Coming off impressive displays at their respective season opening tournaments, Mississippi State’s men and women’s tennis teams prepare for their first round of dual match play this weekend.Women
State’s lady netters host Louisiana-Lafayette in their home opener on Saturday, having just returned from a solid outing at the Georgia Invitational in Athens. Along with going undefeated in doubles play during the first two days of the tournament, State also had eight players pick up at least one singles win. With such a strong start already in the bag, head coach Tracy Lane said the team is in a confident mood heading into the weekend.
“We have gotten the good start we were looking for in Athens, and now have everyone playing competitively,” Lane said. “Now we are just hoping to keep everyone healthy.”
Rain and poor weather has hampered preparations for Saturday’s match, but it has done nothing to dampen the team’s spirit, Lane said.
“Practice has been going really well,” Lane said. “The weather has been miserable, which forced us inside for a few days, but the girls have been able to cope with it well.”
With the Southeastern Conference boasting two teams ranked in the top five, the Bulldogs have reason to place such importance on these early season matches.
“Our conference is really tough, and it’s always good to start the season playing non-league opposition to get us playing competitively,” Lane said.
Men
The Bulldogs return to Starkville to take on UAB this Sunday, fresh off the heels of a superb showing at the Southeastern Conference Indoor Championships in New Orleans, La. Senior Ivan Bjelica will hope to continue the hot streak that took him all the way to the final of that tournament, having defeated three nationally-ranked players along the way.
Having just been appointed as head coach before the start of the fall campaign, Per Nilsson is eager to see his team begin dual match play. Three freshmen, Maximilien Genuini, Antonio Lastre and Tanner Stump will be earning their first dual match experience.
“All three of them should have a chance to play this weekend,” Nilsson said. “We have to get them in the line-up eventually and the sooner, the better.”
With a showdown against the Bulldogs’ in-state rivals in fifth-ranked Ole Miss on the horizon, Nilsson is trying to get his team to focus on the task at hand.
“A lot of people are talking about the Ole Miss match, and it’s easy to forget we have a huge match on Sunday,” Nilsson said. “In a way, the UAB match is more important, because with Ole Miss we have nothing to lose.