After inspiring performances, both nationally ranked Bulldog tennis teams fell Friday in the quarterfinals of the Southeastern Conference tournament.
The 3rd-ranked and first-seeded Kentucky Wildcats downed the 30th-ranked Lady Netters 4-1 in Tuscaloosa.
Over in Athens, the host team and 9th-ranked Georgia Bulldogs defeated the Netmen 4-0. The losses drop the Lady Netters and Netmen’s overall records to 12-7 and 12-9.
The Lady Bulldogs
The Western Division champion Lady Bulldogs defeated the 42nd-ranked LSU Tigers on Thursday 4-3 at the Alabama Tennis Complex in the opening round of the tournament, improving their overall record to 12-6, marking the most victories in a season since 1989.
“They played really well, and there’s not much more you can say about it,” LSU head coach Tony Minnis said.
The Lady Bulldogs’ 21st- ranked duo of Zsuzsanna Fodor and Anastasia Kugakolova defeated LSU’s Lauren Seaman and Tiffany Tucker 8-2 at the first position.
However, the Tigers claimed the remaining two doubles matches to take the first point of the contest.
In singles, State came out strong to claim its first lead of the contest with victories at the second and third positions.
The 113th-ranked Kugakolova defeated Seaman 6-4, 6-1 at the second spot, and Tarryn Rudman ousted Staten Spencer 6-1, 6-0 at the third spot.
The Tigers evened the contest at two all, however, the Lady Netters ran off two consecutive points to seal the contest.
Freshman of the Year and 15th-ranked Fodor defeated Amanda Mang 6-3, 6-3 at the first position.
Freshman Renee Joseph clinched the team victory with a rally win over Marina Chiarelli 3-6, 7-6, 7-5 at the fourth position.
“I can’t say enough about the way Rene Joseph played for us today,” head coach Tracy Lane said. “Without a doubt, she was the reason we won the match. She lost her first set 6-3, but still managed to pull out a win for us. We couldn’t have done it without her.”
Coming into the weekend, Lane and the Lady Netters were aware of the challenges before them as Kentucky lived up to its billing.
The Wildcats capitalized on State’s slow start and claimed the first two points of the contest.
UK coach Mark Guilbeau commended the effort by both teams.
“We had a much better effort in singles than doubles, and a lot of that was due to the high quality of doubles play from Mississippi State,” Guilbeau said. “MSU was very impressive, especially after playing an eight hour match yesterday.”
Tarryn Rudman’s 6-2, 6-3 upset victory over 54th-ranked Sarah Foster at the third position gave State its first and only point of the match. With the win, Rudman has now won eight of her last nine league matches.
“We had some opportunities today, but it is hard to come back after we lost the momentum after losing the close doubles point,” Lane said. “They were very disciplined on the court and they took care of business. That’s why they are No. 3 in the country.”
The Lady Bulldogs will now prepare for the NCAA Regionals on May 13 and 14.
The Bulldogs
The Netmen have reached the quarterfinals at least 13 times since 1990 and on Thursday they assured its return by defeating the 70th-ranked Arkansas Razorbacks 4-0 at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex.
The Bulldogs jumped to the early lead when freshmen pair Philippe Frayssinoux and Pierre Mouillon defeated Michael Jung and Andrei Nicoara 8-3. At the top spot, Ivan Bjelica and Jose-Carlos Pinto surprised 57th-ranked Rohan Gajjar and Adrians Zguns 8-3.
In singles, State’s junior Florent Girod downed Nicoara 6-3, 6-1 at the sixth position. Senior Luiz Carvalho’s win at the fifth spot put State up by three points with a 6-4, 6-2 victory over Imraan Ismail.
Mouillon sealed the contest for the Netmen as he defeated 97th-ranked Matt Roberts 6-2, 6-4 at the third position.
“We came out strong today in doubles and then took care of business in singles,” head coach Sylvain Guichard said.
“Now, we obviously have a tough challenge against Georgia tomorrow. They are never easy to beat in Athens anyhow, and it gets even tougher during tournament time. It will take another great effort from our team,” Guichard added.
Georgia was everything Guichard mentioned-tough and difficult to beat at home en route to a 4-0 defeat over Mississippi State.
“We’re disappointed that we lost, but we gave a good effort against a team,” Guichard said after the match. “Georgia is always tough to beat in Athens, and we did a good job to split with them here this year.”
“Despite this loss, we have had a solid season that is far from over. We expect to make the NCAA field and look forward to preparing to compete for the national title.”
State is awaiting the announcement of the 64-team NCAA field, which is scheduled to be released May 4.
The Bulldogs are likely to receive its 15th consecutive NCAA bid, one of seven schools in the country to have made 14 straight appearances.
First round play begins May 13-15 at 16 sites around the country.