Mississippi State
Auburn
No. 42 MSU Men?s Tennis Blanks No. 39 Auburn To Close Road Trip
March 15, 2015 | Men's Tennis
AUBURN, Ala. – It may have taken a bit of battling, but once the Bulldogs were rolling, a road win in Auburn seemed inevitable. The No. 42 Mississippi State Bulldogs (12-4, 3-1 SEC) shutout the No. 39 Auburn Tigers (11-6, 1-4 SEC) 4-0 Sunday afternoon on the Plains, earning their fifth win in the last six matches.
With the win, MSU improved to 26-21 all time against AU, with a 12-8 record in Auburn. State has also won seven of its last eight against the Tigers.
“Very proud of the way our guys responded today after Friday's match,” MSU coach Matt Roberts said. “They came out prepared and focused and took care of business in singles and doubles.”
After slipping in doubles on Friday, the Bulldogs returned to form on Sunday, taking down Auburn at the top two spots to win the doubles point for the 11th time in the last 12 contests. The win also propelled MSU to 11-2 when winning the opening point.
Despite all three singles wins coming in straight sets, the Bulldogs had to do some work on courts one and four before pulling out the win. Mate Cutura dominated his match on three with ease, but No. 112 Florian Lakat and Julian Cash used first-set rallies to catalyze a pair of wins to clinch the victory.
Doubles play was tight to begin on all courts between the Bulldogs and Tigers. However, breaks on courts one and two midway through the matches gave the MSU tandems the edge they needed to pull away. The 46th-ranked duo of Cash and Lakat improved to 4-0 this spring and 3-0 in SEC play with a 6-3 win against Auburn's Marko Krickovic and Oliver Plaskett at the top spot.
While court three was locked in a back-and-forth battle, the MSU team of Juan Cruz Estevarena and Robin Haden picked up their second dual match win with a 6-3 triumph of AU's Lukas Ollert and Joseph Van Dooren at the No. 2 spot to clinch the match's opening point.
On three, State's Cutura and Rishab Agarwal were up 5-4 at the clinch against the Tigers' Maxime Hinnisdaels and Petar Tomic.
Auburn would look to push State to the brink during singles play, seeming to have the momentum early on. Despite a quick first-set win for Cutura on court three, Auburn would fire back with three first sets of their own on courts two, five and six. Meanwhile, the Tigers looked poised to take another at one.
Then the Bulldogs hit overdrive, as Lakat battled from down a break to take a first-set tiebreaker, 7-6(1), and Cash pulled away to take his opening set, 7-5. Shortly after, Cutura put the final touches on his match, defeating AU's No. 103 Hinnisdaels 6-1, 6-2 in his first-career ranked victory.
Cutura would later be joined in the winner's circle by Cash, the reigning SEC Freshman of the Week. The Brighton, England, native held off the Tigers' Dante Saleh 7-5, 6-3 on court four. No. 112 Lakat would then put the nail in the coffin for MSU, defeating Auburn's No. 59 Ollert 7-6(1), 6-4 for his 35th career win and the clincher for State.
Play on the remaining courts was suspended at clinch, with all three contests in third sets. At No. 2, AU's No. 121 Krickovic led Estevarena 6-1, 3-6, 2-1. Agarwal was battling the Tigers' Van Dooren 3-6, 6-3, 3-3 on court five and State's Haden was up 2-6, 6-4, 3-0 against AU's Plaskett.
“I'm also very proud of the play of Mate [Cutura] recently,” Roberts said. “He's been playing unbelievable and was huge in getting the momentum on our side in singles. Also cannot say enough about Robin Haden's play today. He did great, especially in doubles, which was big for us because it got us the early lead.”
“Overall, this win was huge heading into this crucial stretch of matches back at home,” Roberts said.
MSU will now return home for a three-match home stand at the A.J. Pitts Tennis Centre. State will host No. 9 Texas A&M on Friday, March 20, at 5 p.m. CT, followed by No. 33 LSU on Sunday, March 22, at 1 p.m. The Bulldogs will close the stretch with a Wednesday, March 25, showdown with in-state rival No. 13 Ole Miss at 3 p.m. (rescheduled from earlier this season).
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 Mississippi State 4, No. 39 Auburn 0
March 15, 2015 – Yarbrough Tennis Center – Auburn, Ala.
Doubles
1. No. 46 Julian Cash/Florian Lakat (MSU) def. Marko Krickovic/Oliver Plaskett (AU) 6-3
2. Juan Cruz Estevarena/Robin Haden (MSU) def. Lukas Ollert/Joseph Van Dooren (AU) 6-3
3. Rishab Agarwal/Mate Cutura (MSU) vs. Maxime Hinnisdaels/Petar Tomic (AU) 5-4(susp.)
Singles
1. No. 112 Lakat (MSU) def. No. 59 Ollert (AU) 7-6(1), 6-4
2. Estevarena (MSU) vs. No. 121 Krickovic (AU) 1-6, 6-3, 1-2(susp.)
3. Cutura (MSU) def. No. 103 Hinnisdaels (AU) 6-1, 6-2
4. Cash (MSU) def. Dante Saleh (AU) 7-5, 6-3
5. Agarwal (MSU) vs. Van Dooren (AU) 3-6, 6-3, 3-3(susp.)
6. Haden (MSU) vs. Plaskett (AU) 2-6, 6-4, 3-0(susp.)
Order of finish… Doubles (1,2)… Singles (3,4,1)
Players Mentioned
