Women
The No. 74 Mississippi State women’s team pursues its second straight 5-0 start today in New Orleans against Tulane (4-5). Tonight’s match marks the Bulldogs’ first trip to New Orleans since 2002, where MSU has not won in four trips.
Sunday, the Lady Bulldogs finish their Gulf Coast tour in Mobile against South Alabama. The Lady Bulldogs have not won since 1979 at South Alabama.
“We make the team very aware of our history,” MSU head coach Tracy Lane said. “If there are things that have not been good for the program, the players know those are things we need to change.”
MSU can look forward to the return of senior No. 1 singles player Martina Banikova, who missed last weekend’s win over Troy with illness.
“Banikova has rested up and is back in practice,” Lane said. “Players realize that you cannot just rely on one player; they know it is their job to step up if we are missing a girl.”
State may be missing the services of senior Daniela Juskova, who is unlikely to play both matches this weekend due to illness. Nonetheless, Lane said she is confident her team can pick up two wins this weekend.
“We have been pretty good on the road this year,” Lane said. “We are the better team this year. We have more confidence.”
The Lady Bulldogs have not started 3-0 on the road since 1992.
Men
The No. 52 men’s team looks to rebound from its 20th straight loss to No. 9 Ole Miss Sunday at home against UAB.
State’s biggest issue this weekend, according to head coach Per Nilsson, is battling the flu, which three of his players are suffering from.
Nilsson said he thinks the team has improved greatly since a one-sided opening day loss at No. 6 Southern California.
“The new guys realized the momentum swings in the college match,” Nilsson said. “It has been tough for some of the guys but we are getting settled.”
With only three matches to prepare the young team for the SEC schedule, Nilsson said he thinks State must win all of them to be ready for conference play.
Sophomore Tanner Stump said despite last year’s opening day 7-1 win over the Blazers, the team is taking its opponents seriously.
“UAB is underrated. They always fight real hard,” Stump said. “We cannot let ourselves fall into a slump. We have to go keep learning, especially the new guys.”