The old adage of putting your best foot forward rang true for both the Mississippi State men’s and women’s tennis teams over the weekend.
Each notched an impressive win in their first match of the year, setting the ball rolling on what could be two exciting seasons.
The men’s team, ranked 30th in the national polls, executed an impressive team-domination of the University of New Orleans, beating them 6-1 overall.
The lone win for the Privateers came in singles play as Luka Bernard upended Luiz Carvalho 6-1, 6-4.
The team rebounded to win the other five singles matches in straight sets, while also sweeping the doubles competition.
The Lady Bulldogs impressed their opponents over the weekend as well, sweeping UL-Monroe, 4-0.
Played in the McCarthy Gym due to rain, the female tandem of 28th-ranked Zsuzsanna Fodor and 124th-ranked Tarryn Rudman proved to be insurmountable for the Lady Indians, as they paced the team with their straight-set victories over the Indians’ top two talents.
The Lady Dawgs will continue their young season on Sunday at noon in Starkville against the Kansas Jayhawks, while the men will resume intercollegiate competition tomorrow in an huge early season test against UAB.
“Our guys applied themselves well (last weekend) and got the job done,” men’s head coach Sylvain Guichard said in a release.
“Now we have to get ready for a tough matchup (tomorrow) with UAB, a team that is always solid. They have another very talented and dangerous team this season.”