Mississippi State’s tennis teams experienced a weekend of highs and lows as the women’s team improved to 3-0 this season with a demolition of Louisiana-Monroe while the men’s team split two matches against higher ranked Southern California and St. Mary’s.
Women
The Lady Bulldogs won their first home opener since 2005 and the ninth in 12 seasions under head coach Tracy Lane. State started its day with an 8-0 doubles victory in the first doubles match. Building on their pressure-filled away win over Texas Tech, freshmen Natalia Mayuk and Olesya Tsigvintseva combined for their third win as a doubles team this season. Seniors Elna de Villiers and Martina Banikova clinched doubles for State with an 8-3 win.
“It was a good start in doubles,” Banikova said. “We were comfortable to play our first home match in front of the crowd today.”
The Lady Bulldogs’ comfort would show in singles play with MSU picking up five of six matches to get the easy win.
Four of MSU’s singles wins were won in straight sets, including one won by Tsigvintseva.
Tsigvintseva dominated ULM’s Lena Satge in court No. 2, keeping the French woman out of rhythm.
“We had a few positions that did good for us today,” Lane said. “Coming out being dominant, we took care of business. We enjoy starting with three wins.”
Lane said she feels her team has still not performed at its best, despite the unblemished record.
“We are lacking consistency in a few positions. In this league we have to be up for every match, we will learn that soon,” she said.
Men
The 56th-ranked men’s team endured a tough contest Friday against No. 6 Southern California in its opener, but they bounced back to win a surprisingly one sided affair over the 49th ranked St. Mary’s Gaels.
MSU sophomore Antonio Lastre rallied from a set behind to pick up the Bulldogs’ only point against USC. Robert Farah lead USC to two big wins. At the top doubles position, he and Steve Johnson defended their No. 2 doubles team in the nation, winning 8-3 over MSU’s junior-sophomore pairing of Chris Doerr and Taylor Stump. Farah later would beat MSU’s lone senior Ryan Farlow in straight sets, 6-4, 6-0. MSU has never won in four tries against the Trojans.
“We knew this would be a tough matchup going in, but we played well in doubles and had some positives in singles as well,” MSU head coach Per Nilsson said.
The Bulldogs moved on strongly, winning the doubles point and never looking back, recording the first MSU win over a higher ranked team in 12 tries.
The men now prepare for Thursday’s River Hills Cup against Ole Miss in Jackson. The Bulldogs have not beaten the Rebels in any competition since the 1999 River Hills Cup when No. 3 MSU knocked off then-No. 4 Ole Miss.
