Mississippi State
Alabama
No. 30 Bulldogs Rebound With 4-3 Win Against No. 49 Alabama
February 22, 2015 | Men's Tennis
MONTGOMERY, Ala. – After suffering a setback yesterday, the 30th-ranked Mississippi State Bulldogs (8-3) downed SEC foe No. 49 Alabama (2-7) 4-3 on day two of the Blue Gray National Tennis Classic on Saturday afternoon.
The win was the fifth-straight and 30th all-time for the Bulldogs against their Highway 82 foes. MSU is also now 3-1 in neutral-site matches against the Crimson Tide.
For the fourth-straight match, the Bulldogs captured the doubles point to start out play, moving them to 7-2 on the year when MSU captures the opening point.
“I'm very proud of the guys for getting this win against a conference team like Alabama,” MSU coach Matt Roberts said. “We trusted in the process and grinded out the match, even when Alabama came back towards the end.”
Alabama struck first in tandem play, with a 6-2 victory on court one. UA's 20th-ranked team of Korey Lovett and Becker O'Shaughnessey downed MSU's Juan Cruz Estevarena and Florian Lakat for the early advantage, but that would not derail the Bulldogs.
Julian Cash and Robin Haden evened the playing field with a 6-4 victory against the Crimson Tide's Andrew Goodwin and Danny Kerznerman. The 48th-ranked duo of Mate Cutura and Tassilo Schmid sealed MSU's 1-0 advantage, earning a break to cap a 7-5 victory against UA's Sean Donohue and Stuart Kenyon on court two.
State started off singles play with a solid two-set victory on court one, as the 97th-ranked Lakat defeated Alabama's Lovett 6-2, 6-2 to give State a 2-0 advantage.
After Lakat's victory, MSU captured the first set on courts two and six. Alabama would strike back on court four, cutting the State lead to one with a 6-4, 6-1 from UA's Nikko Madregallojo against MSU's Cash.
MSU would return the favor on court two, as No. 99 Estevarena downed UA's O'Shaughnessey 6-4, 6-3 to put State one away from victory.
But Alabama would earn the next two points. On court five, Kenyon defeated MSU's Cutura 7-5, 6-4 to make it only a one-point deficit. 'Bama would even it up at 3-all on court three, as Kerznerman downed MSU's No. 84 Schmid 7-5, 6-4.
All eyes would then be on court six, as MSU's Rishab Agarwal and UA's Donohue would battle it out in a three-set contest. Agarwal would take the first set, 6-3, but Donohue would fire back, forcing a third set with a 6-4 second-set victory. Agarwal would come through in the clutch, jumping out of the gates to take the third set and wrap the match in Maroon and White with a 6-3, 4-6, 6-0 victory.
“I'm also very proud of Rishab for closing out the match in impressive fashion,” Roberts said. “He played with a lot of confidence in that third set and it really helped him earn that win.”
State will return to action for the final match of the Blue Gray National Tennis Classic on Sunday, with a contest against No. 35 Auburn set for 3 p.m. CT. Due to the possibility of inclement weather, the status of tomorrow's match will be evaluated at 6 a.m., Sunday morning.
“It always helps to play conference teams before we get into SEC play,” Roberts said. “This match not only helps us going into tomorrow's contest against Auburn, but heading into SEC play next week.”
For more information on Mississippi State men's tennis and updates, fans can follow the Bulldogs on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at HailStateMT.
No. 30 Mississippi State 4, No. 49 Alabama 0
February 21, 2014 – Lagoon Park Tennis Center – Montgomery, Ala.
Doubles
1. No. 20 Korey Lovett/Becker O'Shaughnessey (UA) def. Juan Cruz Estevarena/Florian Lakat (MSU) 6-2
2. No. T-48 Mate Cutura/Tassilo Schmid (MSU) def. Sean Donohue/Stuart Kenyon (UA) 7-5
3. Julian Cash/Robin Haden (MSU) def. Andrew Goodwin/Danny Kerznerman (UA) 6-4
Singles
1. No. 97 Lakat (MSU) def. Lovett (UA) 6-2, 6-2
2. No. 99 Estevarena (MSU) def. O'Shaughnessey (UA) 6-4, 6-3
3. Kerznerman (UA) def. No. 84 Schmid (MSU) 7-5, 6-4
4. Nikko Madregallojo (UA) def. Cash (MSU) 6-4, 6-1
5. Kenyon (UA) def. Cutura (MSU) 7-5, 6-4
6. Rishab Agarwal (MSU) def. Donohue (UA) 6-3, 4-6, 6-0
Order of finish… Doubles (1,3,2)… Singles (1,4,2,5,3,6)
Players Mentioned
