Mississippi State
Tennessee
NO. 25 MSU WOMEN?S TENNIS OUSTS NO. 54 UT 6-1 IN SEC OPENER
March 05, 2016 | Women's Tennis
STARKVILLE, Miss. – Extending its winning streak to seven matches, the 25th-ranked Mississippi State women's tennis team (10-1, 1-0 SEC) downed No. 54 Tennessee (6-5, 0-1) 6-1 in front of the home crowd at the A.J. Pitts Tennis Centre Friday afternoon.
The Bulldogs started the match with what has become its dominant doubles play. MSU's 53rd-ranked tandem of Jennifer Brown and Kristina Vozniak made quick work of UT's Mary Caroline Meredith and Tiffany Tavares 6-2 on court 3. At the No. 2 position, State's duo of Jasmine Lee and Louise Ronaldson captured a 6-3 victory against the Lady Vols' Kim Kermet and Brittany Lindl to clinch the doubles point and give MSU a 1-0 lead. On court 1, No. 51 Madison Harrison and Georgiana Patrasc's match was suspended at 5-4 after the Bulldogs had rallied to win five-straight games after being down 4-0.
In singles action, State's 43rd-ranked Anastasia Rentouli made quick work of UT's Meredith 6-1, 6-0 on court 4 to extend State's lead to 2-0 and remain undefeated (9-0) this spring. At the No. 6 position, MSU's Brown upended Tennessee's Tiffany Tavares 6-3, 6-1 to give State a solid 3-0 lead while winning her fifth straight contest.
The Lady Vols pushed the Bulldogs on the remaining four courts, sending three of them to a third set, but MSU's 11th-ranked Lee clinched the match for State in straight sets at the top spot over the Lady Vols' 65th-ranked Sadie Hammond 6-4, 6-4, overcoming an early 3-1 deficit in the second set to pull out the win. It was the junior phenom's seventh consecutive triumph and 20th overall win of 2015-16.
MSU would claim wins in two of the remaining three matches of the day as well. In a back-and-forth three-set battle at No. 2, UT's Eve Repic held off the Bulldogs' Harrison 7-5, 4-6, 1-0(8), providing Tennessee its lone point of the afternoon. In exciting come-from-behind fashion, State's Vozniak ousted UT's Lindl 0-6, 6-3, 7-5 on court 5 for her sixth win in a row. To end the day, the Bulldogs' 103rd-ranked Patrasc overcame a 7-1 deficit in a third-set supertiebreaker against the Lady Vols' Kermet to win 6-3, 5-7, 1-0(8) at No. 3, extending her winning streak to 11 straight matches (10-0 in dual matches).
“We did a great job today,” head coach Daryl Greenan said. “I'm proud of the girls. We picked up a big win. Everyone is tough in the SEC and today was a huge win for us. We won a couple of tight matches at the end and it's going to give us confidence going forward.”
MSU ends its current four-match homestand on Sunday, March 6, at 1 p.m. CT, hosting No. 7 Georgia at the Pitts Tennis Centre. UGA (7-1, 1-0 SEC) downed No. 26 Ole Miss 4-0 on Friday.
State's current seven-match win streak is the program's longest since Greenan's first season in 2010 and Friday's victory marked the first time since that same 2010 campaign that the Bulldogs had won their conference opener. The Bulldogs are now 5-1 on the year against ranked opponents with their lone loss coming to Duke, now ranked No. 6 nationally.
For more information on Mississippi State women's tennis and updates, fans can follow the Bulldogs on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at HailStateWT.
No. 25 Mississippi State 6, No. 54 Tennessee 1
March 4, 2016 – A.J. Pitts Tennis Centre – Starkville, Miss.
Doubles
Order of match finish…3,2
1. No. 51 Madison Harrison/Georgiana Patrasc (MSU) vs. Sadie Hammond/Eve Repic (UT) 5-4 (susp.)
2. Jasmine Lee/Louise Ronaldson (MSU) def. Kim Kermet/Brittany Lindl (UT) 6-3
3. No. 53 Jennifer Brown/Kristina Vozniak (MSU) def. Mary Caroline Meredith/Tiffany Tavares (UT) 6-2
Singles
Order of match finish…4,6,1,2,5,3
1. #11 Jasmine Lee (MSU) def. #65 Sadie Hammond (UT), 6-4, 6-4
2. Eve Repic (UT) def. Madison Harrison (MSU) 7-5, 4-6, 1-0(8)
3. #103 Georgiana Patrasc (MSU) def. Kim Kermet (UT) 6-3, 5-7, 1-0(8)
4. #43 Anastasia Rentouli (MSU) def. Mary Caroline Meredith (UT) 6-1, 6-0
5. Kristina Vozniak (MSU) def. Brittany Lindl (UT) 0-6, 6-3, 7-5
6. Jennifer Brown (MSU) def. Tiffany Tavares (UT) 6-3, 6-1
