The Mississippi State men’s tennis team has not been in the top 10 since 1999, but 2012 is now another year to highlight. After two wins over No. 40  South Carolina and No. 11 Florida last weekend, the Bulldogs moved to No. 10 in the country.
While this is a memorable accomplishment for the team, 2012 will be remembered for another reason as well. It is the final season for renowned seniors Artem Ilyushin, Louis Cant and George Coupland. This trio of seniors came to State during a time when the team was barely on the map, having won only two SEC games the season before, but in their four years at MSU, they have led the Dogs to an SEC West title and now a top-10 ranking.
Coupland said the guys came in aspiring to be as good as they possibly could, and it has been a matter of hard work and time put in to accomplish that task.
“The first two years we knew we could be that good, but we weren’t quite ready to be there yet. We needed time to build program and become better players ourselves,” Coupland said. “The experience has been magical, like growing from a boy to a man; it has been one of the best four years of my life, and I’ll always remember it.”
Coupland, who came to MSU from England and had to sit out a year due to eligibility issues, was named the 2010 Southern Region Rookie of the Year. Since then he has added a double’s berth to the NCAA Championship, as well as a Second-Team All-SEC appearance and a current ranking of 46th individually.
Ilyushin, Coupland’s double’s partner at the NCAA Championship, made an immediate impact when he came to MSU and was ranked as high as 89th his freshman year. He was also named Second Team All-SEC and is currently ranked 15th in the country.
Coming all the way from Belgium, Cant was a crucial piece to State’s SEC West title and won the first round of the singles NCAA Championship last season. Along with Coupland and Ilyushin, he was named to the Second Team All-SEC and has earned a 44th ranking currently.
When the three teammates first came to MSU, they immediately became friends because of a common goal to make the men’s tennis team as good as it could be. With this as their foremost thought, they were able to spend a lot of time together and became best friends.
Cant said the process of building the tennis program all started when the guys were younger and put hard work in at an early age because they now want to accomplish something and not stop playing the game.
“In the beginning you could see how inexperienced we were, but over these four years, we’ve seen the team get better and better because we have been working hard every day,” Cant said. “We’re all so close to each other, so it’s really fun. We stay together the whole time, which makes it nice.”
Besides the immediate on-the- court results produced by these seniors, their impact will be seen long term in significant ways. Now that they have re-established MSU as a top school for men’s tennis, more top-ranked players are looking to come here.
Head coach Per Nilsson said Senior Day this Sunday will be very emotional because the seniors have meant so much to the program.
“They were some of the first players we brought in, and they have helped us, fought hard and are great kids,” Nilsson said. “People see how hard we work and how much they’ve improved that now really good players are wanting to come, so as much as it hurts to lose three leaders like that, they’ve helped us so much, and other players see this is a good place to come.”
To retain this top-10 ranking, the guys will have to defeat LSU and Arkansas at home this weekend. Sunday’s match against the Razorbacks is Senior Day and will be a bittersweet time for this close group of friends.
The seniors will be rewarded for all of their hard work by hosting the SEC Tournament, which is during Super Bulldog Weekend, and possibly hosting in the first two rounds of the NCAA championships. Although winning the SEC Championship is an attainable goal for the team, the guys are looking to go further than that, possibly all the way to a national championship.
The short term and long term success of Ilyushin, Coupland and Cant has been a memorable experience for all three guys, and Ilyushin said he has made his two best friends for life.
“When new guys come in, one of their top schools is MSU, where in the past they wouldn’t have looked at our school, so it’s a great feeling as a senior to be a part of something special,” Ilyushin said. “It feels magical; these four years have been tough, but they’re worth every single day spent here. We are basically a family because we spend so much time together that it has definitely been fun.”