The Mississippi State University women’s tennis (4-2) jumped out to a one-zero lead after winning the doubles point against Samford (3-1) on Sunday afternoon, and never looked back, dominating their double-header that day.
Head coach Daryl Greenan said the doubles point was important because it set the tone for the game.
“It set the tone, we had our chances to finish at number one and didn’t get it done,” Greenan said. “So the girls at two and three did a good job of clinching out the point. It definitely set the tone and gave us some momentum.”
The Bulldogs played well in singles matches, as they won three points in a row, clinching a 4-0 win. The other matches were abandoned due to the second match of the day. Janina Braun, a junior transfer from Berlin, Germany, won the clinching point for MSU.
“It was really good, it was a new feeling for me, I think I had never clinched before,” Braun said. “Especially playing at number one today for the first time, it was good to clinch and bring the team up.”
MSU had come off of ITA’s in California when they played the double-header, and Greenan felt they had improved since the beginning of the season and have improved on since the ITA’s.
“I think they are starting to get a little bit more organized with their games, and we have obviously gotten some nerves out of the way,” Greenan said. “I think we are starting to play a little more confident, we had some challenges today, but I think from the matches we have played so far those challenges have made us better.”
The second half of the double-header was against UAB (2-3) who had struggled early in the season, and Braun felt they competed very well, which made every game closer than the Samford match.
“UAB was definitely better than Samford, they were good competitors and fought more,” Braun said. “I needed to play much longer points, so I needed to battle them more down than Samford this morning. “
Braun said the most challenging part of a double-header is how long it makes the day as the team is there from early morning to dinner time, but this will prepare them for SEC play.
“It is tough, it is a long day we met at 9:00 a.m. and now we are not getting out of here until 6:00 or 7:00 (p.m.) probably with recovery, the ice bath and dinner with the team,” Braun said. “It is a long day, so no time for any other activities, but it is fun. We need to get used to those long days, as soon as we come into SEC play, the matches are going to be as tough as double-headers.”
MSU was able to hang on and win four to one over UAB despite a setback. The one point was due to the defaulted game because of Sara Lizariturry’s injury. MSU will play at Southeastern Louisiana on Friday and Southern University on Sunday.
