Freshman Olesya Tsigvintseva went undefeated in singles and doubles play over the weekend to lead the Mississippi State women’s tennis team to wins over North Texas and Texas Tech in their opening weekend. MSU started 2-0 for the first time since 2005 and the sixth time in 13 years under current head coach Tracy Lane.
Weather delayed Saturday’s match against North Texas for six hours and eventually the match was moved indoors. MSU held UNT scoreless despite strong resistance from UNT’s Irina Paraschiv who took Bulldog No. 1 singles player Martina Banikova to a tiebreaker.
Tsigvintseva clinched the match when she defeated UNT’s Paul Dinuta in the No. 2 singles match. Tsigvintseva also teamed up with Natalia Mayuk to score the opening doubles point.
“Saturday, we came out with great spirit,” Banikova said. “All of us played really good tennis.”
Saturday marked the first time since beating Oregon in the first round of the 2000 NCAA tournament that MSU has shut out an opponent away from Starkville.
Sunday’s match against No. 74 Texas Tech again was delayed for weather and the two teams agreed to just play singles matches. However, after six singles matches, the score was tied 3-3 and three doubles matches had to be played to decide the final point.
“This was a great, exciting win for our team. We showed a lot of composure and character today and I could not have been prouder,” Lane said. “We are glad to be on the winning end, as it is always tough to lose matches that are this close, where you know you have played well enough to win. We did a great job on some big points at the end and that was the difference.”
In the opening match at the No. 1 singles position, Tech senior Sam van der Drift gave Tech an early lead with a straight sets win over State’s Banikova. State responded with Tsigvintseva, Radka Ferancova and Valeriya Makarycheva winning their singles matches to give State the 3-1 edge. Lady Raiders Simone Templeton and Stefanie Peana then tied the match with three set victories over Elna de Villiers and Mayuk.
In doubles, Tech and State split the opening matches. Banikova and de Villiers dropped to Tech’s Templeton and Kerryn Potgieter in the first doubles match. State’s No. 3 doubles team of Ferancova and Daniela Juskova pulled the Bulldogs even again.
With only one doubles match left, the entire day fell on the shoulders of Mayuk and Tsigvintseva. Tech went up 5-3, but the Bulldogs battled back. The two teams traded games, setting up a thrilling tiebreaker that the Bulldogs won.
“I think everyone was nervous about who was going to win. Their girls were very good,” Tsigvintseva said of the pressure she felt knowing her final doubles match would be the game decider. “Everyone was tough. We had to have everyone play their best.”
The win marks the Lady Bulldogs’ first away win over a ranked team since winning at LSU in 2005.
“Every match from top to bottom was a big match.” Lane said. “We knew it would be tough, but it is a great way to start the season. Even in the matches we lost [Sunday] they never gave up. We are finding that we have a great chance to win matches.”
The Bulldogs now return to Starkville for their home opener against Louisiana-Monroe Saturday.