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Virginia TechThe big upset of the day came in Starkville as the Bulldogs from Mississippi State upset the Bulldogs from Georgia 4-2. Mississippi State took the doubles point for the 16th time this year and is now 11-0 in doubles at home. State fell a break behind at both #1 and #3 but managed to turn both courts around and would clinch the point with a win at #1 over the #1 ranked team in the country.
Mississippi State kept the momentum going during singles play and jumped out to early break leads on 5 of 6 courts.
Mississippi State’s Rishab Agarwal was 1st off the court with a 6-2, 6-2 win at #5 singles over Nick Wood in a match that was pretty lopsided the entire time. Georgia’s Wayne Montgomery would cut the deficit to 2-1 with a 7-6, 6-2 at #2 singles over Juan Cruz Estevarena. Montgomery fell behind 5-3 in the 1st set but would break Estevarena at 4-5 and 5-6 to force the breaker then after jumping out to a 6-0 lead in the TB he took it 7-4.
Georgia managed to turn the tide on several courts to force some 3rd sets but when the match was on the line it was State’s Florian Lakat, Mate Cutura, and Julian Cash who all rose to the occasion.
State’s #3 Mate Cutura would come back from a set down to pick up the biggest win of his his collegiate career as he defeated #18 Nathan Pasha 4-6, 6-2, 6-4. Cutura broke Pasha to go up 4-3 in the 3rd and 2 holds later he had his big time win.
State’s #1 Florian Lakat cruised to a 6-2 opening but Georgia’s Austin Smith came right back to take the 2nd set 6-2. In the 3rd set Lakat broke Smith to go up 2-1 and would hold for 3-1 before Smith would take the next 3 games to go up 4-3. Lakat wouldn’t wilt though as he held for 4-4, broke Smith for 5-4, and then fought off not 1 but 2 break points to clinch the upset win. See the video clip below of match point.
Just before Lakat clinched Georgia’s Ben Wagland would pick up a win at #4 singles by a 6-3, 7-6(4) score. In the one abandoned match Mississippi State’s Julian Cash would have a commanding 5-2 lead in the 3rd set against Georgia’ Paul Oosterbaan.
Mississippi State recap
“That was an amazing performance by our guys and I cannot say enough about how much each one of them fought, MSU coach Matt Roberts said. “We knew going in how good Georgia is, but we also knew we could compete on that level. We brought a lot of energy in here today and our guys capitalized on it.
“We’ve been playing like a team more and more with each match, Roberts said when asked of the team’s streak. “In practice and in matches, these guys come together and fight for each other. That’s why we’re playing at the level we’re playing at right now.
“The way we played down the stretch of this match speaks a lot of how bad these guys wanted this win, Roberts said. “Rishab and Mate have kept on their hot streak and Florian was just too clutch there at the end. Again, so proud of this team.
“That was an unreal win for us today, Lakat said. “We kept playing for each other and feeding off each other’s energy. I had so much confidence in myself, especially after that first set. Even though he came back in the second, I knew I wasn’t going to lose this. I was going to do it for my team.
Georgia recap
“Mississippi State earned the win today,” said head coach Manuel Diaz. “We didn’t play our best, and Mississippi State had a lot to do with that. We had some opportunities in doubles that we didn’t take advantage of. They played very well in singles, and our guys fought hard but that wasn’t enough today. All the credit goes to Mississippi State.”
FYI, the number beside the player’s school is the player’s Universal Tennis Rating as of April 3rd. For more details about UTR check out their website.
#26 Mississippi State (16-5) 4, #6 Georgia (16-3) 2
April 3rd, 2015 – AJ Pitts Tennis Centre – Starkville, MS
Singles
1. #108 Florian Lakat (MSU 13.82) def. #31 Austin Smith (UGA 14.18) 6-2, 2-6, 6-4
2. #28 Wayne Montgomery (UGA 14.59) def. Juan Cruz Estevarena (MSU 13.75) 7-6(4), 6-2
3. Mate Cutura (MSU 13.67) def. #18 Nathan Pasha (UGA 14.27) 4-6, 6-2, 6-4
4. Ben Wagland (UGA 13.26) def. #122 Tassilo Schmid (MSU 12.87) 6-3, 7-6(4)
5. Rishab Agarwal (MSU 13.68) def. Nick Wood (UGA 13.86) 6-2, 6-2
6. Julian Cash (MSU 13.43) vs. Paul Oosterbaan (UGA 13.66) 6-2, 4-6, 5-2 DNF
Doubles
1. #14 Lakat/Cash (MSU) def. #1 Smith/Wagland (UGA) 6-4
2. Cutura/Schmid (MSU) def. Pasha/Diaz (UGA) 6-4
3. Montgomery/Oosterbaan (UGA) vs. Estevarena/Haden (MSU) 5-5 DNF
Match Notes:
Order of Finish: Doubles (2,1); Singles (5, 2, 3, 4, 1)
Mississippi State has now won 4 straight while Georgia’s 10-match winning streak was snapped.
Which Bulldogs Win on Friday in Starkville
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Georgia
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Mississippi State
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Votes so far: 46
Poll closed
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Virginia Tech managed to win the doubles point for the 10th time in 17 tries but the Hokies quickly fell behind on 4 singles courts. The 1 court where Virginia Tech never trailed was at #4 as Hunter Koontz rolled to a 6-4, 6-3 win over Chris Simich.
Louisville’s Seb Stiefelmeyer and Van Damrongsri would cruise to straight set wins at 1 and 5 and things were looking good for the Cards early on at 2 and 3.
Louisville’s #2 Alex Gornet led 5-3 in the opening set before VT’s Andreas Bjerrehus would rally to take the next 4 games to take the 1st set 7-5 and then Bjerrehus would break Gornet late in the 2nd set to close out the 7-5, 6-4 win.
Louisville’s #3 Albert Wagner led 7-5, 3-1 before VT’s Joao Monteiro kicked it up a few notches and came back to win 5-7, 6-4, 6-4.
Virginia Tech’s #6 Jai Corbett took the opening set 6-3 before falling behind 5-2 in the 2nd set against Luis Elizondo. Unfortunately for Louisville, Elizondo wouldn’t be able to close out the set as Corbett came back to push it to a tiebreak and then took the TB 11-9 to clinch the team win.
Virginia Tech recap
Louisville recap
“I’ve got to give Virginia Tech credit in that we had them on their heels and we just didn’t put it away,” said UofL head coach Rex Ecarma. “The winner of this match has got an inside track to hosting the NCAA first and second round, When you get that moment, you’ve got to go seize it, and unfortunately we didn’t seize it. Maybe it’s this team’s inexperience in having these types of big moments over the years. But really we had the moment and we were in position to win and basically waited for them to lose instead of us grabbing our moment.”
#13 Virginia Tech 5, #23 Louisville 2
Apr 03, 2015 at Louisville, Ky (Bass-Rudd Tennis Center)
Singles competition
1. #5 Seb Stiefelmeyer (LOU 14.65) def. #63 Amerigo Contini (VT 14.25) 6-2, 6-2
2. #45 Andreas Bjerrehus (VT 13.79) def. #123 Alex Gornet (LOU 13.60) 7-5, 6-4
3. #109 Joao Monteiro (VT 13.75) def. #94 Albert Wagner (LOU 13.61) 5-7, 6-4, 6-4
4. Hunter Koontz (VT 13.66) def. Chris Simich (LOU 13.37) 6-4, 6-3
5. Van Damrongsri (LOU 12.36) def. Edoardo Tessaro (VT 13.28) 6-4, 6-3
6. Jai Corbett (VT 12.86) def. Luis Elizondo (LOU 12.21) 6-3, 7-6 (9)
Doubles competition
1. #68 Alex Gornet/Jeffrey Brown (LOU) vs. #64 Andreas Bjerrehus/Hunter Koontz (VT) 6-7, unf
2. Amerigo Contini/Jai Corbett (VT) def. Seb Stiefelmeyer/Albert Wagner (LOU) 8-7 (4)
3. Joao Monteiro/Edoardo Tessaro (VT) def. Van Damrongsri/Luis Elizondo (LOU) 8-2
Match Notes
Virginia Tech 15-2; National ranking #13
Louisville 19-5; National ranking #23
Order of finish: Doubles (3,2); Singles (4,5,1,2,6,3)
T-3:40 A-115
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The excellent Duke recap has all the details you need.
Notre Dame recap
#5 Duke 5, #35 Notre Dame 2
April 3, 2015 at Durham, N.C. (Ambler Tennis Stadium)
Singles competition
1. #17 Quentin Monaghan (ND 14.50) def. #11 Nicolas Alvarez (DU 14.44) 7-5, 5-7, 1-0 (6)
2. #34 Jason Tahir (DU 13.86) def. Josh Hagar (ND 13.69) 6-3, 6-2
3. #101 Raphael Hemmeler (DU 14.36) def. Eddy Covalschi (ND 13.01) 6-4, 3-6, 6-2
4. Bruno Semenzato (DU 13.97) def. Billy Pecor (ND 13.03) 7-5, 6-7 (4), 1-0 (10)
5. Kenneth Sabacinski (ND 12.56) def. Josh Levine (DU 12.74) 6-4, 6-3
6. TJ Pura (DU 13.46) def. Alex Lawson (ND 12.80) 7-6 (5), 6-4
Doubles competition
1. #9 Alex Lawson/Billy Pecor (ND) def. Nicolas Alvarez/Jason Tahir (DU) 8-4
2. Raphael Hemmeler/Josh Levine (DU) def. #22 Josh Hagar/Eddy Covalschi (ND) 8-2
3. Bruno Semenzato/TJ Pura (DU) def. Quentin Monaghan/Kenneth Sabacinski (ND) 8-6
Match Notes
Notre Dame 12-7, 4-3 ACC; National ranking #35
Duke 17-3, 4-2 ACC; National ranking #5
Order of finish: Doubles (2,1,3); Singles (5,2,6,3,1,4)
T-3:50 A-260
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Ohio State recap
Minnesota recap
#11 Ohio State 4, #29 Minnesota 2
Apr 03, 2015 at Columbus, Ohio (OSU Varsity Tennis Center)
Singles competition
1. #25 Leandro Toledo (MINN 14.08) def. #32 Mikael Torpegaard (OSU 13.98) 7-5, 6-1
2. #44 Chris Diaz (OSU 14.14) def. Ruben Weber (MINN 13.34) 6-3, 7-6 (1)
3. #104 Matic Spec (MINN 13.96) def. #116 Herkko Pollanen (OSU 13.43) 4-6, 6-1, 6-1
4. Hunter Callahan (OSU 13.90) def. Felix Corwin (MINN 13.45) 6-4, 6-0
5. Jack Hamburg (MINN 13.19) vs. Kevin Metka (OSU 13.74) 5-7, 7-6, DNF
6. #83 Ralf Steinbach (OSU 13.89) def. Mathieu Froment (MINN 12.95) 6-1, 6-3
Doubles competition
1. #5 Kevin Metka/Ralf Steinbach (OSU) def. #49 Mathieu Froment/Jack Hamburg (MINN) 8-7 (0)
2. #76 Leandro Toledo/Felix Corwin (MINN) def. #74 Mikael Torpegaard/Herkko Pollanen (OSU) 8-3
3. #55 Hunter Callahan/Chris Diaz (OSU) def. Matic Spec/Eric Frueh (MINN) 8-6
Match Notes
Minnesota 14-5 (5-0 B1G); National ranking #29
Ohio State 16-7 (4-1 B1G); National ranking #11
Order of finish: Doubles (2,3,1); Singles (6,4,1,3,2)
Official: Marcus Lee T-3:18 A-137
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Florida recap
Quotes from the Match
Shelton’s Notes Head Coach Bryan Shelton
On the importance of winning the doubles point to gain early momentum
It really was [important]. It’s not easy to have a lead and then lose it. And the next thing you know you’re facing elimination and that’s exactly what happened today. I’m just really proud that Gordon [Watson] and Diego [Hidalgo] just continued to believe and continued to fight until the end. They were able to reverse it with a lob and a forehand and couple good volleys and the next thing you know they’re in a tiebreaker. They did a nice job just hanging tough and really just being persistent out there on the court and making the plays when they had to.
On the consistency in singles from Elliott Orkin and Chase Perez-Blanco
It really is important. They’ve kind of been the anchors. Those two and Diego [Hidalgo] have been pretty rock solid for us on the singles court and it’s huge. It’s huge to have guys out there that are confident in what they’re doing, understand their game, know how to play to their strengths and they’re playing with a purpose out there, so that always helps you have a chance. Those guys in the big moments, they’re playing aggressively and confidently in those moments and that’s good to see. The more you win, the more your confidence grows. The sky is their limit right now.
On keeping the team focused when singles wins go back and forth
It’s not easy. The team aspect is important to these guys. Individually they want to do well but they really want the team to do well. And so it’s easy to start watching the scoreboards and seeing how their teammates are doing while they’re trying to play, so it’s our job as coaches to try to get them on task and make sure that they’re focusing in on their individual matches and their game plans and paying attention to where they might need to make adjustments. It’s not easy because they care about the team and they want the team to do well and they care about one another, so I kind of understand it, but at the same time they need to focus in on their court.
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