Mississippi State senior George Coupland has had a successful career in Maroon and White. He has collected 36 wins over the previous two seasons, led MSU to the 2011 SEC Western Division title, been named an All-SEC selection and named to the SEC Academic Honor Roll as well as being an ITA Scholar Athlete. But if there is one thing Coupland has had to learn about playing tennis, it’s that it is not always a solo sport.
Coupland began his journey to MSU in Hatfield, England, a town just north of London. Playing in tournaments and scouting his options, he made the decision to take his game to the collegiate level and  narrowed his choices down to MSU, Texas Christian University and Tennessee with coaching being the ultimate factor in his decision.
“Tennessee, at the time, was in the top five so they were pretty attractive for me,” Coupland said. “MSU, at the time, was ranked pretty low, but the coaches were new and I liked their attitude and loved the way they wanted to go with the program.”
Head coach Per Nilsson even flew out to England to watch Coupland compete. After talking about MSU and the direction he wanted to take the tennis program, Coupland was persuaded and became a Bulldog.
Balancing academics on top of competing on a high level became a tough task as he had to quickly adjust to the high level of achievement. Due to ineligibility, Coupland also sat out his first year and was not allowed to play in matches or travel with the team.
“That first semester for me was definitely a hard transition to get used to the class and the tennis,” Coupland said. “But it’s obviously worked out for me now.”
Along with his academic success, his game on the tennis court has also seen much improvement, especially his serve. According to Coupland, when he first came on campus his serve was very one-dimensional and not as quick.
Now it has more variety and he can hit it big, which is key to winning points, assistant coach Matt Hill said.
“When George came to us, his return was his best shot,” he said. “His serve has improved immensely in the four years from the technical standpoint and a tactical one. His confidence off the ground and knowing his game style has improved tremendously.”
Perhaps the biggest adjustment Coupland has embraced fully is his leadership on the court and being a team player. Since tennis is typically viewed as an individual sport, Coupland had never been a part of a team who pushed and supported each other to get better on and off the court – something Nilsson and Hill have instilled in the players. Coupland has taken on this responsibility and his teammates have noticed, according to dobules partner Artem Ilyushin.
“It’s real hard to explain, but it’s just awesome to play with him. It’s real important in doubles to stick with each other,” Ilyushin said. “When things don’t go well he’s the one who steps up and says, ‘Let’s go, time to work, keep working,’ and he does a great job supporting and pushing the team.”
Not only is Coupland successful in doubles, but he has posted a 7-1 record in singles play thus far this season, which has been key for the Bulldogs’ success. Fellow senior Louis Cant said not many people can beat Coupland when he is at his best.
“George obviously has been winning a lot of matches,” Cant said. “George has a lot of experience now – good serve and one of the biggest forehands in college, as well. He’s playing his game, and not many people can handle that.”
Coupland said he has enjoyed his time here at Mississippi State and said he has never regretted his decision to come to college. He has accomplished many of his goals including being the No. 32 singles player in the country and beating big conference rivals.
“Beating Tennessee as a team last year in the spring season, that was one of the highlights,” Coupland said. “Also a recent highlight was beating Ole Miss at River Hills. Those were the two biggest for me so far.”
Although his career is coming to an end, George still has one more goal he wants to accomplish.
“I want to accomplish getting to the Sweet Sixteen of the NCAAs,” he said. “I think it’s going to take everyone giving everything they’ve got with every practice and improve on the things they need to improve on.”
Mississippi State resumes play this weekend in the Blue-Gray classic before conference play begins March 2.