While the majority of students have been bundled up inside during the cold rain or outside building snowmen, the Mississippi State men’s tennis team has been hard at work inside McCarthy Gymnasium.
With the team’s first match of the season Sunday at No. 29 Texas Tech, the Dogs have not let the weather slow them down.
The Bulldogs, led by fifth-year head coach and former MSU standout Per Nilsson, look to expand on the success of their past seasons with a very talented and somewhat youthful roster. 
The squad opens the season ranked No. 11 in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association rankings and on a quest for its third straight SEC Western Division title. State is looking to reach even greater heights than it did in the 2012 campaign, in which the Dogs climbed as high as No. 9 in the rankings (the highest in program history) before coming up short in the second round of the NCAA Tennis Championship.
This year’s squad is loaded with talented veterans and newcomers, including freshmen Stefan Vinti, Romain Bogaerts, Jordan Angus and Pedro Dumont. Bogaerts, who comes into the 2013 campaign garnering a ranking of No. 25   in men’s singles by the ITA, said he has high expectations for the squad.
“I hope we can really do well and make it to the Sweet 16 (in the NCAA Tournament),” said the freshman from Huppaye, Belgium. “If the team can fight through the season and get used to playing together, then we’ll be fine.”
Juniors Zach White and Malte Stropp along with seniors James Chaudry and Ethan Wilkinson anchor the Dogs. The veteran Bulldogs said they are expecting a lot of the freshmen. Chaudry, ranked No. 42 in doubles with partner Vinti, said this year will be different, but the freshmen are very talented.
“It will be interesting to see if we can come together as a team early on,” Chaudry said. “I think we’ll build as the season goes on, and I think by the end of the season we’ll be playing very well together.”
Stropp echoed Chaudry’s comments.
“We had a good year last year, and with these freshmen I think we can advance even further in the tournament,” Stropp said.
This MSU squad is seeking to win its first SEC title since 1993 and to advance even further in the NCAA Tournament. The Bulldogs come into match play with many chances to claw their way up the rankings with top-tier programs such as No. 9 Kentucky and No. 6 Georgia on their schedule.
State opens play in Starkville Jan.  26 against LSU.