After a tough loss to Northwestern State one week ago, the Mississippi State women’s tennis team rebounded in a big way Saturday, dominating the Southern University Jaguars 6-1 in a match that was moved indoors due to cold temperatures and high winds.
The Bulldogs played well from the outset in McCarthy Gym, sweeping the doubles matches to take an early 1-0 lead. Sophomores Khrystyna Pavlyuk and Alexandra Perper won their doubles match 8-4 and junior Ekaterina Iakoleva and freshman Naomi Tran won their match 8-3, ensuring a point for the Bulldogs in doubles. Sophomore Roseline Dion and freshman Petra Ferancova also won their match, completing the MSU sweep in partner play. 
As the focus of the match shifted to singles, Alexandra Perper made quick work of Carlista Mohammed 6-1, 6-3 to give the Bulldogs a 2-0 lead in the match. After her impressive performance, Perper said the key to her success was remembering the fundamentals.
“I was just trying to play a shot and make shots,” Perper said. “We had a plan in our game, and I was able to do that.”
Shortly after Perper finished her match, Iakoleva finished her singles match, defeating Gabrielle Moore 6-0, 6-0 and giving State a 3-0 lead on the day. After her nearly flawless match, Iakoleva said the key part of her performance began before the match even started.
“The key part of my win was my warm up,” Iakoleva said. “I was concentrated all game and did everything my coach told me to do today.”
With the match seemingly in control after winning the first three points, MSU got another point to increase its lead to 4-0 after senior Olesya Tsigvintseva beat Southern’s Demetria Woods 6-0, 6-2. The Bulldogs could not quite keep Southern off the board though, as the Jaguars scored their first and only point of the day via Lois Alexis, who defeated State’s Roseline Dion 7-6 (6-4), 6-1to make the overall score 4-1.
After losing its first point of the day, MSU got back on track, winning the final points of the day through Naomi Tran and Francova. Tran won her singles match 6-2, 6-1, and Francova defeated her opponent 6-1, 7-5, giving the Bulldogs a 6-1 win against the Jaguars.
During the waning stages of Saturday’s matches, MSU head coach Daryl Greenan credited the Bulldogs’ success to preparation throughout the week leading up to Saturday’s match with the Jaguars.
“We gave them some rules and we worked on some things this week to where they were playing as disciplined as possible and keeping it simple,” Greenan said. “It’s early in the season, and we still have a lot to work on, but I like the progress we made this week.”
With their win over Southern, the Bulldogs improved their overall record to 2-1 on the 2012 season. With its first seven matches of the season at home, MSU will next play host to Louisiana-Monroe on Thursday. Admission to the match is free to the public.