KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – The 47th-ranked Mississippi State men’s tennis team dropped its third-straight decision with a 5-2 setback at No. 3 nationally ranked Tennessee, but still proved to be a difficult opponent and picked up a rare two points against the Volunteers.
MSU is only the fifth opponent all season to tally two-or-more points against the Vols and are the first Southeastern Conference opponent to do so. #1 Virginia, #5 Texas, #9 UCLA and #24 Wake Forest are the only other UT opponents to score two-or-more points on Tennessee this season.
State fell to 8-9 overall on the season and 1-6 in league play, while the Volunteers picked up their 20th victory of the season and improved to 8-0 in SEC action.
“We competed really well and played good doubles,” said third-year head coach Per Nilsson. “I thought we came out well in singles which is an improvement from Friday. We had an opportunity to win the match and that is a good thing to say against the No. 3 team in the country and I am proud of how we fought today.”
Despite featuring two top five nationally ranked doubles tandems, Tennessee dropped the doubles point for the first time all season, while the Bulldogs claimed its second-straight doubles decision and the 10th time they’ve done so this year. At the No. 1 postion, MSU’s duo of George Coupland and Artem Ilyushin took down UT’s Davey Sandgren and J.P. Smith, who stand at No. 2 in the country, 8-6. It was only Sandgren and Smith’s second loss in the dual match season and snapped a seven-match win streak for the Vols tandem. Coupland and Ilyushin improved to 9-6 on the season and 5-2 in SEC play and have now been victorious in five of their previous six matches and winners of two-straight. State’s No. 2 team of Daniel Sanchez and Tanner Stump fell for the second-straight match, 8-4, to fourth-ranked Vols duo Boris Conkic and Rhyne Williams, to even the score in the doubles point. All the focus shifted to court three where Bulldogs Louis Cant and Chris Doerr were in a tiebreaker battle with Matteo Fago and Edward Jones of UT. Cant and Doerr outlasted UT’s tandem in the tiebreaker to win the doubles point and give MSU a 1-0 lead, 9-8(2).
For only the first-time all season Tennessee trailed as singles play began, but the Vols would rally early in singles. At the No. 1 spot, MSU’s 67th-ranked Cant was fresh off an upset victory at Georgia, but fell in straight-sets to No. 2 nationally ranked Smith of the Volunteers, 6-3, 6-1. Cant fell to 10-5 on the season and 2-4 in league action. At the No. 5 position senior Doerr of MState dropped a two-set decision to UT’s Matteo Fago, 6-3, 6-1, to give the Volunteers its first lead of the match, 2-1.
Tennessee extended its lead at the No. 4 slot, where Bulldog junior Antonio Lastre slipped up 6-2, 6-4, to 111th-ranked Tennys Sandgren of the Volunteers. The match was clinched in favor of the Vols at court six. MSU sophomore Hrehan Hakeem dropped a 6-4, 6-3, decision to Davey Sandgren of UT, clinching the Volunteers their 20th victory of the season.
Not giving up, MSU would earn its second point of the match at the No. 2 position. State’s 125th-ranked sophomore Coupland picked up a career-best victory by coming from behind and upsetting No. 26 nationally ranked Boris Conkic of Tennessee, in a tight three-set bout, 2-6, 7-6(6), 1-0(11). The win snapped a three-match losing skid for Coupland and improved his SEC ledger to 3-4, while it was only Conkic’s second SEC loss of the season.
The match came to an end on court three, where Bulldog sophomore Ilyushin was battling 49th-ranked Volunteer freshman Williams. Ilyushin took one-set lead on Williams, 6-4, before dropping a second-set tiebreaking decision, 7-6(1), to even the matches score. In a super tiebreak third-set, Williams outlasted Ilyushin to win the match and give the Vols the 5-2 decision, 1-0(6).
State will return to friendly confines of its home courts at the A.J. Pitts Tennis Centre for a pair of matches next weekend against 33rd-ranked Alabama and No. 45 Auburn on Friday and Sunday.
#3 TENNESSEE 5, #47 MISSISSIPPI STATE 2
Knoxville, Tenn. – 4/4/10
DOUBLES
No. 1 – George Coupland/Artem Ilyushin (MSU) def. #2 Davey Sandgren/J.P. Smith (UT) 8-6; No. 2 - #4 Boric Conkic/Rhyne Williams (UT) def. Daniel Sanchez/Tanner Stump (MSU) 8-4; No. 3 – Louis Cant/Chris Doerr (MSU) def. Matteo Fago/Edward Jones (UT) 9-8(2); (Order of Finish: 1,2,3).
SINGLES
No. 1 – #2 Smith (UT) def. #67 Cant (MSU) 6-3, 6-1; No. 2 – #125 Coupland (MSU) def. #26 Conkic (UT) 2-6, 7-6(6), 1-0(11); No. 3 – #49 Williams (UT) def. Ilyushin (MSU) 4-6, 7-6(1), 1-0(6); No. 4 – #111 Tennys Sandgren (UT) def. Antonio Lastre (MSU) 6-2, 6-4; No. 5 – Matteo Fago (UT) def. Doerr (MSU) 6-3, 6-1; No. 6 – D. Sandgren (UT) def. Hrehan Hakeem (MSU) 6-4, 6-3; (Order of Finish: 1,5,4,6,2,3).
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