The 45th-ranked Mississippi State men’s tennis team defeated 48th-ranked South Alabama 5-2 at A.J. Pitts Tennis Centre on Friday. After starting 0-2, the 45th-ranked Bulldogs have now won three in a row.
State jumped out to an early lead by winning the doubles point with victories at the No. 1 and No. 2 positions. MSU’s 32nd-ranked team of Romain Ambert and Florent Girod defeated South Alabama’s Clinton Jacobs and Pavel Mazaev 8-5 for the first win.
After dropping the No. 3 position 8-4, State’s Luiz Carvalho and Juan-Carlos Pinto defeated USA’s Franticek Babej and David Kepka 8-4 for the opening point.
“When we win the doubles, it’s huge,” said MSU head coach Sylvain Guichard. “I know that we won 5-2, but if we lose the doubles, we lose this match.”
In singles, State’s Pinto defeated Jacobs 6-2, 6-2 at the No. 2 spot for MSU’s second point. South Alabama would claim the next two points with victories at the No. 1 and No. 6 positions to even the score at 2-2.
Bulldog senior All-American Romain Ambert, ranked fourth nationally, lost to undefeated and 95th-ranked Babej 6-3, 6-4. The teams split sets at the 3, 4, and 5 positions, with each squad needing 2 wins for the team victory.
“I knew we could win all three matches, but the momentum was not on our side,” Guichard said. “I was a little worried because Carvalho and Girod are playing hurt. I didn’t know how it was going to affect their heads.”
After falling behind 3-1 in the third set, State’s Max Fomine rallied to defeat Jaguar David Kepka 6-3, 4-6, 6-3 at the No. 4 position to give State a 3-2 edge.
For the second straight match sophomore Florent Girod clinched the win for State, coming from behind to defeat Jorgen Vestli 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 at the No. 5 spot.
In the final match of the day, MSU’s Carvalho, playing at the No. 3 position, defeated South Alabama’s Mazaev 6-3, 5-7, 6-3 for his third straight victory.
“We dug ourselves a hole, but we got out of it,” Guichard said.
The win pushed the Bulldogs’ record to 3-2 on the season. State is now 142-29 when it wins the doubles point, including an 83-5 mark at home. MSU has two weeks off before it opens SEC play with Auburn at home on Friday, March 5, at 2 p.m.
“We are really looking forward to the break,” Guichard said, “because we have a few nagging injuries to take care of. We need that break.”