Mississippi State’s women’s and men’s tennis teams recently concluded their fall tournament campaigns. Things were peachy in Georgia for three Lady Bulldogs who won consolation singles finals while a men’s doubles tandem fought at the National Indoor Championships.
Women’s recap:
The MSU women’s tennis team competed at the SEC Fall Coaches Classic in Peachtree City, Ga., at the Peachtree City Tennis Center.
The MSU Lady Dawgs’ enjoyed success in the peach state. Although they opened the tourney slowly, winning three of seven, their pace drastically improved.
Competing in both singles and doubles, the Lady Dawgs’ competed in five finals matches, winning three.
In the consolation finals, Zsuzsanna Fodor faced off against Chloe Carlotti of the University of Mississippi. Fodor claimed the first singles final, A consolation, for MSU 7-5, 6-3.
Magdi Rekasi became the next victor for MSU, winning the C consolation final over Mari Muller of the University of Alabama 6-2, 4-6, 11-9. In the D consolation finals, Polina Kokoulina defeated Sonia Nikolic of the University of Alabama 6-1, 6-2.
State would not fare as well in doubles competition. Although MSU placed both doubles teams’ into the finals, they would both walk away tasting the sting of defeat. Hayley and Tarryn Rudman were upended by Lousiana State’s Marina Chiarelli and Camilla Caliari 8-5.
The duo of Fodor and Anastasia Kugakolova were also dealt a heavy blow, as they were defeated by Kim Conventry and Joelle Schwenk of the University of Kentucky 9-7.
“This weekend’s tournament was the last for us. We competed hard and came away with some wins. This will hopefully gives us the confidence we need going into the spring,” said head coach Tracy Lane.
The Lady Dawg’s next competition will be Jan. 21-23 at the Georgia Invitational in Athens, Ga.
Men’s recap:
State’s dynamic duo of Luiz Carvalho and Jose Carlos Pinto, represented MSU at the ITA National Indoor Championships. The event took place at the Univeristy of Michigan in Ann Arbor.
Carvalho and Pinto were automatic qualifiers for the indoors, due to their semifinal showing at the ITA All-American Championships held in Chattanooga, Tenn., last month.
In opening round competition, Carvalho and Pinto faced off against Scott Green and Ross Wilson of Ohio State. This match not only placed two nationally ranked teams against each other, but also instituted a rematch between the team that knocked off Carvalho and Pinto in the semi’s in Chattanooga. Although the MSU duo competed valiantly, they were defeated 8-5.
“They (Green and Wilson) were ready to play this weekend. They competeed really well,” Pinto said.
The sting of defeat would not last long however, as they would be informed of their automatic walkover into the consolation semifinals. This occured when their next opponents, Ludovic Walter and Jason Zimmerman of Duke, would have to withdraw because of an injury sustained to Zimmerman’s leg.
In the consolation semifinals, Carvalho and Pinto squared off against an unfamiliar foe from an unfamiliar setting, Ivan Angulo Carrasco and Ricardo Omanna of the College of Santa Fe.
“It’s hard playing against someone you never get to see play. Luiz and Jose played well this weekend and hopefully are better prepared for this spring,” head coach Sylvain Guicahrd said.
Sante Fe’s tandem proved to be too much for the Dawg’s in an 8-5 decision.
The MSU netmen’s next competition will come this spring at the SEC Indoor Championships on Jan. 13-17 at the University of New Orleans.