Mississippi State
Florida State
No. 29 MSU Blanks No. 36 FSU To Advance To ITA Kickoff Weekend Final
January 22, 2016 | Women's Tennis
DURHAM, N.C. – In its first ranked contest of the season, the 29th-ranked Mississippi State women's tennis team (3-0) advanced to Saturday's championship match of the ITA Kickoff Weekend after defeating 36th-ranked Florida State (2-1) 4-0 Friday morning.
State will face 16th-ranked host Duke, a 4-0 winner over No. 69 Portland Friday, in Saturday's championship match at 5 p.m. CT in DU's Sheffield Indoor Tennis Center. The winner will advance to the 2016 ITA National Women's Team Indoor Championship in Madison, Wisconsin, Feb. 5-8.
MSU began Friday's affair with a dominating performance in doubles play as the State tandem of junior Jasmine Lee and freshman Anastasia Rentouli took the court for the first time ever together and defeated the Seminole duo of Julia Mikulski and Lana Rush 6-0 at No. 2. The 53rd-ranked State sophomore duo of Jennifer Brown and Kristina Vozniak then clinched the doubles point with a 6-1 victory on court 3 against FSU's Ariana Rahmanparast and Gabriella Castaneda, giving MSU an early 1-0 lead.
At the No. 5 position in singles, Vozniak won four straight games to come back from an early 4-2 deficit established by FSU's Rahmanparast to take the first set 6-4. She continued her hot streak into the second set where she won 6-2 to claim the match 6-4, 6-2 and extend State's lead to 2-0.
The MSU veteran Patrasc quickly posted a 3-0 lead in the first set at the No. 3 position and would keep it for a 6-3 finish against the Seminole's Mikulski. Patrasc then won five straight games in the second set to overcome a 4-1 deficit, winning the match 6-3, 6-4 to increase MSU's lead to 3-0.
Making her first appearance of the 2016 dual match season, the 13th-ranked Lee clinched the match for the Bulldogs after posting a 7-5, 6-1 victory against FSU's Daneika Borthwick at the No.1 position. The win secured the Bulldogs' 4-0 win. All remaining singles matches were suspended at that point.
“This was a big early season win for us,” head coach Daryl Greenan said. “I am very proud of the collective effort from our girls today.”
Live stats for Saturday's MSU-Duke clash match will be provided at goduke.com. Live video streaming will also be available for a subscription fee through Duke as well. For more information on Mississippi State women's tennis and updates, fans can follow the Bulldogs on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at HailStateWT.
No. 29 Mississippi State 4, Florida State 0
ITA Kickoff Weekend
January 22, 2016 – Sheffield Indoor Tennis Center – Durham, N.C.
Doubles
1. Madison Harrison/Georgiana Patrasc (MSU) vs. #41 Daneika Borthwick/Yukako Noi (FSU) 2-5 susp.
2. Jasmine Lee/Anastasia Rentouli (MSU) def. Julia Mikulski/Lana Rush (FSU) 6-0
3. #53 Jennifer Brown/Kristina Vozniak (MSU) def. Ariana Rahmanparast/Gabriella Castaneda 6-1
Singles
1. #13 Jasmine Lee (MSU) def. Daneika Borthwick (FSU) 7-5, 6-1
2. Madison Harrison (MSU) vs. Gabriella Castaneda (FSU) 6-3, 3-6, 3-3 susp.
3. Georgiana Patrasc (MSU) def. Julia Mikulski (FSU) 6-3, 6-4
4. #36 Anastasia Rentouli (MSU) vs. Yukako Noi (FSU) 5-7, 2-5 susp.
5. Kristina Vozniak (MSU) def. Ariana Rahmanparast (FSU) 6-4, 6-2
6. Jennifer Brown (MSU) vs. Lana Rush (FSU) 3-6, 6-2, 0-2 susp.
Order of finish: Doubles (2,3), Singles (5,3,1)
