URBANA, Ill. – Facing a top-five nationally-seeded doubles squad, the Mississippi State men’s tennis doubles team of Jordan Angus and Malte Stropp battled from start to finish for a spot in the national quarterfinals. Unfortunately, the Bulldog duo fell short, dropping a 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 decision to Virginia’s 4th-ranked and No. 4 nationally seeded duo of Jermere Jenkins and Mac Styslinger on Friday.
After flashing dominant service games in the first set en route to taking the opener 6-4, the contest became a back and forth clash. The Cavalier tandem earned a late break to help take the second set 6-3, forcing a deciding third set. The third proved to be a grinder as well, but a break for the UVA team to make it 3-2 proved to be the deciding factor. Despite fighting off three match points late, the MSU duo dropped the match.
With the loss, Angus and Stropp finish the 2012-13 season with a 21-17 overall record and 11-14 in dual match play. The tandem earned nine of those 21 victories against ranked foes. The loss also closes the book on the 2012-13 season for MSU men’s tennis, as the Bulldogs have no more participants in the 2013 NCAA Individual Championships.
As a team, the Bulldogs closed out the season with an 18-10 overall record and 6-6 in the Southeastern Conference, making their first trip to the Round of 16 since 2001 and the 11th in school history. Led by head coach Per Nilsson, the 2013 ITA Southern Region Coach of the Year, the Bulldogs had a number of individual honors in 2013. Freshman Romain Bogaerts earned ITA National Rookie of the Year, along with SEC Freshman of the Year and All-SEC First Team, while junior Malte Stropp earned All-SEC Second Team honors.
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2013 NCAA Men’s Tennis Individual Championships
May 24, 2013 – Atkins Tennis Center – Urbana, Ill.
Doubles – Round of 16
No. 4 Jermere Jenkins/Mac Styslinger (Virginia) [4] def. No. 13 Jordan Angus/Malte Stropp (Mississippi State) 4-6, 6-3, 6-4
