Other Sports Skuttle-Butt

April 2000 MSU Other Sports Skuttle-Butt

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04/27/00
Men's Tennis - Mississippi State's men's tennis team is ranked 24th nationally in the latest WingspanBank.com National Rankings, released Wednesday by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association.

State, one of only four teams in the country (Stanford, Georgia, UCLA and MSU) to have made the NCAA round of 16 in each of the last nine seasons, is looking for its 10th-consecutive NCAA bid and 14th appearance at the national championship overall.

In Wednesday's new individual national rankings, junior all-American Marco Baron jumped from 11th to No. 5 in the country in singles, a new career-high for the Nantes, France, native. He has won seven-straight matches of late, five in a row over top 35 foes, and is 25-7 overall.

Senior Jeremy Bayon jumped four spots to 74th in the nation. The Saint Etienne, France, product has won six of his last seven contests. In doubles, Baron and partner Charles Sevigny came in at 11th in the nation in Wednesday's rankings. The duo is 22-7 this year.

All three MSU players are hoping to be selected for competition in the NCAA Individual Championships, which will be held at Georgia May 24-28 following the team competition.

Women's Tennis - Mississippi State's women's tennis team moved up two spots to No. 32 in the latest WingspanBank.com rankings released Wednesday by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association. Individually, junior Amelie Detriviere re-entered the top 100 in singles, ranking 96th.

MSU is 10-10 on the season after reaching the quarterfinals of last weekend's Southeastern Conference Tournament in Oxford, Miss. Head coach Tracy Lane's squad has reached the 10-win plateau for the first time since 1992, when the Lady Bulldogs were 10-11 under the direction of head coach Bill Cooke.

State reached the quarterfinals at the SEC Tournament for the first time since 1991, the only other quarterfinal appearance for the Lady Bulldogs. MSU defeated Kentucky 5-2 in the first round, snapping a nine-match losing streak in the event.

Detriviere is now 19-17 on the year, playing most of the dual match season at the No. 1 singles position. The junior from Bressiure, France, now has 51 career singles wins, ranking eighth all-time at MSU.

The Lady Bulldogs are awaiting a probable berth in the NCAA Team Championships. Pairings will be announced May 4 at 2:30 p.m.

Men's Golf - Mississippi State men's golf coach Nicky Goetze announced the signing of three high school linksters to National Letters of Intent here Wednesday. Matt Adcock, Alan Beers and Carl Sutton will join the Bulldogs for the 2000-2001 campaign.

Adcock comes to MSU from Apopka High School in Florida, where he was a medalist in 14 of 16 events. If Adcock's name sounds familiar to Bulldog golf, it should -- his father, Mitch, played at MSU in the mid-1970s and went on to play on the Professional Golf Association Tour.

"Matt has developed into an excellent player," Goetze said. "With only two years of competitive golf behind him, he has shown that he can compete on the national level."

Adcock finished in fourth position four times last fall in six events. He also posted a 3-under 69 in the first round of the Florida Junior Golf Association stop at Orange County National Crooked Cat. Adcock finished the fall ranked fourth in District 74 with a 36.8 nine-hole stroke average.

"Coming off a consistent season on the Southeastern Junior Golf Tour, Matt should contribute to our team's success immediately," Goetze said. "He is a great athlete, who possesses an excellent knack for the game of golf. As Matt matures in the coming years, he should prove to be a dominant player for our squad."

Beers will give MSU its first player from the Magnolia State since Biloxi native Trae Winniewitz in 1996. Also a Biloxi native, Beers comes to Starkville from Mercy Cross High School. Last fall, he was ranked 26th nationally in the Titleist Amateur Boys rankings, administered by Golfweek. A two-time all-state honoree, Beers owns a career stroke average of 36.7 per nine holes.

"Given Alan's success on the American Junior Golf Circuit as well as his solid performances in various other national junior events, becoming a dominant player in our lineup will be a certainty," Goetze said. "He is a steady player with a great demeanor for the game. Alan's emotional maturity and his exceptional work ethic will serve him well as he takes on the challenges of college golf."

Beers, who plans to enter MSU's renowned professional golf management program, has enjoyed a stellar high school career. At the local level, he won three events, tied for first in two others and never finished lower than a sixth-place tie during the 16-event schedule.

He finished first three times at the state and regional level, and he posted six top-10 finishes on the national level. Beers' national tournament career was highlighted by a 5-under, first-place finish at the Exon-BFI Future Tournament of Champions held in Greenville, Miss.

A native of Jonesboro, Georgia, Sutton treks to MSU after a standout high school career at Woodward Academy. Sutton garnered a No. 30 national ranking last fall in the Titleist Amateur Boys rankings, administered by Golfweek.

"His strong junior golf record indicates his potential for success as a Bulldog," Goetze said of the lefthanded Sutton. "Armed with sound swing fundamentals and a good short game, Carl will certainly be a vital part of our lineup next year."

At the high school level, Sutton finished third or better in all five events he entered, finishing second three times. At the regional level, he finished fifth or better in all six events, including a second-place finish at Southeast Junior Golf Tour stop in Columbus, Ga.

Sutton also played in 15 tournaments on the national level with 11 top-ten finishes. He finished second at the Junior Tour Kiawah Island Intercollegiate and won the Mid-Pines Junior Invitational.

"Carl's methodical approach to the game as well as his dedication to improve are two of his most attractive qualities," Goetze said. "He is an extremely prepared individual who leaves nothing to chance. His meticulous nature will make him a very consistent player for our team."

Goetze will say goodbye to four seniors at the end of this season -- Andy Kampen, Alex Rocha, Ben Smith and Michael Trailov. Rocha stands to leave MSU as the most decorated player in the history of the program with more than 14 school records and a No. 3 national ranking by GolfStat.

MSU will return to action May 13-14 at the Perry Maxwell Invitational held at Dornick Hills Country Club in Ardmore, Okla.

Track and Field - The Mississippi State track and field contingent travels to Philadelphia, Pa., this week to compete in the 105th running of the prestigious Penn Relays.

Competition in the three-day meet begins Thursday for Mississippi State with the first of the relay events as well as the women's discus, shot put and long jump events.

A final tune-up for the SEC Outdoor Championships, to be held in Baton Rouge, La., May 11-14, coach Al Schmidt's squad enters the University of Pennsylvania-hosted meet on the heels of securing a second straight undefeated home season with last Saturday's sweep of the MSU-hosted Jace Lacoste Invitational.

Looking to lead the Lady Bulldogs this week is the 4x400-meter relay squad consisting of La Toya Stephens, Ann-Marie Anderson, Janice Zawaski and Andréa Ingleton, who combined to set a school last weekend with a winning time of 3:39.54. Junior Elisha Williams will attempt to improve upon her NCAA provisional qualifying long jump mark of 20-6 1/4 she set a week ago at home.

On the men's side, junior triple jumpers Ian Robertson and Vance Clarke, senior high jumper Rod Newton and freshman sprinter Pierre Browne, will also look to better their NCAA provisional qualifying marks at the Penn Relays.

Reprinted with the permission of the MSU athletic department

04/25/00
Women's Golf - Mississippi State women's golf head coach Christi Sanders was named Southeastern Conference Coach of the Year , it was announced at this weekend's SEC Championships. Two Lady Bulldogs, junior Lina Thoren and sophomore Anna Gertsson, were named second-team all-SEC, and freshman Christina Clausen was honorable mention.

Sanders, in her 13th season at the helm of the program, has led the Lady Bulldogs to seven top-five finishes in nine tournaments, including three consecutive team titles to begin the season.

MSU finished tied for fifth at the SEC Championships this weekend, the highest team finish in 15 seasons. Clausen, who led the tournament after the first round, finished in a tie for sixth place. Both Thoren and Gertsson finished the season with five top-10 finishes, tied for third most in the conference.

Mississippi State is the only school with five players among the conference's top-25 stroke average chart. With Thoren, Gertsson and Clausen ranked 12th, 13th and 18th, respectively, Sanders' squad is one of only two teams with three golfers in the SEC's top 20.

The Lady Bulldogs have been ranked in the top 25 most of the year, and currently stand 25th in the MasterCard Collegiate Golf Rankings and11th in the GOLFSTAT adjusted ranking. Gertsson, ranked 94th, is the only Lady Bulldog currently ranked in MasterCard's top 100.

"This is a tremendous honor, especially since it comes from my collegues," Sanders said. "Our team has played so well this season, this award is really a result of the players' hard work."

State's season is expected to continue when the top 11 teams from the South District advance to the NCAA East Regionals at the Ohio State Golf Course.The NCAA Tournament field will be announced May 1, and the regionals will begin on May 11.

Reprinted with the permission of the MSU athletic department

04/24/00
Women's Golf - After turning in a 309 in the final day at the 2000 Southeastern Conference Women's Golf Championships at Pinnacle Country Club near Rogers, Ark., Mississippi State finished in sixth place.

Auburn shot a final round 307 for a three-day total of 919, holding off a last day charge by Louisiana State, who turned in the lowest round of the event with a 298, but came up two strokes short of the championship.

While Auburn was the model of consistency with scores of 306 on each of the first two days and a 307 on day three, LSU was more the norm of teams in the tournament. After an opening 321, the Lady Tigers shot 302 on the second day then a tournament low 298 on Sunday.

Tennessee turned in the second-best round on the final day with a 304 to move into third place. Last year's champion, the seventh-ranked Georgia Lady Bulldogs, finished fourth with a 308 on Sunday and 932 for the tournament.

Two teams with hot early rounds finished tied for fifth place. Mississippi State improved from its 322 second round with a final 309, but the Florida Lady Gators fell from second place on Saturday into the tie for fifth with a 321.

Kentucky finished seventh with a 950, followed by host Arkansas at 956, South Carolina at 959 and Vanderbilt at 966. Mississippi at 968 and Alabama at 976 rounded out the 12-team field.

MSU's Christina Clausen finished sixth with a three-day total of 227. The MSU freshman had Friday's only sub-par performance with a 71, shot an 82 Saturday and finished with a 74 on Sunday.

Pia Josefsson was next in line for the Lady Bulldogs with a 28th-place finish having shot a second-straight 79 in the final round. The senior linkster had improved three strokes on Saturday from a first-day 81 to a second-day 79, giving her a 239 three-round total.

State's Anna Gertsson also maintained her second-day score, shooting an 82 in the final round. Totaled with a 71 first-day performance, the sophomore placed 34th with a 241.

Junior Lina Thoren finished 36th for Mississippi State with a 242, improving steadily from a first-day 87 to a second-day 79 and finally to a third-round 76.

Also competing for the Lady Bulldogs, senior Sue Phillips finished 41st with a 244, having shot rounds of 78, 86 and 80.

In addition to the conference championship, the 2000 All-SEC team was announced. The second team included State's Thoren and Gertsson while Clausen was named honorable mention.

TEAM RESULTS
Par: 72 Yardage: 5943
1. Auburn 306-306-307 919
2. LSU 321-302-298 921
3. Tennessee 312-309-304 925
4. Georgia 311-313-308 932
5. Mississippi State 307-322-309 938
6. Florida 316-301-321 938
7. Kentucky 314-320-316 950
8. Arkansas 318-311-327 956
9. South Carolina 314-326-319 959
10. Vanderbilt 328-318-320 966
11. Mississippi 321-318-329 968
12. Alabama 323-337-316 976

INDIVIDUALS
6 Christina Clausen 71-82-74 227 +11
28 Pia Josefsson 81-79-79 239 +23
34 Anna Gertsson 77-82-82 241 +25
36 Lina Thoren 87-79-76 242 +26
41 Sue Phillips 78-86-80 244 +28

Men's Golf - Mississippi State senior Alex Rocha finally had an off day. The nation's third-ranked golfer, according to GolfStat, shot a 1-over 73 in Sunday's final round of the Southeastern Conference Men's Golf Championships here at Turtle Point Yacht and Country Club to finish in second place. MSU finished the weekend in third place at 877 after a third-round 293.

Georgia shot a team score of 288 to win the team championship, going wire-to-wire and tallying a team total of 852 on the weekend. Auburn finished second just two strokes back at 854. South Carolina, which was in 11th place after the first round, finished three strokes behind MSU in fourth at 880.

Rocha entered the final round in first place, one stroke ahead of Auburn's Roland Thatcher. However, Thatcher shot a 68 Sunday to take over first and win the individual title with an 8-under 208. Rocha, Jason Dufner of Auburn and Erik Compton of Georgia finished tied for second at 5-under 211.

"Alex just had one of those days," MSU head coach Nicky Goetze said. "Unfortunately it came on the last day. He just never got things going."

Despite Rocha's slip, the Bulldogs still had a solid day. Ben Smith finished tied for 19th at 222 after carding a 75 Sunday. Codie Mudd turned in the best MSU round of the afternoon with a 2-under 70. He finished in 28th position at 224 on the weekend.

Michael Trailov and John Mueller finished tied for 29th and tied for 50th, respectively, after both shooting 75 in the final 18. Trailov finished the weekend at 225, while Mueller finished at 231.

With its third-place finish, State has now finished fourth or better in each of the last five SEC Championships. Included in that run is a pair of team titles in 1996 and 1997. Prior to this five-year span, MSU had finished fourth or better just once since 1965. MSU's 877 also tied for the Bulldogs' second-lowest SEC Championship score since the event went to a 54-hole format in 1979.

"The guys really had a solid round," Goetze said. "I feel like this performance should give us a good chance of making the NCAA Regionals."

Should the Bulldogs make it to the regionals, they would be May 18-20 at Glen Maura National Country Club in Scranton, Pa. However, MSU will be in action again before then, traveling to Ardmore, Okla., for The Maxwell at Dornick Hills Country Club May 13-14.

RESULTS FROM THE SOUTHEASTERN CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIPS
Killen, Ala. -- April 23, 2000, Turtle Point Yacht and Country Club -- Par 72 -- 6,991 yards

FINAL TEAM STANDINGS
1. Georgia 286-278-288=852
2. Auburn 290-283-281=854
3. Mississippi State 297-287-293=877
4. South Carolina 308-292-280=880
5. Louisiana State 301-295-286=882
6. Mississippi 304-293-289=886
7. Alabama 305-293-291=889
8. Florida 307-295-292=894
9. Vanderbilt 306-305-290=901
10. Tennessee 301-304-300=905
11. Arkansas 306-299-308=913
12. Kentucky 316-302-302=920

MSU INDIVIDUAL RESULTS
t2. Alex Rocha 70-68-73=211 (-5)
t19. Ben Smith 75-72-75=222 (+6)
28. Codie Mudd 75-79-70=224 (+8)
t29. Michael Trailov 77-73-75=225 (+9)
t50. John Mueller 80-74-77=231 (+15)

Men's Tennis - The third-ranked University of Florida men's tennis team (24-3) captured the 2000 SEC Tournament Title with a 4-3 win over 18th-ranked Georgia (16-10) Sunday on the campus of Mississippi State University. The match, which had delays of nearly three and a half hours, began outdoors at the A.J. Pitts Tennis Centre but finished indoors at McCarthy Gymnasium.

"The guys did a great job," said Gator head coach Ian Duvenhage. "I am happy for the whole team and especially the seniors. The best thing is the fact that everyone contributed to the title this weekend. We are the undisputed SEC Champions for 2000."

The Gators, who shared the 2000 SEC title with Tennessee with 10-1 regular season records, captured their second tournament title after also winning the crown in 1994. Florida's win completed an impressive day for Gator tennis, as UF's men's and women's teams swept the SEC Tournament titles for the first time in league history since team play began in 1990. The Florida women also beat Georgia, downing the Bulldogs 5-1 in Oxford.

The two teams played singles first due to the rain delay. Senior Justin O'Neal, who is ranked ninth nationally, gave Florida an early edge as he won his sixth straight with a 6-2, 6-2 victory over 57th-ranked Adam Seri at number two.

"This is what you work for all year," said O'Neal. "I had confidence in the team and I knew we would come through."

Georgia tied the score moments later as senior Dylan Mann lost to Nicolas Boeker, 6-3, 6-3 at number five, halting Mann's four-match winning streak. The two teams traded victories again five minutes later, with Florida claiming the number four singles spot and Georgia grabbing number six singles. Sophomore Olivier Levant snapped a two-match losing streak with a 6-4, 6-1 win over Travis Parrott at number four before freshman Troy Hahn lost to Brandon Wagner, 6-3, 6-2 at number six.

Junior Jeff Morrison, who is ranked fourth in the nation in singles and was named the tournament's Most Valuable Player, captured his 10th win in a row with a 6-4, 6-2 win over 22nd-ranked Matias Boeker at number one to give the Gators a 3-2 advantage.

"This is unbelievable for the team," said Morrison. "It is a culmination of all the hard work and is something we will remember forever."

At the remaining court at number three singles junior Nathan Overholser won the first set 6-1, but Georgia's 58th-ranked Lesley Joseph came back to take the second set, 6-3. With Joseph serving at 5-4 and 15-15 in the final set, the rains came again and the match was delayed due to rain for one hour and 24 minutes. The match was then moved inside to McCarthy Gymnasium. Overholser won the first two points, but Joseph fought off two break points and then won the next two points to even the dual at 3-3.

The doubles followed indoors, with number one and number two doubles the first to be contested on the two courts. UF's sixth-ranked team of Morrison and Overholser won their 17th straight match with an 8-5 victory over 16th-ranked Matias Boeker and Parrott at number one. Senior Trey Adcock and O'Neal then clinched UF's title with an 8-6 win at number two over Joseph and Seri. Adcock and O'Neal, who were playing doubles together for the first time this season, used a service break in the fifth game to gain the momentum in the match.

The Gators will now await word on NCAA first and second round play, which will take place at campus sites on the weekend of May 12.

Reprinted with the permission of the MSU athletic department

04/23/00
Men's Golf - Mississippi State senior Alex Rocha turned in a 4-under 68 here Saturday in the second round of the 2000 Southeastern Conference Men's Golf Championships at Turtle Point Yacht and Country Club. With that round, the senior Bulldog takes over sole possession of first place on the weekend at 6-under 138.

As a team, Mississippi State trimmed 10 strokes off its first-round score with a 287. The Bulldogs, who have a team score of 584, are in third place through 36 holes behind Georgia (564) and Auburn (573). Louisiana State totaled a 295 Saturday and the Tigers are now 12 strokes behind MSU in fourth place.

Rocha's total of 138 ties for the sixth-lowest two-round total in Southeastern Conference Championship history. It is also a personal best for Rocha at the SEC event.

"The start got me going today," Rocha said. "I was really feeling great. I felt like I could pull off shots that I normally wouldn't try, especially in the SEC. The conditions were better today, so I knew everyone's scores would be better. Thanks to my putter, my confidence was very strong. It carried over to all areas of my game."

Roland Thatcher of Auburn and Erik Compton of Georgia are tied for second, trailing Rocha by two shots at 140. Compton matched Rocha's 68 as the low round of the day as only six golfers recorded scores in the 60s. Only 13 of the field's 60 golfers were below par Saturday.

MSU senior Ben Smith didn't break par, but his 72 moved him into a three-way tie for 12th along with John Humphries of Louisiana State and Andrew Pratt of Tennessee. Smith is at 3-over 147 on the weekend.

Michael Trailov is just out of the top 20, tied with five others for 21st with a 150 after carding a 73 in the second round. John Mueller and Codie Mudd are knotted at 43rd with weekend totals of 154. Mueller fired a 2-over 74 on the day to give MSU four golfers at or below 74.

Play will conclude here Sunday with the final 18 holes.

RESULTS FROM THE SOUTHEASTERN CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIPS
Killen, Ala. -- April 22, 2000, Turtle Point Yacht and Country Club, Par 72 -- 6,991 yards

TEAM STANDINGS
1. Georgia 286-278=564
2. Auburn 290-283=573
3. Mississippi State 297-287=584
4. Louisiana State 301-295=596
5. Mississippi 304-293=597
6. Alabama 305-293=598
7. South Carolina 308-292=600
8. Florida 307-295=602
9. Arkansas 306-299=605
Tennessee 301-304=605
11. Vanderbilt 306-305=611
12. Kentucky 316-302=618

MSU INDIVIDUAL RESULTS
1. Alex Rocha 70-68=138 (-6)
t12. Ben Smith 75-72=147 (+3)
t21. Michael Trailov 77-73=150 (+6)
t43. John Mueller 80-74=154 (+10)
t43. Codie Mudd 75-79=154 (+10)

Women's Golf - After turning in a 322 performance in day two at the 2000 Southeastern Conference Women's Golf Championships at Pinnacle Country Club near Rogers, Ark., Mississippi State fell to sixth-place.

Yesterday's leader Christina Clausen fell to sixth, shooting an 82. The MSU freshman had Friday's only sub-par performance with a 71, giving her a two-day total of 153.

Saturday's leader turned out to be a freshman also as Florida's Brittany Straza shot a tournament low round of 70. Straza carded a two-under 70 to lead Florida to the best round of the tournament and vault the Lady Gators into second place behind front-running Auburn. The Tigers turned in a second straight 306 to lead after 36 holes with 612.

MSU's Anna Gertsson shot an 82 in the second round, following a 71 first-day performance, placing her 25th with a 159 total.

Pia Josefsson was next in line for the Lady Bulldogs with a 31st-place performance. The senior linkster improved three strokes going from a first-day 81 to a second-day 79 for a 160 stroke two-day total.

Sue Phillips was in 41st place with a 164 while Lina Thoren was 50th with 166.

The final round will be played with a shotgun start at 8:45 a.m. Sunday in an attempt to complete the 54-hole format.

"The coaches' committee and rules officials determined that with the weather forecast we are facing that a shotgun start is our best option," SEC associate commissioner Pat Wall said.

The second round was played under near perfect weather conditions in contrast to the opening round's wind gusts and chilly temperatures and Sunday's forecast for inclement weather.

TEAM RESULTS
Par: 72 Yardage: 5943
1. Auburn 306-306 612 +36
2. Florida 316-301 617 +41
3. Tennessee 312-309 621 +45
4. LSU 321-302 623 +47
5. Georgia 311-313 624 +48
6. Miss State 307-322 629 +41
Arkansas 318-311 629 +41
8. Kentucky 314-320 634 +58
9. Ole Miss 321-318 639 +63
10. South Carolina 314-326 640 +64
11. Vanderbilt 328-318 646 +70
12. Alabama 323-337 660 +84

INDIVIDUALS
6 Christina Clausen 71-82 153 +9
25 Anna Gertsson 77-82 159 +15
31 Pia Josefsson 81-79 160 +16
41 Sue Phillips 78-86 164 +20
50 Lina Thoren 87-79 166 +22

Track and Field - The Mississippi State men's and women's track and field squad finished the 2000 outdoor home schedule undefeated for the second consecutive year by winning Saturday's fifth annual Jace Lacoste Invitational.

Coach Al Schmidt's squad claimed 10 first-place finishes en route to a pair of team victories at W.O. Spencer Stadium/Carl Maddox Track. A complete team effort for MSU, nine of the 10 wins came from nine different athletes, with the 10th win a relay race.

The tenth victory came in the women's 4x400-meter relay as the MSU squad of La Toya Stephens, Ann-Marie Anderson, Janice Zawaski and Andréa Ingleton set a school record in the event with a clocking of 3:39.54, that bettered the previous school best of 3:41.13 set in 1993. That mark also set a Jace Lacoste Invitational record, one of 11 meet records that were set during Saturday's events.

Junior Elisha Williams led the scoring for the Lady Bulldogs with 16 points in four events, while junior thrower Trish Curtis finished just behind with 13. Williams claimed top honors and a meet record in the long jump with an NCAA provisional qualifying leap of 20-6 ¼. Curtis bettered her own school record in the discus throw, set in last weekend's Mississippi State Invitational, with a second-place toss of 138-8.

Jumpers also led the way for the Bulldogs, as State claimed victories in the high jump, triple jump and long jump. Juniors Ian Robertson and Vance Clarke both claimed NCAA provisional qualifying marks in the triple jump. Robertson won the event with a jump of 51-10 to rank third best in school history, while Clarke now stands fourth among MSU's all-time leaders with a runner-up effort of 51-6 ½. Winning the two other jumping events for MSU were senior Rod Newton in the high jump and freshman Iheanyi Obia in the long jump.

Also claiming top honors for the Bulldogs were junior Matt Caton (hammer, 153-2) and freshman Kevin Pittman (pole vault, 15-1). On the women's side, freshmen Joey Hansen (3,000 meters, 10:52.36) and Ronni Watjus (5,000, 18:37.50) claimed top honors, as well as Ingleton, who claimed a personal best in the 400-meter dash in a time of 53.81 to rank second best in school history.

The Lady Bulldogs finished first with 138 points defeating SEC foe Alabama with 129 and Tulane with 77, while the Bulldogs won the dual meet with 102 points to the Green Wave's 71.

Coach Schmidt's squad continues its 2000 season next week at the Penn Relays in Philadelphia, Pa.

Reprinted with permission of the MSU Athletic Department.

04/22/00
Men's Tennis - Despite an outstanding comeback effort, Mississippi State's 23rd-ranked men's tennis team just missed in its bid to advance to the semifinals of the 2000 Southeastern Conference Championship Friday, as the Bulldogs fell 4-3 to 14th-ranked arch-rival Mississippi 4-3 in the quarterfinal at MSU's A.J. Pitts Tennis Centre.

With the loss, State fell to 11-7 overall on the season. UM improved to 18-4. The Rebels won for the fifth-straight time over the Bulldogs.

Mississippi took the opening doubles point with 8-6 and 8-3 wins at the No. 1 and 3 positions. MSU won 8-5 at No. 2. But despite losing the doubles, State did not wield to the Rebels, positioning themselves for a chance to win the match in singles with an early 3-1 lead behind three straight-set wins.

State tied the match at 1-1 when true freshman Rene-Charles Combette downed Rebel Martin Selin 6-3, 6-1 at the No. 5 position. MSU went up 2-1 when 11th-ranked junior all-American Marco Baron ousted 35th-ranked Alexander Hartman 6-2, 6-1 at the No. 1 position. And the Bulldogs gained a 3-1 advantage after 78th-ranked senior Jeremy Bayon upset 59th-ranked Rebel James Shortall 6-3, 6-2 at the No. 2 spot.

In lieu of the 3-1 lead, however, State still had work ahead, as MSU had dropped the first set in all three of the remaining matches.

Rebel Anders Stenman, ranked 81st nationally, cut the lead to 3-2 when he held off Bulldog Charles Sevigny 6-2, 7-5 at the No. 6 position. Meanwhile, the teams had split sets at the No. 3 position and UM was up a set and a service break in the second at No. 4.

Mississippi senior Vikrant Chadha would used his experience to tie the match at 3-3 when he broke State true freshman Jerome Le Belicard at 4-3 in the third set at the No. 3 spot. Chadha would then serve out a 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 win.

UM's Kristofer Stahlberg then clinched the match for the Rebels, ending a very tight battle with Bulldog David Ruiz at No. 4 6-4, 7-5 after Ruiz had broken at 4-5 to stay in the match.

"This is a very, very tough loss to take," MSU head coach Andy Jackson said. "We knew doubles would be a key in this match for us because they are so talented in singles and we lost that point. But even after that, our guys never gave up. They played very inspired and gave everything they had to get us back into the match and into a position to win it. That's all I can ask.

"This match meant a lot because it was in the SEC Tournament on our home court against our arch-rival. But at the same time, it is just another match. We are not done yet."

The Bulldogs will now await a bid to the 2000 NCAA Tennis Championship, to be announced in the coming weeks. NCAA regional play will be held May 12-14 at various sites throughout the country with the round of 16 to be held again at the University of Georgia May 20-23.

#14 MISSISSIPPI 4, #23 MISSISSIPPI STATE 3
DOUBLES--#27 Vikrant Chadha (UM) def. #12 Marco Baron/Charles Sevigny (MSU) 8-6; Jeremy Bayon/RenÇ-Charles Combette (MSU) def. Martin Selin/Kristofer Stahlberg (UM) 8-5; Alexander Hartman/Anders Stenman (UM) def. Jerome Le Belicard/David Ruiz (MSU) 8-3.
SINGLES-- #11 Baron (MSU) def. #35 Alexander Hartman (UM) 6-2, 6-1; #78 Bayon (MSU) def. #59 Shortall (UM) 6-3, 6-2; Chadha (UM) def. Le Belicard (MSU) 6-3, 3-6, 6-3; Stahlberg (UM) def. Ruiz (MSU) 6-4, 7-5; Combette (MSU) def. Selin (UM) 6-3, 6-1; #81 Stenman (UM) def. Sevigny (MSU) 6-2, 7-5.

(numbers preceding names are current national rankings)

OTHER QUARTERFINAL ROUND RESULTS:

#2 Florida 4, #7 Kentucky 2
In the first match to feature six or more completed points in the tournament, Kentucky took the opening doubles point to challenge the second-seeded Gators before falling.

UF would serve for the doubles point at the No. 2 position at 7-6, but Wildcats Edo Bawano and Johan Hesoun broke back to go on and take a 9-7 victory.

The Gators would rally in singles, however, clinching the match with two late three-set victories.

Tying the match at 1-1 was UF's Dylan Mann who best Kentucky's Johan Grunditz 6-2, 6-1 at the No. 5 position. UK regained the lead at 2-1 after Gustav Pousette ousted Gator Olivier Levant 6-0, 6-3 at the No. 4 spot. Florida knotted things again at 2-2 when ninth-ranked SEC Player of the Year Justin O'Neal held off 25th-ranked Carlos Drada 6-4, 6-3 at No. 2. The Gators went up 3-2 when fourth-ranked Jeff Morrison, the defending NCAA singles champion, overcame a set deficit to win 3-6, 7-6(3), 6-2 over 82nd-ranked Johan Hesoun at No. 1. The match-clincher came at the No. 6 position, where Gator Troy Hahn staved off UK's Jorge Mario Escallon 6-3, 6-7(4), 6-4.

Florida will meet third-seeded Mississippi in Saturday's semis at 11 a.m.

#1 Tennessee 4, #8 Auburn 0
The top-seeded Tennessee Volunteers saw their first action of the weekend Friday afternoon, taking a 4-0 victory over Auburn. UT took the opening doubles point with 8-4 and 8-5 wins at the top two positions and never really looked back. In singles, the Vols got straight-set wins from 67th-ranked Adam Carey, 41st-ranked Peter Handoyo and Mark Fitzpatrick to clinch the victory. The Vols will #5 Georgia at 3 p.m. Saturday afternoon in the semifinals.

#5 Georgia 4, #4 LSU 1
In Friday's late match, LSU took an exiting doubles point in the final quarterfinal match of the tournament, but it wouldn't matter as the Tigers succumbed to the Georgia Bulldogs for the second time in six days. The mild upset by the Bulldogs marked the first based on tournament seedings on the weekend.

After Tigers Michal Chmela and Daniel Kiernan took an 8-4 win at the No. 1 position, the other two positions both went to tiebreakers. At No. 2, the score was 9-9 in the tiebreaker when LSU's team of Ajay Ramaswami and Jesse Smatt won 9-8(6) at No. 3. But Georgia roared back in singles to post four straight-set victories for the team win. Brothers Nicolas and Matias Boeker put UGA up 2-1 with wins at the No. 5 and 1 positions, respectively. Travis Parrott then won 6-1, 6-4 at the No. 4 spot for a 3-1 Bulldog advantage. Clinching for Georgia was Brandon Wagner at the No. 6 position with a 7-6(5), 6-1 win.

2000 SEC MEN'S TENNIS CHAMPIONSHIP

Day #1 (First Round) -- Thursday, April 20, 2000
* Match #1 -- #7 Kentucky def. #10 Arkansas, 4-1
* Match #2 -- #6 Mississippi State def. #11 Alabama, 4-0
* Match #3 -- #8 Auburn def. #9 South Carolina, 4-1
* Match #4 -- #5 Georgia def. #12 Vanderbilt, 4-0

Day #2 (Quarterfinals) -- Friday, April 21, 2000
* Match #5 -- #2 Florida def. #7 Kentucky, 4-1
* Match #6 -- #3 Mississippi def. #6 Mississippi State, 4-3
* Match #7 -- #1 Tennessee def. #8 Auburn, 4-0
* Match #8 -- #5 Georgia def. #4 LSU, 4-1

Day #3 (Semifinals) -- Saturday, April 22, 2000
* Match #9 -- #2 Florida vs. #3 Mississippi, 11 a.m.
* Match #10 -- #1 Tennessee vs. #5 Georgia, 3 p.m.

Day #4 (Championship) -- Sunday, April 23, 2000
* Match #11 -- Match #9 winner vs. Match #10 winner, 1 p.m.

Tournament seedings precede team names. All times Central.

Women's Tennis - One day after posting its first Southeastern Conference Tournament victory in nine years, Mississippi State's 34th-ranked women's tennis team fell 5-2 to top-seeded and second-ranked Georgia here Friday in the tournament quarterfinals.

With the loss, the Lady Bulldogs even their record on the season at 10-10, while Georgia improves to 20-1. UGA will face Tennessee in Saturday's semifinals.

Georgia clinched the match in doubles at the No. 2 match, where the 18th-ranked tandem of Esther Knox and Aarthi Venkatesan defeated MSU's Andrea Lord and Anca Vasiloaica 8-1.

MSU took two of four singles matches to push the team match to doubles. Carole Soubis stunned No. 28 Lori Grey at No. 3 singles, battling back from a first-set loss for a 2-6, 6-4, 6-4 victory. Vasiloaica needed only two sets to knock off Christa Grey at No. 6, winning 7-5, 6-2.

Venkatesan, ranked sixth nationally in singles, took care of Lady Bulldog Ivana Belancic at No. 1 singles with a 6-4, 6-1 victory. MSU junior Amelie Detriviere won the first set off eighth-ranked Knox at No. 2 singles, but could not hold on and was topped 4-6, 6-4, 6-0.

Kelly Baskin defeated State's Claudia Oliveira 6-2, 6-0 at No. 4 singles, while UGA's Anne Nguyen was a 1-6, 7-6, 6-2 winner over Andrea Lord at No. 5.

"We played well," MSU head coach Tracy Lane said. "This is probably the closest match we've every played against Georgia. We had a lot of opportunities to be 4-2 after singles, but they managed to pick up the wins. We didn't lose the match because we didn't try. The effort was definitely there, but they just outplayed us in the end."

MSU falls to 0-20 all-time against Georgia, and the Lady Bulldogs are now 0-3 against their Athens, Ga., counterparts in the SEC Tournament.

State will return home and await a possible berth in the NCAA Tournament.

#2 GEORGIA 5, MISSISSIPPI STATE 2
Oxford, Miss. -- April 21, 2000

SINGLES -- #6 Aarthi Venkatesan (UGA) def. Ivana Belancic (MSU) 6-4, 6-1; #8 Esther Knox (UGA) def. Amelie Detriviere (MSU) 4-6, 6-4, 6-0; Carole Soubis (MSU) def. #28 Lori Grey (UGA) 2-6, 6-4, 6-4; Kelly Baskin (UGA) def. Claudia Oliveira (MSU) 6-2, 6-0; Anne Nguyen (UGA) def. Andrea Lord (MSU) 1-6, 7-6, 6-2; Anca Vasiloaica (MSU) def. Christa Grey (UGA) 7-5, 6-2.
DOUBLES -- Belancic/Soubis (MSU) vs. #2 Marissa Catlin/Grey (UGA) suspended; #18 Knox/Venkatesan (UGA) 8-1; Detriviere/Eimear Sloan (MSU) vs. Zoe Mellis/Nguyen (UGA) suspended.

Men's Golf - Mississippi State senior Alex Rocha fired a 2-under 70 here Friday in the first round of the Southeastern Conference Men's Golf Championships at Turtle Point Yacht and Country Club to match three others atop the leaderboard. MSU as a team is in third place through the first day after tallying a team score of 297.

Brandt Snedeker of Vanderbilt, John Humphries of Louisiana State and Michael Morrison of Georgia all matched Rocha with 70s. The nation's third-ranked golfer according to GolfStat, Rocha has now shot par of better in the first round of 16 consecutive events dating back to March, 1999. He was able to keep that streak alive with a 4-under 32 on the back nine after taking 38 swings on the front nine.

Roland Thatcher of Auburn is one stroke back in fifth, while five golfers are tied for sixth at even-par 2. Included in that group is Georgia's Nick Cassini, who is the second-ranked golfer in the SEC behind Rocha.

Georgia leads in the team standings after totaling a 286 in the first 18. Auburn is second at 290, followed by MSU. Louisiana State and Tennessee are tied for fourth at 301.
Ben Smith and Codie Mudd give MSU two more players in the top 20, tying three others for 17th place. Smith shot a 40 on the front nine, but rebounded with a 35 on the back for a 3-over 75. Mudd had the reverse fortune, firing an even-par 36 before the turn and a 39 after. Michael Trailov is tied for 28th at 5-over 77, and John Mueller is tied for 49th at 80.

Play will continue here Saturday with the second round. The final 18 will be played Sunday.

RESULTS FROM THE SOUTHEASTERN CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIPS
Killen, Ala. -- April 21, 2000, Turtle Point Yacht and Country Club, Par 72 -- 6,991 yards

TEAM STANDINGS
1. Georgia 286M
2. Auburn 290
3. Mississippi State 297
4. Louisiana State 301
Tennessee 301
6. Mississippi 304
7. Alabama 305
8. Arkansas 306
Vanderbilt 306
10. Florida 308
11. South Carolina 309
12. Kentucky 316

MSU INDIVIDUAL RESULTS
t1. Alex Rocha 38-32=70 (-2)
t17. Codie Mudd 36-39=75 (+3)
t17. Ben Smith 40-35=75 (+3)
t28. Michael Trailov 41-36=77 (+5)
t49. John Mueller 43-37=80 (+8)

Reprinted with the permission of the MSU athletic department

04/21/00
Men's Tennis - Mississippi State's 23rd-ranked men's tennis team started the 2000 Southeastern Conference Tournament Championship in solid fashion Thursday, ousting No. 73 Alabama 4-0 in first-round action at MSU's A.J. Pitts Tennis Centre. State improved to 11-6 overall with the win.

The victory sets up a rematch for the sixth-seeded Bulldogs with 14th-ranked and third-seeded, arch-rival Mississippi Friday at 12 p.m. in the quarterfinals, which State has now reached in 10 of the 11 seasons the SEC Championship has been in a team format.

State took the opening doubles point against the Crimson Tide with close 8-6 wins at the No. 1 and 2 positions. Following those tight results, however, the Bulldogs would come out firing in singles, winning all six first sets en route to the victory.

Putting the Bulldogs up 2-0 was senior Jeremy Bayon. Ranked 78th nationally, he downed Alabama's 66th-ranked Maxim Belski for the second time in six days at the No. 2 position, this time with a 6-2, 6-2 result.

State went up 3-0 when true freshman Rene-Charles Combette bested Chris McRae 6-3, 6-1 at the No. 4 spot. Clinching the match for MSU was junior Mathieu Soto, who ousted the Crimson Tide's William Boyles 6-4, 6-0 at No. 6.

All remaining matches were suspended when State had clinched the win.

"I was very pleased with our effort today," MSU head coach Andy Jackson said. "We seemed very focused on the situation at hand, which was playing a very solid Alabama team.

"Now we will get a second chance against our arch-rival on our home court. I expect another exciting match between our teams."

#23 MISSISSIPPI STATE 4, #73 ALABAMA 0
DOUBLES--#12 Marco Baron/Charles Sevigny (MSU) def. Susheel Narla/Francisco Rodriguez (UA) 8-6; Jeremy Bayon/RenÇ-Charles Combette (MSU) def. Maxim Belski/Chris McRae (UA) 8-6; Jerome Le Belicard/David Ruiz (MSU) vs. William Boyles/Brian Isern (UA) - suspended.
SINGLES-- #11 Baron (MSU) vs. #34 Rodriguez (UA) -- suspended; #78 Bayon (MSU) def. #66 Belski (UA) 6-2, 6-2; Ruiz (MSU) vs. Narla (UA) - suspended; Combette (MSU) def. McRae (UA) 6-3, 6-1; Sevigny (MSU) vs. Alfonso Perez (UA) -- suspended; Mathieu Soto (MSU) def. Boyles (UA) 6-4, 6-0.

(numbers preceding names are current national rankings)

OTHER FIRST ROUND RESULTS FROM THE SEC MEN'S TENNIS CHAMPIONSHIP THURSDAY:

#7 Kentucky 4, #10 Arkansas 1
In the tournament's first match, seventh-seeded Kentucky downed No. 10 seed Arkansas 4-1. Wildcats John Deaton and Henrik Tofft won a tiebreaker at No. 2 doubles to claim the opening point of the day for UK. UK got straight-set wins from 25th-ranked Carlos Drada (No. 2 position), 82nd-ranked Johan Hesoun (No. 1) and Gustav Pousette (No. 4 ) for the win. Arkansas' lone win came from Magnus Kullenberg at the No. 3 spot. UK, who meets second-seeded Florida at 8 a.m. Friday, is into the SEC quarterfinals for the seventh time in 11 years.

#8 Auburn 4, #9 South Carolina 1
Match #3 of the first round went to the eighth-seeded Auburn Tigers with a 4-1 victory over No. 9 South Carolina. The teams split matches at the top two doubles positions before the Auburn duo of Marcel Mizerski and Estevam Strecker broke a 6-6 at No. 3 to go on and win 8-6 to claim the opening point for the Tigers. USC knotted the score at 1-1 when Auburn's Mark Kovacs, down a set 6-2, was forced to retire with an ankle injury at the No. 3 position. Auburn would then win three matches in straight sets to clinch the win. Victorious for AU were 73rd-ranked Stephen Huss, 86th-ranked Tiago Ruffoni and Estevam Strecker at the No. 1, 4, and 6 positions, respectively. Auburn advances to meet top-seeded Tennessee Friday afternoon, a match not to start before 3 p.m.

#5 Georgia vs. #12 Vanderbilt
In the day's final match, Georgia took the opening doubles point with 8-6 wins at the No. 1 and 2 positions. As was the case with Kentucky, Auburn and Mississippi State earlier in the day, Georgia would posted three straight-set wins to pull out the victory. Boeker brothers Matias and Nicolas were winners for UGA (No. 1 and 4 positions), along with Lesley Joseph at the No. 2 position. UGA will meet fourth-seeded LSU in Friday's quarters in a match not to start before 6 p.m. The Bulldogs beat the Tigers 6-0 this past Sunday in Athens.

SEC MEN'S TENNIS CHAMPIONSHIP UPDATE

Day #2 (Quarterfinals) -- Friday, April 21, 2000
* Match #5 -- #2 Florida vs. #7 Kentucky, 8 a.m.
* Match #6 -- #3 Mississippi vs. #6 Mississippi State, 12 p.m.
* Match #7 -- #1 Tennessee vs. #8 Auburn, not before 3 p.m.
* Match #8 -- #4 LSU vs. #5 Georgia, not before 6 p.m.

Day #3 (Semifinals) -- Saturday, April 22, 2000
* Match #9 -- Match #5 winner vs. Match #6 winner, 11 a.m.
* Match #10 -- Match #7 winner vs. Match #8 winner, 3 p.m.

Day #4 (Championship) -- Sunday, April 23, 2000
* Match #11 -- Match #9 winner vs. Match #10 winner, 1 p.m.

Tournament seedings precede team names. All times Central.

Women's Tennis - Mississippi State women's tennis head coach Tracy Lane made vast changes to her doubles lineup for the Lady Bulldogs' first-round match in the 2000 Southeastern Conference Women's Tennis Tournament here Thursday. The move paid off as 34th-ranked MSU knocked off No. 28 Kentucky 5-3.

Ninth-seeded State, which had lost all three doubles match to drop a 5-4 decision to Kentucky last Sunday in Kentucky, won the first two doubles matches to advance to the second round of the SEC Tournament for the first time since 1991. The victory snapped a nine-match losing streak for the Lady Bulldogs in the tournament.

MSU also stopped a six-match losing streak for this season, and the Lady Bulldogs posted their first doubles victories in five matches.

Amelie Detriviere and Eimear Sloan, playing their first match together since a Jan. 23 loss to UK's Leigh Bradwell and Brooke Skeen, stunned the 31st-ranked tandem of Carolina Mayorga and Sara Witten 8-3 at No. 2 doubles to clinch the MSU victory.

With Kentucky leading 3-2, MSU sophomore Andrea Lord knotted the match as she rebounded from a second-set, tie-breaker loss for a 6-3, 6-7, 6-1 victory over Amy Trefethen at the No. 5 spot. The win was a school-record 30th singles triumph of the year for Lord, who now has 52 career singles victories in only two seasons.

That set the stage for doubles, where Ivana Belancic and Carole Soubis gave MSU a 4-3 with a 9-7 victory over Bradwell and Skeen at No. 1. That set the stage for Detriviere's and Sloan's heroics.

Getting to doubles was not easy for the Bulldogs. Belancic was clipped 6-1, 6-1 at the top spot by 97th-ranked Skeen. Then, Detriviere dropped a 6-2, 6-2 decision to Carolina Mayorga at No. 2 singles, and Claudia Oliveira was edged at No. 4, falling 6-3, 7-6 to Jill Buckley.

However, MSU got convincing wins at No. 3 and No. 6. Soubis took care of Lauren Rookledge 6-1, 6-4 at No. 3, while Vasiloaica defeated Bradwell 6-3, 6-0 at No. 6.

MSU will now look to top-seed and second-ranked Georgia for a 3:30 p.m. quarterfinal match Friday. The winner of that match will face the winner of the Mississippi-Tennessee match Saturday at 2 p.m. in the semifinals.

#34 MISSISSIPPI STATE 5, #28 KENTUCKY 3
Oxford, Miss. -- April 20, 2000

SINGLES -- #97 Brooke Skeen (UK) def. Ivana Belancic (MSU) 6-1, 6-1; Carolina Mayorga (UK) def. Amelie Detriviere (MSU) 6-2, 6-2; Carole Soubis (MSU) def. Lauren Rookledge (UK) 6-1, 6-4; Jill Buckley (UK) def. Claudia Oliveira (MSU) 6-3, 7-6; Andrea Lord (MSU) def. Amy Trefethen (UK) 6-3, 6-7, 6-1; Anca Vasiloaica (MSU) def. Leigh Bradwell (UK) 6-3, 6-0.
DOUBLES -- Belancic/Soubis (MSU) def. Skeen/Bradwell (UK) 9-7; Detriviere/Eimear Sloan (MSU) def. #31 Mayorga/Witten (UK) 8-3; Lord/Vasiloaica (MSU) vs. Buckley/Rookledge (UK) suspended.

# -- indicates ranking according to ITA Rankings day of match

Women's Golf - Mississippi State placed a school-record tying four players on the 2000 Southeastern Conference Women's Golf Academic Honor Roll, released by the conference office Thursday.

The Lady Bulldogs, ranked 25th nationally, tied the school-record they set last season. Head Coach Christi Sanders has now placed 30 golfers on the conference honor roll in her 13 seasons at the helm of the MSU program.

To be eligible for the award, a student-athlete must have a 3.0 grade point average for either the past year or a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher for her career. The student-athlete also must be a sophomore or higher in terms of academic classification and have 24 semester hours toward a degree.

Senior Pia Josefsson was named to the team for the third time, becoming the sixth three-time honoree in the honor roll's 17-year history. Josefsson has a 3.68 GPA in communication.

Junior Lina Thoren was honored for the second consecutive season. Thoren carries a 3.44 GPA in microbiology.

Senior Sue Phillips and sophomore Anna Gertsson were both first time recipients. Gertsson has also garnered an 88th-place ranking in this week's MasterCard Rankings. Phillips and Gertsson have GPAs of 3.22 in psychology and 3.48 in fitness management, respectively.

LADY BULLDOGS READY FOR SEC TOURNEY
Mississippi State's women's golf team will begin play in Fayetteville, Arkansas today in the Southeastern Conference Championships to be held at Pinnacle Country Club.

MSU will enter ranked 25th nationally, with sophomore Anna Gertsson ranked 88th according to this week's MasterCard Rankings, sponsored by the College Golf Foundation.

Gertsson will be joined by junior Lina Thoren, who possesses the SEC's 11th lowest scoring average. Gertsson and Thoren are both tied for third in the conference with five top-10 finishes.

Seniors Pia Josefsson and Sue Phillips and freshman Christina Clausen round out the line-up for the Lady Bulldogs.

Play will begin at 8 a.m. today with 18 holes being played. The tournament will continue on Saturday and conclude on Sunday.

Men's Golf -- Mississippi State's 37th-ranked men's golf team will return to action at Killen, Alabama Friday as the Bulldogs begin play in the 2000 Southeastern Conference Championships at Turtle Point Yacht and Country Club.

This will be the 61st edition of the SEC Championships, which were first held in 1937. Georgia has won the most team conference titles, totaling 22 since capturing its first title in 1941. Louisiana State and Florida trail in the team title tally with 15 and 13, respectively. The only other schools to have won multiple titles are Auburn, MSU and Tennessee, winning twice each.

State and Florida dominated the championships during the 1990s as the only teams to win on multiple occasions. Florida took four straight from 1991 to 1994 and tacked on a fifth title last season in Lexington, Ky.

MSU won the event in 1996 and again in 1997, sweeping both the team title and the individual title in 1996 when Graham Davidson fired a 205. Florida has won the most individual championships with 17.

This year, the Bulldogs will be led by the SEC's top rated golfer Alex Rocha, who this week is ranked as the No. 3 golfer in the nation by GolfStat. His 69.97 stroke average is more than two full strokes lower than the single-season school record and leads Georgia's Nick Cassini by nearly a full shot in the SEC standings.

Rocha, a leading candidate for SEC player of the year honors, has captured four titles on the year, including three during the spring, and has five individual championships on his career. Last season, Rocha finished third at the SEC Championships with a 5-over 221 only three stroke behind titleist Camilo Benedetti of Florida. Senior Andy Kampen finished sixth last year at 9-over 225 to help the Bulldogs to a fourth-place finish.

This will be the SEC Championships' first visit to Turtle Point since 1988 when Georgia was the champion. That wrapped up a four-year stay for the tournament at the Killen, Ala., venue.

Play will open today with 18 holes. The second round will be played Saturday with the final round scheduled for Sunday.

BULLDOG LINKSTERS' TRIO NAMED TO SEC ACADEMIC HONOR ROLL
Three members of Mississippi State's 37th-ranked men's golf team were named to the Southeastern Conference Academic Honor Roll released Thursday by the conference office. John Mueller, Ben Smith and Michael Trailov were each honored by the SEC for academic prowess.

Trailov, a senior from Franklin, Tenn., becomes the first four-time honoree in school history. No other MSU golfer has been honored more than twice. Trailov, who was a redshirt during the 1997-98 season, sports a 3.66 GPA in banking and finance.

Mueller, who carries a 3.25 GPA in business information systems, and Smith, who holds 3.28 GPA in interdisciplinary studies, are both first-time honorees.

In order to be eligible for the honor roll, a student-athlete must have at least a 3.0 GPA for either the past year or his cumulative time of studies. The student-athlete must also be classified academically as a sophomore or higher and have completed 24 hours toward a degree.

Reprinted with the permission of the MSU athletic department

04/20/00
Men's Golf - If you are interested in MSU golf, The Clarion-Ledger had a great article, written by Sekou Smith, about senior golfer Alex Rocha. Click here to go to it....

Women's Tennis - Mississippi State and Kentucky will square off for the second time in five days at 2:30 p.m. here Thursday in the first round of the 2000 Southeastern Conference Women's Tennis Tournament.

MSU, 9-9 on the year and 3-8 in the SEC, moved up two spots to No. 34 in the latest WingspanBank.com rankings released Wednesday by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association. Kentucky will enter the SEC Tournament ranked 28th.

The Lady Bulldogs and Wildcats faced each other last Sunday in Lexington with the Blue and White taking a 5-4 victory. MSU led 4-2 after singles play only to see UK sweep the three doubles matches. This will mark the first time in school history that the Lady Bulldogs have faced the same opponent in consecutive matches.

State and Kentucky have met 21 times with the Wildcats holding a 20-1 advantage in the series. MSU's lone victory came last season in Starkville. The two programs have never met in the SEC Tournament.

MSU will be looking to snap a nine-match losing streak in the tournament. The Lady Bulldogs are 1-10 all-time in the event with their lone victory coming over Auburn in the first round of the 1991 tournament.

The winner of the MSU-Kentucky match will advance to Friday's quarterfinals for a 3:30 p.m. match with top-seeded and 2nd-ranked Georgia. State fell 5-1 to UGA in Starkville during the regular season.

Reprinted with the permission of the MSU athletic department

04/19/00
Men's Tennis - Four Mississippi State men's tennis players have been named to the 2000 Southeastern Conference Men's Tennis Academic Honor Roll, released Tuesday by the SEC.

To be eligible for the SEC honor roll, a student-athlete must (1) have a 3.0 grade point average for either the past year (two semesters or three quarters) or for his career, (2) be a sophomore or higher in terms of academic classification, and (3) have 24 semester or 36 quarter hours toward a degree.

All four Bulldogs who met the sophomore status classification were named to this year's team--Marco Baron, Jeremy Bayon, David Ruiz and Mathieu Soto. Baron and Bayon were repeat selections to the squad.

Bayon, State's lone senior from Saint Etienne, France, earned his third-straight selection to the SEC academic team, the most allowable in a career set by the SEC guidelines for the honor. He holds a 3.19 grade point average in general business administration.

Baron, a junior from Nantes, France, native, earned his second selection to the team with a perfect 4.00 GPA in international business.

Ruiz and Soto were both first-time selections to the academic squad. Ruiz joined Baron with a spotless GPA at 4.00, also in International Business. Soto, a junior from Paris, holds a 3.52 in the same field of study.

"Our academic success has truly been something to be proud of over the last few years," MSU head coach Andy Jackson said. "It is one thing for us to have a successful team on the court. But when we have a great team that is made up of excellent student-athletes it speaks even more for our program."

With Tuesday's honors, MSU has had at least one selection to the Academic all-SEC team in 12 of the last 13 seasons and at least four honorees on the squad in each of the last four seasons.

Three other Bulldog netters also hold GPAs of 3.0 or better, but are all true freshmen and therefore did not meet the sophomore status requirement for the award.

Women's Tennis - Mississippi State placed a school-record seven players on the 2000 Southeastern Conference Women's Tennis Academic Honor Roll, released by the conference office Tuesday. MSU joined Auburn as the only schools with seven honorees.

The Lady Bulldogs, currently 9-9 on the season and ranked 36th nationally, topped the previous school mark of six from a year ago. In head coach Tracy Lane's four seasons at the helm of the MSU program, State has placed 20 players on the academic team.

All seven eligible Lady Bulldogs received all-academic recognition. Only sophomore Carole Soubis, who transferred to MSU in August, was not eligible.

Senior Eimear Sloan was named to the team for the third time, becoming the 12th three-time Lady Bulldog honoree in the honor roll's 17-year history. Sloan carries a 3.44 GPA in business administration.

Ivana Belancic, Amelie Detriviere, Linda Mattsson and Anca Vasiloaica were honored for the second consecutive season. Belancic, who joins Sloan as the only senior on the 2000 MSU squad, carries a 3.39 in international business. Juniors Detriviere, Mattsson and Vasiloaica have GPAs of 3.85, 3.84 and 3.60, respectively, all in business administration.

Sophomore Andrea Lord and freshman Claudia Oliveira were both honored for the first time. Lord carries a 3.40 in psychology, while Oliveira, who redshirted last season and holds sophomore status academically, has a 3.11 in business administration.

MSU will return to action Thursday at 3:30 p.m. as the Lady Bulldogs battle 35th-ranked Kentucky for the second time in five days in the first round of the 2000 SEC Tournament at the University of Mississippi.

Reprinted with the permission of the MSU athletic department

04/16/00
Men's Tennis - Currently riding a four-match winning streak, Mississippi State's 21st-ranked men's tennis team will conclude the 2000 regular season Sunday, hosting 15th-ranked, arch-rival Mississippi. Match time between the Bulldogs and Rebels is set for 1 p.m. at MSU's A. J. Pitts Tennis Centre.

State will carry a 10-5, 6-4 Southeastern Conference record into the match after wins over #27 Auburn (5-2), Vanderbilt (7-0), #36 Kentucky (5-2) and Alabama (6-1) during the last two weeks. Mississippi is 16-4, 8-2 in the SEC, and is currently riding a four-match win streak of its own with recent wins over Auburn, Alabama, South Carolina and Georgia.

MSU owns a 46-34-2 lead in the recorded history of the series, 10-8 under head coach Andy Jackson. UM has won the last three meetings between the teams, however, including a 4-2 win for the River Hills Cup earlier this season in Jackson. State has won three of the last four contests staged between the schools in Starkville, a 4-3 loss in 1996 the only blemish.

The match will also mark the 15th-consecutive time that the teams have met where both have been ranked in the top 25 nationally.

"Here we go again. This will be another great match to add to the long history of the rivalry," Jackson said. "This will also be a very tough match for us. They beat us in Jackson earlier this year and are definitely one of the country's most talented teams. But we play well at home and have been improving as the season has progressed. It has the makings of a very, very good match, which has always been the case between our two teams."

Following Sunday's match, State will prepare to host the 2000 SEC Men's Tennis Tournament Championship this Thursday-Sunday, April 20-23. For ticket information, please contact the MSU Athletic Ticket Office at 662-325-2600 or 1-888-GO-DAWGS.

Track and Field - The Mississippi State men's and women's track squad swept their fifth consecutive home meet with a pair of team victories over McNeese State in Saturday's Mississippi State Invitational during Super Bulldog Weekend.

In a home winning streak that dates back to last year, Coach Al Schmidt's squad amassed 20 first-place finishes in the meet at W.O. Spencer Stadium/Carl Maddox Track, including 12 by the Lady Bulldogs.

The Lady Bulldogs were led by junior thrower Trish Curtis, who claimed victories in the shot put (40-6 ¾) and hammer throw (166-2) as well as second-place finishes in the discus and javelin for a team-high 16 points. After setting a new school mark in the hammer throw at last weekend's Texas Relays, Curtis bettered her own MSU record in the discus in Saturday's second-place effort with a throw of 138-6.

The MSU women also saw the school's triple jump record fall twice in the meet, as seniors Pat Barr and Crystal Gibbs surpassed Elisha Williams' mark of 39-10 set last year. Barr held the record briefly as she surpassed the 40-foot mark with a leap of 40-0 ½, only to see her teammate Gibbs claim the new school record with a jump of 40-8 ¼.

Sophomore sprinter Camille Harper out-rivaled her opponents by claiming victories in the 100-meter dash and 200-meter dash as well as anchoring the team's 4x100-meter relay squad to victory.

The Bulldogs were led by freshman hurdler Kelvin Harris' double victories in the 110-meter high hurdles and the 400-meter intermediate hurdles. Harris tied with freshman sprinter Pierre Browne for the most points scored (10) for the MSU squad.

Junior triple jumper Vance Clarke jumped to victory with a leap of 51-3 that ranks fifth best in Mississippi State history. Also claiming victories for the Bulldogs were Matt Caton in the hammer throw (154-4), Browne in the 200-meter dash (21.27), Shamone Johnson in the long jump (22-4 ¼), Kevin Pittman in the pole vault (15-1), and Rod Newton in the high jump (6-7 ½).

The Lady Bulldogs scored 97 points to out-distance the Cowgirls' total of 54 points on the women's side, while the Bulldogs won a close meet by an 82-80 final tally over the Cowboys.

Coach Schmidt's squad will conclude its three-meet homestand next Saturday by hosting Tulane and the Alabama women's team in the fifth annual Jace Lacoste Invitational at Spencer Stadium/Maddox Track.

Reprinted with the permission of the MSU athletic department

04/15/00
Men's Tennis - Mississippi State's 21st-ranked men's tennis won its fourth match in a row Friday afternoon, downing 67th-ranked Alabama 6-1 at MSU's A.J. Pitts Tennis Centre.

With the victory, State improved to 10-5 overall, 6-4 in SEC play. UA fell to5-15, 2-8. MSU won for the ninth time in a row against the Crimson Tide.

State swept doubles play for the seventh time this season, posting 8-5, 8-6, and 8-4 wins. In singles, State would win five of six first sets, two in tiebreakers, to set up the team victory.

Putting the Bulldogs up 3-0 early were Marco Baron and Charles Sevigny with identical 6-1, 6-1 triumphs. Baron, MSU's 11th-ranked junior all-American ousted 34th-ranked Francisco Rodriguez at the No. 1 position for his fourth-straight win over top 100 foes. Sevigny, a true freshman, bested William Boyles by that score at No. 5.

Soon after, MSU junior Mathieu Soto would put the team victory in the bag for State, winning 6-2, 6-4 over Alabama's Alphonso Perez at the No. 6 spot.

After the match had been clinched, the Bulldogs would win two of the final three matches, all of which featured first-set tiebreakers.

State would win by identical 7-6, 6-3 scores at the No. 2 and 4 positions. Senior Jeremy Bayon, ranked 78th nationally, downed 66th-ranked Maxim Belski at No. 2 to register his 21st dual match win in 26 chances dating back to 1999. True freshman RenÇ-Charles Combette posted that result over the Crimson Tide's Chris McRae at No. 4 for his 12th win in 14 matches this spring.

Alabama's lone victory came at the No. 3 spot where Susheel Narla held off MSU's Jerome Le Belicard 7-6(1), 6-4.

"I was impressed with our performance today," MSU head coach Andy Jackson said. "We beat another very solid team in Alabama and we did it knowing that we have a big match coming up Sunday. Our guys were very focused on the match at hand and took care of business. Now we will prepare for Sunday."

The Bulldogs close out the regular season Sunday with a showdown against No. 15 arch-rival Mississippi. Match time is set for 1 p.m. at the Pitts Tennis Centre. State will then host the 2000 SEC Tournament Championship this coming Thursday-Sunday, April 20-23.

#21 MISSISSIPPI STATE 6, #67 ALABAMA 1

DOUBLES--#12 Marco Baron/Charles Sevigny (MSU) def. Maxim Belski/William Boyles (UA) 8-5; Jeremy Bayon/RenÇ-Charles Combette (MSU) def. Chris McRae/Francisco Rodriguez (UA) 8-6; Jerome Le Belicard/David Ruiz (MSU) def. Brian Isern/Susheel Narla (UA) 8-4.

SINGLES-- #11 Baron (MSU) def. #34 Rodriguez (UA) 6-1, 6-1; #78 Bayon (MSU) def. #66 Belski (UA) 7-6(3), 6-3; Narla (UA) def. Le Belicard (MSU) 7-6(1), 6-4; Combette (MSU) def. McRae (UA) 7-6(6), 6-3; Sevigny (MSU) def. Boyles (UA) 6-1, 6-1; Mathieu Soto (MSU) def. Alfonso Perez (UA) 6-2, 6-4.

(numbers preceding names are current national rankings)

Track and Field - For the third time in the last four years, the Mississippi State cross country squad has received Academic All-America "With Distinction" honors, as announced by the Women's Intercollegiate Cross Country Coaches Association.

Coach Al Schmidt's 1999 squad earned a cumulative team grade point average of 3.50, ranking the Bulldogs as tops in the Southeastern Conference and 12th nationally among the 69 teams receiving the honor. Eight of the 10 MSU harriers finished the fall semester owning grade point averages of 3.30 or higher, including President's List Scholars Elizabeth Davis (4.00 in special education), Katie Longmire (4.00 in human sciences) and Ronni Watjus (3.94 in animal and dairy sciences).

A trio of veterans, senior twins Karin and Monika Haber along with Davis, a junior from Starkville, helped the MSU squad earn the honor with their respective cumulative grade point averages of 3.66, 3.50 and 3.80. Members of the Bulldogs 1996 and 1998 academic all-America squads, the Habers are three-time recipients of the honor.

Other MSU cross country team honorees include sophomores LeeAnn Ripstra, Kristin Tallent and Christine Zawaski, along with freshmen Joey Hansen and Martha Hudsonpillar.

Reprinted with the permission of the MSU athletic department

04/14/00
Women's Golf - Mississippi State women's golf coach Christi Sanders has been named a finalist for South District Coach of the Year, it was announced Wednesday. The recipient of the award is determined by a vote of coaches in the South District.

Sanders, in her 13th season at the helm of the women's golf program, has led this year's squad to three team tournament titles and six top-three finishes. The team is currently ranked 11th nationally by Golfstat and 23rd by MasterCard.

During her career at Mississippi State, Sanders has coached four All-Americans and eight all-Southeastern Conference honorees. She has had 26 golfers on the SEC Academic Honor Roll, including a school record four last season.

"I'm just honored to be nominated by my colleagues," Sanders said. "This recognition is strictly a result of the players outstanding play all season long."

The winner of the award will be announced by the National Golf Coaches Association at the NCAA Championships on May 24th.

Men's Golf - Mississippi State climbed seven spots to No. 37 in the latest MasterCard College Golf rankings released Thursday by the College Golf Foundation. Senior Alex Rocha moved up one spot to 20th in the individual rankings.

MSU finished second at last weekend's Billy Hitchcock Intercollegiate in Opelika, Ala. The Bulldogs finished five strokes ahead of Georgia State and 11 strokes ahead of Oklahoma; however, both GSU at 27th and OU at 32nd still rank ahead of State.

Rocha, meanwhile, was able to rise only one sot in the rankings despite claiming his third individual title of the year at the Hitchcock. The Sao Paulo, Brazil, native fired a school-record, 10-under 62 in Friday's first round en route to a 14-under 202, the second-lowest, 54-hole score in school history. Rocha won the Hitchcock by 10 strokes.

The Bulldogs will return to action next weekend, traveling to Killen, Ala., for the Southeastern Conference Championships at Turtle Point Golf Course.

Reprinted with the permission of the MSU athletic department

04/10/00
Women's Golf - Christi Sanders' 24th-ranked Lady Bulldog golf squad posted a final-round 320 at the LSU Invitational here Sunday to finish in third place. MSU was led by sophomore Anna Gertsson, who finished in a tie for sixth place in the individual competition.

Gertsson's sixth place finish was her fifth top-10 performance of the season, tying her with junior Lina Thoren for the team lead. Thoren shot her best round of the tournament on Sunday, posting a 76, the third-best round of the day. She finished the tournament with a three-day total of 242, good for a tie in 23rd place. Senior Pia Josefsson also finished the tournament with a 242.

Senior Sue Phillips and freshman Christina Clausen each carded 244s to tie for 31st. Clausen entered the tournament with a streak of seven consecutive top-30 finishes. Senior Kelli McClarren, playing as an individual, fired a final-round 77 to finish tied for 49th.

Host LSU won the team title by 31 strokes over second place finisher, South Florida. The Lady Tigers, ranked ninth in the nation, placed four golfers in the top six to run away with the title. Tina Howard of LSU won the tournament with a three day total of 225.

The Lady Bulldogs will return to action April 21-23 when they travel to Fayetteville, Ark. to compete in the SEC Championships.

TEAM RESULTS
1. LSU 304-310-304=955
2. South Florida 308-328-313=949
3. MISSISSIPPI STATE 314-321-320=955
4. Arkansas 310-327-319=956
5. Mississippi 318-324-316=958
6. NC-Wilmington 318-327-321=966, Tulane 312-325-329=966
8. Memphis 324-328-321=973, Southern Methodist 310-340-323=973
10. Ark.-Little Rock 322-334-318=974
11. Alabama 313-335-327=975
12. North Texas 321-333-322=976

Individual Results (MSU only)
t6. Anna Gertsson 79-76-80=235
t23. Lina Thoren 80-86-76=242
t23. Pia Josefsson 78-81-83=242
t31. Sue Phillips 81-78-85=244
t31. Christina Clausen 77-86-81=244

Women's Tennis - Mississippi State's 24th ranked women's tennis team dropped its fifth consecutive match here Sunday, falling 7-2 to No. 22 Tennessee at the A.J. Pitts Tennis Centre. With the loss, the Lady Bulldogs fall to 9-8 on the season with a 3-7 mark in Southeastern Conference play. Tennessee improves to 14-10 and 5-4.

The Lady Vols built a commanding lead, winning the first four singles matches in straight sets. MSU took No. 3 and No. 4 singles in three sets, but UT came back to win all three doubles matches. Vilmarie Castellvi and Alison Ojeda clinched the match for Tennessee with an 8-1 victory over Lady Bulldogs Eimear Sloan and Carole Soubis at No. 1 doubles.

Things did not start off well for MSU as Sloan fell to Crystal Cleveland 6-3, 6-0 in just 69 minutes at the No. 6 position. Sloan led 3-2 in the first set before seeing Cleveland reel off 10 straight games to extend her winning streak to 11 matches.

Moments later, 64th-ranked Ojeda sent No. 81 Amelie Detriviere to her fifth consecutive defeat 6-2, 6-1 at No. 1. Andrea Lord then dropped her third straight match, falling to Candy Reid 6-4, 6-3 at No. 5 singles. Agnes Wiski of Tennessee stopped Ivana Belancic 6-1, 6-4 at No. 2, giving UT a 4-0 lead.

State did not fade, though, as Carole Soubis and Claudia Oliveira rallied to take their matches at No. 3 and No. 4, respectively. Oliveira bounced back from a rough second set to defeat Meiling Parks 7-5, 1-6, 6-3 in a two-hour, 28-minute duel. Two minutes later, Soubis wrapped up her 3-6, 7-5, 6-2 win over Castellvi.

However, UT's doubles teams were too much for the Lady Bulldogs, who have now dropped eight of nine doubles matches. Reid and Wiski knocked off Detriviere and Oliveira 8-3 at No. 2 doubles, and Cleveland joined Parks for an 8-3 win over Belancic and Lord at No. 3.

Tennessee now leads the all-time series 19-3, and the Lady Vols have won the last 13 meetings. Soubis did move into a five-way tie for 11th all-time at MSU with her 21st singles victory of the year.

MSU will conclude its regular season April 16 when the Lady Bulldogs travel to Lexington, Ky., for a 1 p.m. match against Kentucky.

#22 TENNESSEE 7, #24 MISSISSIPPI STATE 2
SINGLES -- #64 Alison Ojeda (UT) def. #81 Amelie Detriviere (MSU) 6-2, 6-1; Agnes Wiski (UT) def. Ivana Belancic (MSU) 6-1, 6-4; Carole Soubis (MSU) def. Vilmarie Castellvi (UT) 3-6, 7-5, 6-2; Claudia Oliveira (MSU) def. Meiling Parks (UT) 7-5, 1-6, 6-3; Candy Reid (UT) def. Andrea Lord (MSU) 6-4, 6-3; Crystal Cleveland (UT) def. Eimear Sloan (MSU) 6-3, 6-0.

DOUBLES -- Castellvi/Ojeda (UT) def. Sloan/Soubis (MSU) 8-1; Reid/Wiski (UT) def. Detriviere/Oliveira (MSU) 8-3; Cleveland/Parks (UT) def. Belancic/Lord (MSU) 8-3.

# -- indicates ranking according to ITA Rankings day of match

Men's Golf - Mississippi State senior Alex Rocha carded a 3-under 69 here Sunday in the final round of the Billy Hitchcock Intercollegiate at Saugahatchee Country Club to win the even by 10 strokes with a three-round score of 14-under 202.

Host Auburn took the team title after firing a 281 in the final round and finishing the weekend as the only team under par at 5-under 859. MSU posted a 292 in the last 18 and held on to second place at 9-over 873 on the weekend. This marks State's third second-place finish of the year and its second in the last three events. MSU has finished fifth or better in four of five spring tournaments.

Rocha's 202 ranks as the second-lowest 54-hole score in school history. The only player to ever turn in a better three-round total was Rocha with a 198 two months ago at the Gator Invitational.

Currently ranked 21st nationally, Rocha now has four individual titles on the year. The only Bulldog to capture more titles in a single season was all-American Michael Connell with five in 1996-97. Rocha is also now one win shy of matching Connell's school mark of six career titles.

Rocha did cushion his lead in one category in which he already holds the MSU mark. The Sao Paulo, Brazil, native has shot 208 or better in five career tournaments, four of which have come this year. His season stroke average also dipped back below 70 and rests at 69.97 entering the Southeastern Conference Championships. The school record for lowest single-season stroke average is Connell's 72.00 in 1997-98.

Fellow Bulldog Ben Smith also turned in a solid weekend, finishing fourth with a 1-under 215 after shooting a 71 Sunday. Smith, who posted his highest score of the year in his last outing in late February, got back on track with his best finish of the season. Roland Thatcher and Jason Dufner, both of Auburn, tied for second between Rocha and Smith with 4-under 212s.

State also got a good weekend of golf from Codie Mudd, who tied for 12th with a 5-over 221. It was the highest finish of Mudd's career. Bulldog Scott Shelton finished tied with Jan Are Larsen of Alabama for 53rd with a 235, while Andy Kampen carded a 239.

MSU will now turn its attention to the SEC Championships, held April 21-23 at Turtle Point Country Club in Killen, Ala.

RESULTS FROM THE BILLY HITCHCOCK INTERCOLLEGIATE
Opelika, Ala. -- April 9, 2000, Par 72 -- 6,689 yards

FINAL TEAM STANDINGS
1. Auburn 281-297-281=859
2. Mississippi State 282-299-292=873
3. Georgia State 294-295-289=878
4. Oklahoma 284-298-302=884
5. Southeastern Louisiana 284-304-299=887
6. Vanderbilt 291-307-291=889
7. Louisiana State 291-305-298=894
Mississippi 295-298-301=894
9. South Alabama 295-301-302=898
10. Memphis 297-311-304=912
11. Alabama 304-312-309=925
12. Florida State 302-320-305=927

MSU INDIVIDUAL RESULTS
1. Alex Rocha 62-71-69=202 (-14)
4. Ben Smith 72-72-71=215 (-1)
t12. Codie Mudd 73-74-74=221 (+5)
t53. Scott Shelton 75-82-78=235 (+19)
57. Andy Kampen 79-82-78=239 (+23)

Reprinted with the permission of the MSU athletic department

04/09/00
Men's Tennis - Mississippi State¹s 23rd-ranked men's tennis won its third match in a row Saturday afternoon, downing 36th-ranked Kentucky 5-2 at MSU's A.J. Pitts Tennis Centre.

With the victory, State improved to 9-5 overall, 5-4 in SEC play. UK fell to 10-11, 3-5. MSU won for the eighth time in last nine meetings against the Wildcats.

State swept doubles play to open the match for the second-straight outing, posting 8-4, 8-6 and 8-5 wins at the three doubles positions.

In singles, Kentucky challenged MSU early, winning three of the six first sets and forcing close outcomes in the three others.

The Wildcats evened things at 1-1 when Gustav Pousette bested Bulldog René-Charles Combette 6-1, 6-3 at the No. 4 position. The loss mark only the second all season for the true freshman Bulldog, who is now 11-2 overall.

State quickly answered that steback, however, when junior Mathieu Soto, now 5-0 since being inserted into the MSU lineup three weeks ago, won 6-4, 6-2 over UK's Reven Stephens at the No. 6 spot. Three of the last four matches of the day would be pushed to three sets.

State went up 2-1 when rookie Charles Sevigny held off Wildcat Johan Grunditz 6-4, 2-6, 6-4 at the No. 5 position. Soon after, senior Bulldog Jeremy Bayon would clinch the match with a 3-6, 6-0, 6-2 comeback victory at No. 2 over 75th-ranked Johan Hesoun. It was Bayon's 20th dual match singles win in 25 matches dating back to the 1999 season and his second over top 75 foes in his last three outings.

MSU got its fifth point when seventh-ranked, all-American Marco Baron won 7-6(5), 6-2 over UK's 23rd-ranked Carlos Drada the No. 1 spot. It was Baron's fourth victory in a row, the third-straight over a top 100 opponent.

UK would claim the final point of the afternoon when Edo Bawano won in three sets over 90th-ranked MSU freshman Jerome Le Belicard 6-1, 6-7(7), 6-2 at No. 3.

"This was another solid win against a very, very talented team," MSU head coach Andy Jackson said. "We are slowly gaining momentum toward the end of the season as our team continues to mature and improve with every match we play."

The Bulldogs stay at home for their last two regular-season matches against Alabama (April 12) and No. 14 arch-rival Mississippi (April 16) before preparing to host the 2000 SEC Tournament Championship April 20-23. This Wednesday's contest with the Crimson Tide is slated for 4 p.m. at the Pitts Tennis Centre.

#23 MISSISSIPPI STATE 5, #36 KENTUCKY 2

DOUBLES--#18 Marco Baron/Charles Sevigny (MSU) def. Johan Grunditz/Gustav Pousette (UK) 8-4; Jeremy Bayon/René-Charles Combette (MSU) def. Edo Bawano/Johan Hesoun (UK) 8-6; Jerome Le Belicard/David Ruiz (MSU) def. Carlos Drada/Reven Stephens (UK) 8-5.

SINGLES-- #7 Baron (MSU) def. #23 Drada (UK) 7-6(5), 6-2; #69 Bayon (MSU) def. #75 Hesoun (UK) 3-6, 6-0, 6-2; Bawano (UK) def. #90 Le Belicard (MSU) 6-1, 6-7(7), 6-2; Pousette (UK) def. Combette (MSU) 6-1, 6-3; Sevigny (MSU) def. Grunditz (UK) 6-4, 2-6, 6-4; Mathieu Soto (MSU) def. Stephens (UK) 6-4, 6-2.

(numbers preceding names are current national rankings)

Men's Golf - Cooler temperatures, damper grounds and stronger winds curtailed the low scores here Saturday in the second round of the Billy Hitchcock Intercollegiate at Sagahatchee Country Club. However, Mississippi State senior Alex Rocha still fired a 1-under 71 and extended his lead to nine strokes at 11-under 133 on the weekend.

As a team, the Bulldogs shot a 299 to remain in second place on the weekend at 5-over 581. State trails host Auburn by three strokes entering the final round. Oklahoma, which fired a 298 Saturday, is one stroke behind MSU in third place.

Rocha, who carded a school-record 62 in Friday's opening round, was one of only three golfers to break par in the second 18. Alan Morgan of Louisiana State posted his second consecutive 71 and is a distant nine shots behind Rocha in second place at 142. D.J. Fiese of Georgia State was the only other player below par Saturday, also shooting a 71. He is tied with Jason Dufner of Auburn in third at 1-under 143.

At 133 through 36 holes, Rocha came one stroke shy of matching the school record of 132 set by Hugh Royer III at the 1983 Mississippi Intercollegiate. However, no other Bulldog has broken 135 in the first 36 since then until Rocha this weekend. Should he hold on for the victory, it would give Rocha five career individual titles, one shy of Michael Connell's school mark.

Fellow Bulldog Ben Smith jumped from 13th to a three-way tie for fifth with an even-par 72 in the second round. Smith sits at 144 on the weekend along with Roland Thatcher of Auburn and Ned Michaels of Vanderbilt.

MSU's Codie Mudd fired a 74 in the second round and is tied with Jacques Chevallier of Southeastern Louisiana for 16th at 147. Scott Shelton's 82 in the second 18 dropped him to a three-way tie for 53rd at 157 on the weekend. Andy Kampen is at 161 after an 82 Saturday.

Play will conclude here Sunday with the final 18 holes in State's final event before the Southeastern Conference Championships in two weeks.

RESULTS FROM THE BILLY HITCHCOCK INTERCOLLEGIATE
Opelika, Ala. -- April 8, 2000, Par 72 -- 6,689 yards

TEAM STANDINGS
1. Auburn 281-297=578
2. Mississippi State 282-299=581
3. Oklahoma 284-298=582
4. Southeastern Louisiana 284-304=588
5. Georgia State 294-295=589
6. Mississippi 295-298=583
7. South Alabama 295-301=596
Louisiana State 291-305=596
9. Vanderbilt 291-307=598
10. Memphis 297-311=608
11. Alabama 304-312=616
12. Florida State 302-320=622

MSU INDIVIDUAL RESULTS
1. Alex Rocha 62-71=133 (-11)
t13. Ben Smith 72-72=144 (E)
t20. Codie Mudd 73-74=147 (+3)
t34. Scott Shelton 75-82=157 (+13)
t59. Andy Kampen 79-82=161 (+17)

Track and Field - Mississippi State senior high jumper Rod Newton and freshman sprinter Pierre Browne claimed top-five finishes in Saturday's final day of competition in the 73rd Clyde Littlefield Texas Relays.

Newton finished fourth in section A of the high jump with a leap of 7-2 1/4. That mark ties the Crossett, Ark., native with Phillip Fingers for second best in MSU school history, trailing record holder Chuck Way's mark of 7-3 1/4 set in 1989. Newton's leap is also an NCAA provisional qualifying mark.

After running the third-fastest (10.27) 100 meters in school history during Friday's preliminary heats, Browne eclipsed his own mark with a fifth-place finish in a time of 10.21. The only freshman to make the finals, Browne's NCAA provisional qualifying time ranks third in school history behind the marks of former all-American's Lorenzo Daniel (10.00) and Aki Bradley (10.17).

On the women's side, sophomore sprinter Camille Harper finished ninth in the finals of 100-meter dash in a time of 11.68. The 4x200-Meter relay team finished in the top-10, with a ninth-place finish in a time of 1:39.25.

Coach Al Schmidt's squad returns to action next Saturday in the MSU Invitational, the second of three home meets in the month of April hosted by Mississippi State.

Women's Golf - Mississippi State's women's golf team carded a 321 here on Saturday to move into second place at the LSU Invitational. The 24th-ranked Lady Bulldogs lead No. 31 South Florida by one stroke heading into Sunday's final round. Sophomore Anna Gertsson, who led MSU with a second-round 76, is currently tied for sixth place in the individual competition. Seniors Sue Phillips and Pia Josefsson are tied for 14th with two-day totals of 159. Mississippi State is one of only three schools with three players in the top 15. Host school LSU expanded its first round lead to 21 strokes heading into the final round. The Lady Tigers have three golfers in the top five on the leaderboard. MSU leads a pack of four teams separated by only three strokes. State has amassed 635 strokes through round two, followed closely by South Florida's 636. No. 35 Tulane and No. 42 Arkansas are only two strokes behind the Lady Bulldogs with team scores of 637. Freshman Christina Clausen, who fired a team leading 77 on Friday, struggled on Saturday carding an 86. Junior Lina Thoren, the Lady Bulldogs leader in stroke average and top-10 finishes, also carded an 86. Senior Kelli McClarren, playing as an individual, shot a second-round 89. The final round of the LSU Invitational will be played on Sunday. The Lady Bulldogs' next tournament action will be in Fayetteville, Ark. at the SEC Championships on April 21-23.

TEAM RESULTS, par 72, 6,265 yards:
1. LSU 304-321=614
2. Mississippi State 314-321=635
3. South Florida 308-328=636
4. Arkansas 310-327=637 and Tulane 312-325=637
6. Mississippi 318-324=642
7. NC-Wilmington 318-327=645
8. Alabama 313-35=648
9. SMU 310-340=650
10. Memphis 324-328=652
11. North Texas 321-333=654
12. Arkansas-LR 322-334=656

Individual Results:
t6. Anna Gertsson 79-76=155
t14. Sue Phillips 81-78=159
t14. Pia Josefsson 78-81=159
t31. Christina Clausen 77-86=163
t42. Lina Thoren 80-86=166
Reprinted with the permission of the MSU sports department

04/07/00
Track and Field - After setting a school record in the discus during Saturday's Mississippi State-hosted Bulldog Invitational, junior thrower Trish Curtis broke her own school record in the hammer throw with a toss of 167-0 at the 72nd Clyde Littlefield Texas Relays.

Curtis' toss surpassed her previous best of 160-7 that she set at the 1999 University of Texas-hosted event in Austin. The Coon Rapids, Minn., native finished eighth in the event that was won by Ezeh Florence of Southern Methodist, who won with a throw of 212-5.

In the final day of multi-event action, freshman decathlete Daniel Hunter fell short of the MSU freshman record of 6,350 set by the late Jace Lacoste. The D'Iberville native finished 13th with 6,076 points. Highlighting Hunter's day in the final five events were 10th-place finishes in the javelin (155-3) and the pole vault (11-9 ¾). Ricky Barker was the event winner finishing with 7,903 points a new record at the Mike A. Myers Track and Soccer Stadium.

Finishing up day two of the heptathlon junior Elisha Williams finished 12th with 4,778 points second best in MSU history, following only former Lady Bulldog all-America heptathlete LaTonya Hill, who holds the school mark with 5,522 points. The Milton, Fla., native earned her best finish of the day placing fourth the long jump with a leap of 19-5 ½. Grabbing both the meet and stadium records in route to victory was Kelly Blair, who finished with 6,217 points.

Competition continues Friday with events scheduled to begin at 9:30 a.m. Events scheduled are the 100-meter dash, the 4x100-meter relay and the triple jump along with many other events.

72nd Clyde Littlefield Texas Relays, Day Two, April 6, 2000

Mississippi State Women's Individual Results
Hammer Throw: 8. Trish Curtis, MSU, 167-0; 14; Stacey Salmon, 142-6.
Heptathlon: 12. Elisha Williams, MSU, 4,778.
Mississippi State Men's Individual Results
Decathlon: 13. Daniel Hunter, MSU, 6,076.

Soccer - Mississippi State University women's soccer head coach Neil McGuire announced Thursday the signing of the first of 15 spring signees in the 2000 recruiting class.

Margie Chambers (Marietta, Ga./Marietta HS) will join the Bulldog program after a very successful prep and club career in north central Georgia.

"We are excited to have Margie become part of our program," McGuire said. "As with all of our signees, we look forward to seeing Margie develop into the best player that she can be. She is a great addition to our squad."

As a prep athlete, Chambers played and started in all 16 games during her junior season, scoring 50 points on 19 goals and 12 assists in leading her team to an 11-5-1 record. Her efforts during her junior campaign earned her Team "Offensive Player of the Year" honors and a selection to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and Marietta Daily Journal All-Cobb County First Team.

This season, she has played and started all 16 games as a team captain for the Blue Devils and has scored 42 points on 16 goals and 10 assists. She has already taken home the Kennesaw State University Bobby Bailey Athletic award and was also selected MVP of the North Cobb Invitational earlier this season.

As a member of the Cobb YMCA U-17 club program last season, Chambers played in 21 matches, earning the start in 20, and tallied 37 points with 14 goals and nine assists. Due to her performances, she was ranked No. 2 in the final U-17 Girls' Georgia State ranking. She has also been a four-year member of the Georgia State Olympic Development Program team and was selected to attend region camp from 1996-1999.

In addition to her athletic abilities, Margie maintains a 3.56 GPA at Marietta and ranks 48th in her class of 420. She is currently a candidate for the Marietta High School International Baccalaureate (High Honors) program.

Women's Tennis - Mississippi State's 24th-ranked women's tennis team will host No. 21 South Carolina for a crucial Southeastern Conference match here Friday at 2:30 p.m. at the A.J. Pitts Tennis Centre. MSU enters the match with a 9-6 overall record and a 3-5 mark in the SEC. South Carolina comes to town at 13-7 and 5-2.

This will be the 12th meeting between the two schools. MSU won the first meeting 5-3 in Columbia, S.C., during the 1989 season. All other 10 matches between the Lady Bulldogs and the Gamecocks has been since USC joined the SEC in 1992, and all have gone the Gamecock's way. USC was a 7-2 winner at home last year and took a 5-1 decision two years ago in its last visit to State.

Friday's match will begin MSU's final weekend of regular season home women's tennis action. The Lady Bulldogs will entertain 22nd-ranked Tennessee at 1 p.m. Sunday. MSU's two seniors, Ivana Belancic and Eimear Sloan, will be honored prior to the match.

Reprinted with the permission of the MSU athletic media relations department

04/06/00
Track and Field - The Mississippi State track and field team began competition in the 73rd Clyde Littlefield Texas Relays Wednesday with multi-event athletes Elisha Williams and Daniel Hunter opening the four-day meet for MSU.

A D'Iberville native, Hunter finished day one of his collegiate decathlon debut in 10th place with 3,539 points trailing leader Trafton Rodgers, who amassed 4,230 points. Hunter's efforts were highlighted by a fifth-place finish in the 400 meters, the final event of the day, with a clocking of 50.93. Additionally, Hunter finished eighth in the 100-meter dash (11.00), 12th in the long jump (32-1), eighth in the high jump (6-3 ¼) and 15th in the shot put (32-1). To claim the MSU freshman decathlon record of 6,350 points set by the late Jace Lacoste in 1987, Hunter needs to earn at least 2,812 points on day two to seize the mark.

Highlighting the day in Williams' collegiate heptathlon debut was a tie for seventh place in the high jump, in which the Milton, Fla., native tied her personal outdoor record with a height of 5-5 and a mark that ranks third all-time in MSU outdoor history. The junior finished day one in 14th place with 2,852 points. In the three other events, Williams finished 14th in the 100-meter low hurdles (15.71), 13th in the shot put (33-6 ½) and 13th in the 200-meter dash (26.40).

The multi-events competitions conclude on the University of Texas campus Thursday with the last five events in the decathlon (110-meter high hurdles, discus throw, pole vault, javelin, and 1500-meter run) and the final three events of the heptathlon (long jump, javelin, and 800-meter run). Also beginning in Austin on Thursday are the women's 3,000-meter run, the 4x800-meter relays, hammer throw and the 400-meter intermediate hurdles preliminaries.

Men's Tennis - Mississippi State's 23rd-ranked men's tennis took a close doubles point to spark a 7-0 shutout victory over Vanderbilt Wednesday on the road, as the Bulldogs did not lose a match on the afternoon.

With the victory, State improved to 8-5 overall, 4-4 in SEC play. Vandy dropped to 9-16, 1-7. The win was MSU's 17th-straight over the Commodores, dating back to 1988.

The Bulldogs had to fight hard to pull out Wednesday's opening doubles point, as two matches went to tiebreakers. After MSU's Jeremy Bayon and RenÇ-Charles Combette downed Vandy brothers Bill and Dan McGugin 8-4 at the No. 2 position, State's 18th-ranked tandem of Marco Baron and Charles Sevigny rallied from a 6-3 deficit and fought off three match points at 5-7 to clinch the first point of the day for MSU with a 9-8(0) win over Brad Hambrick and Andrew Nisker at No. 1. State's duo of Jerome Le Belicard and David Ruiz then won 9-8(5) at No. 3 for the MSU sweep.

In singles, State grabbed an early 2-0 lead when Bayon, the 69th-ranked MSU senior, nearly shut out Commodore Peter Blach 6-0, 6-1 at the No. 2 position.

The next three matches off the court would all feature close first sets, but MSU would ultimately claim straight-set victories in all three contests.

MSU junior Mathieu Soto improved to 4-0 in dual matches this spring with a 6-4, 7-6(3) win over VU's Josh Tarkoff at No. 6 to give MSU a 3-0 lead. Clinching the match for the Bulldogs was Sevigny, also a freshman, who came back from 5-2 down in the first set to notch a 7-5, 6-3 triumph over Hambrick at the No. 5 spot. State rookie Le Belicard, ranked 90th in the country, then held off Commodore senior Bill McGugin 7-6(2), 6-1 at the No. 3 position.

The final two matches of the day each went three sets, with State claiming victory in both contests. True freshman Rene-Charles Combette continued his stellar play downing Dan McGugin 6-4, 5-7, 6-0 at the No. 4 spot to improve to 11-1 in singles in team play this spring. Combined with his doubles record, Combette is now 22-3 in all dual matches as a Bulldog.

In the day's marquee matchup at the No. 1 position, State's seventh-ranked Baron won 3-6, 7-5, 6-4 over Vandy's 34th-ranked Nisker. The junior all-American Bulldog, who had teamed with Sevigny to fight off three match points in doubles earlier for a win, faced four match points in the second set against Nisker before finally besting this year's SEC Indoor singles champion.

"This was a solid win for us," MSU head coach Andy Jackson said. "I said coming in that Vandy would be tough despite their record. They challenged us in the doubles, but we remained in control to get that point. In singles, it was still tough with some very close first sets, but again the guys got the job done when they had to."

The Bulldogs now return home for their last three regular-season matches against No. 36 Kentucky (April 8), No. 61 Alabama (April 12) and No. 14 arch-rival Mississippi (April 16) before preparing to host the 2000 SEC Tournament Championship April 20-23. This Saturday's contest with the Wildcats is slated for 1p.m. at MSU's A.J. Pitts Tennis Centre.

#23 MISSISSIPPI STATE 7, VANDERBILT 0

DOUBLES--#18 Marco Baron/Charles Sevigny (MSU) def. Brad Hambrick/Andrew Nisker (VU) 9-8(0); Jeremy Bayon/RenÇ-Charles Combette (MSU) def. Bill McGugin/Dan McGugin (VU) 8-4; Jerome Le Belicard/David Ruiz (MSU) def. Anders Oding/Josh Tarkoff (VU) 9-8(5).

SINGLES-- #7 Baron (MSU) def. #34 Nisker (VU) 3-6, 7-5, 6-4; #69 Bayon (MSU) def. Peter Blach (VU) 6-0, 6-1; #90 Le Belicard (MSU) def. B.McGugin (VU) 7-6(2), 6-1; Combette (MSU) def. D.McGugin (VU) 6-4, 5-7, 6-0; Sevigny (MSU) def. Brad Hambrick (VU) 7-5, 6-3; Mathieu Soto (MSU) def. Tarkoff (VU) 6-4, 7-6(3).

(numbers preceding names are current national rankings)

Reprinted with the permission of the MSU athletic media relations department

04/03/00
Men's Tennis - In a marathon match that featured seven tiebreakers, three three-set matches and lasted over eight hours, Mississippi State's 24th-ranked men's tennis overcame losing the opening doubles point to pull out a 5-2 victory over 27th-ranked Auburn Sunday. The match was play indoors at MSU's McCarthy Gym, where State is now 3-0 all-time, due to rain.

With the victory, State improved to 7-5 overall, 3-4 in SEC play. Auburn fell to 9-6, 1-5. MSU has now won 10-straight against the Tigers, five in a row in Starkville.

Auburn applied the pressure on MSU early, taking the doubles point with 9-8(2) and 8-4 wins at the top two positions. The third match was not played.

But MSU gained a 2-1 lead with wins in the first two singles matches complete on the day. Junior all-American Marco Baron, ranked seventh in the country, evened things for State at 1-1, downing AU's 92nd-ranked Stephen Huss 6-4, 6-2 at the No. 1 position for his 20th win of the year.

Though there would be three great contests Sunday, what had to be the match of the day was at the No. 2 spot, where State's 69th-ranked Jeremy Bayon gave the Bulldogs a 2-1 lead, upsetting 46th-ranked Tiger Georges Matijasevic. The MSU senior came back from a set down to win a three-tiebreaker contest 6-7(1), 7-6(4), 7-6(2). Bayon was up 4-1 in the third before Matijasevic rallied back to serve for the match at 5-4, when Bayon broke back and forced the final tiebreaker.

Auburn evened the match at 2-2 in an equally epic battle at the No. 3 position. There, 83rd-ranked Tiger Mark Kovacs came back from a one-set deficit to best MSU's 90th-ranked Jerome Le Belicard 6-7(4), 6-4, 7-6(5).

With each team needing two points for the team victory, State would then post wins in the next two matches to get those needed points. Giving MSU a 3-2 lead was true freshman Charles Sevigny, who ousted Tiger Estevam Strecker 6-1, 6-4 at the No. 5 position.

Clinching the match for the Bulldogs was rookie sensation René-Charles Combette, who posted the third comeback of the day, upsetting AU's 79th-ranked Tiago Ruffoni 6-7(5), 6-3, 6-2 at No. 4 to improve to 10-1 in singles dual matches as a Bulldog.

The final match of the day went to State¹s Mathieu Soto who downed Auburn's Marcel Mizerski 6-0, 6-4 at the No. 6 position.

"Today was a good example of what continuing to work hard and staying focused can achieve," MSU head coach Andy Jackson said. "We have been losing close matches all season, but today some of them went our way.

"Our guys really fought hard in a very, very tight match against a good team and it paid off in the end. We just have to continue to give this type of effort."

The Bulldogs will continue SEC action Wednesday, travelling to meet Vanderbilt in Nashville. State will then return home for its final three regular-season matches against Kentucky (April 8), Alabama (April 12) and arch-rival Mississippi (April 16) before preparing to host the 2000 SEC Tournament Championship April 20-23.

#24 MISSISSIPPI STATE 5, #27 AUBURN 2

DOUBLES--#28 Stephen Huss/Mark Kovacs (AU) def. #18 Marco Baron/Charles Sevigny (MSU) 9-8(2); Georges Matijasevic/Tiago Ruffoni (AU) def. Jeremy Bayon/René-Charles Combette (MSU) 8-4; Jerome Le Belicard/David Ruiz (MSU) vs. Marcel Mizerski/Ryan Sanders (AU)--not contested.

SINGLES-- #7 Baron (MSU) def. #92 Huss (AU) 6-4, 6-2; #69 Bayon (MSU) def. #46 Matijasevic (AU) 6-7(1), 7-6(4), 7-6(2); #83 Kovacs (AU) def. #90 Le Belicard (MSU) 6-7(4), 6-4, 7-6(5); Combette (MSU) def. #79 Ruffoni (AU) 6-7(5), 6-3, 6-2; Sevigny (MSU) def. Estevam Strecker (AU) 6-1, 6-4; Mathieu Soto (MSU) def. Marcel Mizerski (AU) 6-0, 6-4.

(numbers preceding names are current national rankings)

Reprinted with the permission of the MSU athletic media relations department

04/02/00
Track and Field - The Mississippi State men and women’s track and field squads extended their home meet winning streaks to five and four meets, respectively, in winning Saturday’s Bulldog Invitational.

Coach Al Schmidt’s squad claimed 15 first-place finishes, eight by the Bulldogs and seven by their female counterparts in the meet held at W.O. Spencer Stadium/Carl Maddox Track.

"Overall I was pleased with our team performance," Schmidt said. "We rested some people that needed some time off, and we had some other athletes step up and perform well. Our athletes seem to enjoy competing at home, and we’re proud of the success we’ve had at our home meets over the past couple of years."

The Bulldogs were led by standout freshman sprinter Pierre Browne’s double victory in the 100-meter dash (10.31) and the 200-meter dash (21.09). Also claiming top honors for the MSU men were senior Rod Newton in the high jump (6-10), junior Matt Caton with a personal record (158-9) in the hammer, and junior J.R. Lee in the triple jump (44-6). Underclassmen with victories other than Browne’s included freshmen Kevin Pittman in the pole vault (15-0), Chris Boldt in the 1500-meter run (4:06.14) and Kelvin Harris in the 110-meter hurdles (14.60).

A strength for MSU, the Lady Bulldog relay squads took victories in the 4x100-meter relay (46.02) and the 4x400-meter relay. Two junior veterans, Elisha Williams and Trish Curtis, each scored 25 points and competed in four events to help State to the victory. Curtis scored a win in the hammer with a toss of 154-7, while Williams notched runner-up finishes in the high jump (5-2) and the long jump (19-6 ¼). Also claiming top honors were senior LaToya Stephens in the 800-meter run (2:14.95), sophomores CeCe Brown in the 400-meter hurdles (1:05.21) and Camille Harper in the 200-meter dash (24.39), along with freshman LeKisha Barnaby-Pope in the 100-meter hurdles (14.39).

The Lady Bulldogs finished the day with 217 points, followed by Louisiana Tech with 121, New Orleans with 100.50, and Troy State with 88.50. On the men’s side, the Bulldogs ran up 162.50 points in defeating Louisiana Tech with 95.50 and Troy State with 62.

The Mississippi State track team will travel to Austin, Texas, for the prestigious Texas Relays beginning Wednesday and running through Saturday.

Women's Tennis - Mississippi State's 23rd-ranked women's tennis team dropped a 5-1 decision to third-ranked Georgia here Saturday. With the loss, the Lady Bulldogs fall to 9-6 on the year and 3-5 in Southeastern Conference action. UGA improves to 14-1 and 6-0.

Georgia's 10th-ranked Esther Knox clinched the match, battling back from a first-set loss to post a 4-6, 6-4, 6-2 victory at No. 1 singles over MSU's 81st-ranked Amelie Detriviere. Georgia then defaulted at No. 6 singles, where State's Eimear Sloan led Zo* Mellis 6-4, 5-7, 2-1. Doubles matches were not played.

All four other singles matches were solved in straight sets. At No. 2, Ivana Belancic dropped a 6-1, 6-4 decision to 82nd-ranked Marissa Catlin. No. 26 Lori Grey made quick work of Claudia Oliveira, winning 6-3, 6-2 in just 65 minutes at No. 3 singles.

For the second straight match, sophomore Andrea Lord was denied in her attempt to tie the MSU record for singles wins in one season. Carrying a 28-9 mark into the match, Lord fell 6-0, 6-3 to Anne Nguyen at No. 4. It marked the first dual match loss to an unranked player for Lord, who is now 11-3 on the spring.

At No. 5 singles, Christa Grey defeated Lady Bulldog Anca Vasiloaica 6-2, 6-3. For Vasiloaica, it was her first loss to an unranked player since falling to Lord in the Flight B finals at the ITA South Region Indoor Qualifiers in November.

This was the 20th meeting between the two schools; UGA has won every meeting.

MSU will return to action April 7, hosting No. 21 South Carolina for a 2:30 p.m. match at the A.J. Pitts Tennis Centre.

Reprinted with the permission of the MSU athletic media relations department

04/01/00
Men's Tennis - Mississippi State's 24th-ranked men's tennis team will continue 2000 competition Sunday, hosting 27th-ranked Auburn. Match time is set for 1 p.m. at MSU's A.J. Pitts Tennis Centre. In the case of inclement weather, the match will be moved indoors to the McCarthy Gymnasium.

State will carry a 6-5, 2-4 Southeastern Conference record into the match after a close 4-3 setback at #12 Tennessee Thursday. Auburn is 9-5 overall, 1-4 in the SEC, coming off a 5-2 loss at #14 Mississippi Friday. MSU holds a slim 14-13 series lead over the Tigers since 1969 but the Bulldogs have won the last six contests between the teams. State won 4-3 at Auburn last season.

"As with any team in the SEC, Auburn will be a tough match for us," MSU head coach Andy Jackson said. "Their results are a little deceiving as all of their losses have come to top 25 teams."

Following Sunday's action, MSU will hit the road Wednesday for its final match away from home during the regular season at Vanderbilt. The Bulldogs will then return to Starkville for their final three regular season matches against Kentucky (April 8), Alabama (April 12) and arch-rival Mississippi (April 16) before preparing to host the 2000 SEC Tournament Championship April 20-23.

Reprinted with the permission of the MSU athletic media relations department

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