo Dojas battled in a three-setter. After dropping the first set 6-1, Schmid fired back to force a third with a 6-2 decision. Play went down to the wire, as Schmid rallied back from a triple break point late to force a deuce point, but could not hold, suffering a break that led to a 6-1, 6-2, 7-5 victory for Dojas to give TTU the first point of the day.
Looking to even the score, MSU's Florian Lakat pushed his match against No. 28 Felipe Soares to a third set after taking a tiebreaker in the second frame, 7-6(3). Soares would hold on though, using a 4-0 run out of the gate in the third to take the match 6-3, 6-7(3), 6-3 at the top spot.
The Red Raiders would push their lead to 3-0 when Jolan Cailleau downed MSU's Rishab Agarwal 6-4, 6-4 at the No. 4 position.
One point away from defeat, MSU began to swing momentum, earning two-straight victories to draw within one. Juan Cruz Estevarena put together some of the best shots of the year to date, holding off TTU's Alex Sendegeya 6-0, 6-7(1), 7-5 at No. 3. Mate Cutura, playing at the No. 5 spot on Sunday, got back on the winning track, dominating Tech's Francisco Zambon 6-2, 6-1 with some stellar shots throughout his contest.
Needing one point to force doubles play, MSU turned to sophomore Robin Haden at the six spot in the lineup. Despite an excellent fight and some exciting match point saves late by Haden, Tech's Connor Curry was able to hold on for a 6-4, 6-4 victory to give the Red Raiders the win after six hours and 21 minutes of play.
MSU will remain at home for its next contest, taking to the A.J. Pitts Tennis Centre on Saturday, Feb. 7, for a doubleheader against Samford (12 p.m. CT) and New Orleans (5 p.m.).
For more information on Mississippi State men's tennis and updates, fans can follow the Bulldogs on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at HailStateMT.
No. 42 Texas Tech 4, No. 23 Mississippi State 2
February 1, 2014 – McCarthy Gymnasium – Starkville, Miss.
Singles
1. No. 28 Felipe Soares (TTU) def. Florian Lakat (MSU) 6-3, 6-7(3), 6-3
2. Hugo Dojas (TTU) def. No. 63 Tassilo Schmid (MSU) 6-1, 2-6, 7-5
3. Juan Cruz Estevarena (MSU) def. Alex Sendegeya (TTU) 6-0, 6-7(1), 7-5
4. Jolan Cailleau (TTU) def. Rishab Agarwal (MSU) 6-4, 6-4
5. Mate Cutura (MSU) def. Francisco Zambon (TTU) 6-2, 6-1
6. Connor Curry (TTU) def. Robin Haden (MSU) 6-4, 6-4
Order of finish… Singles (2,1,4,3,5,6)… Doubles (Not Contested)
Players Mentioned
