Mississippi State
Arkansas
No. 48 Bulldog Men?s Tennis Sweeps Pair of Saturday Contests
March 08, 2015 | Men's Tennis
STARKVILLE, Miss. – In their final doubleheader of the season, the 48th-ranked Mississippi State Bulldogs (11-3, 2-0 SEC) swept a pair of matches on Saturday, including a conference victory against No. 55 Arkansas.
In an all-day affair at the A.J. Pitts Tennis Centre, the Bulldogs earned their eighth shutout of the season, blanking the Razorbacks (11-6, 1-2 SEC), 4-0, followed by a 6-1 win against the Nicholls State Colonels (1-7).
MSU captured the doubles point in both matches, making it 10-straight contests that the Bulldogs have earned the match's first point. The wins also moved MSU to 10-2 on the season when winning tandem play.
After clinching a 4-0 victory last weekend at Alabama behind the play of three returnees, State used wins from three newcomers to clinch play against the Razorbacks and move to 2-0 in 2015 conference play.
State picked up wins on five singles courts to seal a 6-1 defeat of the Colonels in the day's finale, giving MSU wins in six of its last seven matches.
Doubles play against the Razorbacks was a tight affair, with MSU needing its top two squads to pull out the win. After a 6-3 win on court one from the No. 27 duo of Julian Cash and Florian Lakat against UA's Santiago Munoz and Branch Terrell, the Razorbacks tallied a win on court three. MSU's Juan Cruz Estevarena and Robin Haden fell there 7-5 to the Razorback duo of William Albanese and Johan den Toom.
Play would come down to court two, where the 46th-ranked State team of Mate Cutura and Tassilo Schmid picked up their ninth-straight win, defeating Arkansas' Giammarco Micolani and Jovan Parlic 7-5 to clinch the opening point.
Singles proved to be less of an issue for the Bulldogs, as they would earn straight-set wins on courts two, four and five. Cash started off the scoring on court five with a 6-1, 6-4 victory against UA's Munoz, earning his first career SEC win. Court two followed suit, as Estevarena used a 6-1, 6-2 win against Arkansas' Parlic to put MSU one point away from victory.
The clincher would come on court four, as Cutura improved to 4-0 at home with a 6-2, 6-3 win against UA's Albanese.
Play would halt for the remaining matches after the clinch. UA's Micolani led No. 114 Lakat 6-4, 1-3 on court one, No. 96 Schmid led the Razorbacks' den Toom 7-5, 1-2 on three and Rishab Agarwal led UA's David Herrerias 6-3, 2-2 on six.
The day's second match started off with MSU yet again taking the doubles point. Despite a 6-3 faltering by MSU's Estevarena and Haden against NSU's Evan Karatzas and Sam Meessen on court three, State would pull out wins at the top spots to clinch. The No. 27 duo of Cash and Lakat improved to 2-0 this spring with a 6-3 defeat of the Colonels' Kieran Cronin and Bernard Wezeman on court one.
The clincher again came on court two, as the No. 46 tandem of Cutura and Schmid clinched doubles for a seventh time this season, defeating Partha Adavelly and Lukas Clemens 6-4. The MSU team moved to 10-0 in the spring, holding the best doubles record in the SEC to date.
MSU would use wins on courts four, five and one to clinch the overall match against the Colonels. Cash picked up a 6-1, 6-1 win against NSU's Wezeman on court four, followed quickly by a 6-2, 6-0 win on court five from Agarwal against the Colonels' Cronin.
No. 114 Lakat would seal the victory for State, picking up a 6-3, 6-1 victory against NSU's Karatzas at the No. 1 position.
The remaining matches would split. Estevarena picked up a 6-3, 6-2 win against NSU's Meessen on court two to move MSU up 5-0.
Nicholls State would pick up one win, a 7-6(4), 6-4 win from Adavelly against No. 97 Schmid on court three.
Play was finished out by MSU's Haden on court six, as he earned a 7-6(4), 7-5 win against Clemens to finalize a 6-1 Bulldog victory.
“Very proud of the guys for two hard-fought wins and improving to 2-0 in league play,” MSU coach Matt Roberts said. “We've continued to play strong in doubles and carry that into singles. Now we have to get prepared for two tough road matches at Florida and Auburn. We have to keep our momentum going through practice and into the matches.”
The Bulldogs now head east for a pair of SEC battles. MSU will face No. 11 Florida on Friday, March 13, at 4 p.m. CT, in Gainesville and round out the weekend at Auburn on Sunday, March 15, at 1 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. 48 Mississippi State 4, No. 55 Arkansas 0
March 7, 2014 – A.J. Pitts Tennis Centre – Starkville, Miss.
Doubles
1. No. 27 Julian Cash/Florian Lakat (MSU) def. Santiago Munoz/Branch Terrell (UA) 6-3
2. No. 46 Mate Cutura/Tassilo Schmid (MSU) def. Giammarco Micolani/Jovan Parlic (UA) 7-5
3. William Albanese/John den Toom (UA) def. Juan Cruz Estevarena/Robin Haden (MSU) 7-5
Singles
1. Micolani (UA) vs. No. 114 Lakat (MSU) 6-4, 1-3(susp.)
2. Juan Cruz Estevarena (MSU) def. Parlic (UA) 6-1, 6-2
3. No. 97 Schmid (MSU) vs. den Toom (UA) 7-5, 1-2(susp.)
4. Cutura (MSU) def. Albanese (UA) 6-2, 6-3
5. Cash (MSU) def. Munoz (UA) 6-1, 6-4
6. Rishab Agarwal (MSU) vs. David Herrerias (UA) 6-3, 2-2(susp.)
Order of finish… Doubles (1,3,2)… Singles (5,3,4)
No. 48 Mississippi State 6, Nicholls State 1
March 7, 2014 – A.J. Pitts Tennis Centre – Starkville, Miss.
Doubles
1. No. 27 Julian Cash/Florian Lakat (MSU) def. Kieran Cronin/Bernard Wezeman (NSU) 6-3
2. No. 46 Mate Cutura/Tassilo Schmid (MSU) def. Partha Adavelly/Lukas Clemens (NSU) 6-4
3. Evan Karatzas/Sam Meessen (NSU) def. Juan Cruz Estevarena/Robin Haden (MSU) 6-3
Singles
1. No. 114 Lakat (MSU) def. Karatzas (NSU) 6-3, 6-1
2. Estevarena (MSU) def. Meessen (NSU) 6-3, 6-2
3. Adavelly (NSU) def. No. 97 Schmid (MSU) 7-6(4), 6-4
4. Cash (MSU) def. Wezeman (NSU) 6-1, 6-1
5. Rishab Agarwal (MSU) def. Cronin (NSU) 6-2, 6-0
6. Haden (MSU) def. Clemens (NSU) 7-6(4), 7-5
Order of finish… Doubles (1,3,2)… Singles (4,5,1,2,3,6)
Players Mentioned
