Backed by stellar performances on every court, the No. 9 Mississippi State University men’s tennis team swept its opponents in dominating fashion Sunday, defeating Samford and Alcorn State 7-0 and 6-0 respectively.
The victories put the squad at 8-0 on the year, which is the best start for any men’s tennis team since 1972 as well as the best start for seventh-year head coach Per Nilsson. 
The team’s triumph over Samford also gave the guys a 4-0 mark against ranked opponents.  
The team will carry that undefeated record and a ton of momentum into the ITA National Indoor Championship, which sophomore Jordan Angus said should help the Bulldogs heading to Houston Valentine’s weekend.
“This stretch has filled us with confidence. We are a young team, but our team chemistry is getting us through, and it’s why we are 8-0,” Angus said.
In the first match of the doubleheader versus Samford, the duos of Angus and Malte Stropp and Florian Lakat and Tassilo Schmid secured the doubles point in 6-3 wins. 
The Bulldogs rode the momentum of the doubles victories into singles play and did not surrender a set to Samford the remainder of the day. MSU freshman Rishab Agarwal set the tone for the match with a 6-0, 6-2 victory over SU’s Liam Sullivan. 
The team followed suit, with all matches being decided in straight sets.
For senior Stropp, his 6-2, 6-4 victory marked his 80th career singles win, a mark he said he was not even aware of.
“I didn’t know I had won that many matches until my parents told me afterwards. But it is an amazing feeling, and I am glad to be able to win so many matches for State,” Stropp said.
Stropp has struggled with injuries the past few weeks but said he feels better every match.
“I feel like I’m almost at 100 percent now,” he said. “I should be good to go for national indoors and the SEC season.”
In the team’s second match of the day against Alcorn State, the Bulldogs showed no signs of letting up. 
MSU quickly jumped ahead by earning the doubles point with a 6-0 victory from the duo of Lakat and Schmid. The team of Agarwal and Angus would respond with a 6-1 win on court two to clinch the point.
Just as they did earlier in the day, the Dogs continued their dominance in singles play. 
The first singles victory of the match came on court six with freshman Egbert Weverink defeating ASU’s Nikita Kostikov 6-2, 6-2 in straight sets.
Lakat earned the match-clinching point by defeating Ernesto Santillan 6-3, 6-1. 
As Lakat secured the match, play also came to a close on courts two and four, both ending in favor of the Bulldogs.  
Jordan Angus won 6-2,6-0 on court two, while Agarwal defeated ASU’s Garry Amor 6-2,6-2.
Angus stands undefeated thus far but said his focus remains more on the team than individual records.
“I just want to help the team as much as I can,” he said. “We are undefeated heading into national indoors, and hopefully, we can remain undefeated.”