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| 2000 | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | June | July | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
| 2001 | Jan | Feb |
03/31/01
Women's Tennis - Mississippi State's 48th-ranked women's tennis team battled both inclement weather and one of the nation's last unbeaten teams in a 7 hr. and 10 min., 4-3 win over previously unbeaten #49 UAB on Friday. The Lady Bulldogs stopped a four-match skid to improve to 5-8 on the season, while the Lady Blazers fell to 16-1 on the campaign.
MSU jumped to an early lead as senior Linda Mattsson and freshman Yumi Ueda defeated UAB's Natascha Immele and Tanja Pflugfelder 9-7 to claim the doubles point. UAB had only lost the doubles point once prior to Friday's match, at Eastern Michigan earlier this month.
After a 25-minute rain delay as the match moved into McCarthy Gymnasium on the MSU campus, the Lady Blazers negated State's early advantage as Monika Schmid defeated junior Carole Soubis 6-4, 6-4 to even the match. Schmid ran her record to 17-0 in dual-match action, 25-5 on the season.
At the No. 1 position, 30th-ranked Mirela Vladulescu outlasted Lady Bulldog senior Amelie Detriviere 6-7(4), 6-4, 6-4 to put the Lady Blazers ahead 2-1. Vladulescu is now 16-0 in dual matches, 26-1 overall.
The teams then split two exciting matches at No.s 3 and 4 to make the score 3-2 in UAB s favor. State's Ueda, playing at No. 4, went to the wire before falling to Immele 1-6, 6-2, 6-4. Simultaneously, senior Claudia Oliveira kept State in the match by fighting off numerous match points in a 7-6(6), 3-6, 7-6(10) win over Margaux Melsheimer of UAB. Oliveira has now won three of her last four matches and seven of nine since moving to the No. 3 position.
Down 3-2, MSU turned to its hottest player, senior Linda Mattsson. Mattsson, who had won six straight entering the match, did not disappoint as she ousted Plugfelder 6-4, 6-2 to even the match at 3-3. Senior Anca Vasiloaica then finished off the Lady Blazers with a 6-3, 7-6(3) win over UAB's Femke DeBoer at No. 5. It was Vasiloaica's first win since missing most of the month of March with an injury.
State will remain at home for a Sunday contest with SEC foe and 6th-ranked Vanderbilt at the A.J. Pitts Tennis Centre. Match time is set for 1p.m.
Reprinted with the permission of the MSU Athletic Department
Sophomore Anna Knutsson led the Lady Bulldogs, shooting a first round score of 78 on the par-72 University of Georgia course. Knutsson is tied for 27th place in the individual competition. Junior Anna Gertsson shot an opening round score of 80 and is tied for 43rd. Senior Lina Thoren is tied for 79th after carding an 85, while senior Renata Almeida posted an 88 to place tied for 92nd. Freshman Catalina Olarte rounds out the MSU lineup after shooting a 96 to place 96th.
Duke leads the tournament with a score of 291. Alabama's Sarah Johnston, Texas's Randi Meadows, and Candy Hannemann and V. Nirapathpongporn, both from Duke, are in a four-way tie for the lead after each posting scores of 72.
A scheduled 8:00 a.m. start on Friday was delayed three hours due to Thursday's weather, forcing the grounds crew to prepare the course for play during the morning hours. However, second round action is scheduled to begin Saturday morning at 8:00 a.m. with Mississippi State teeing off on the 10th hole.
Reprinted with the permission of the MSU Athletic Department
MSU will carry a 9-5 overall record into the match, including a 3-2 SEC mark. Arkansas is 11-6, 1-5 in the league. The teams have met on the tennis court 16 times in recorded history, with State holding a 12-4 advantage over UA, 5-1 in Starkville. The Bulldogs are 9-0 against the Razorbacks since they joined the SEC in 1992.
State will look to rebound from its close 5-2 loss to #5 Georgia last Sunday, but it will not be easy. Arkansas sports two of the nation's top 100 players, including senior Oskar Johansson, who is the country's top-ranked singles player.
"Arkansas' record in the conference is definitely not indicative of their talent level," MSU head coach Andy Jackson said. "The majority of their losses this year have come in close matches against some of the country's top teams. We will have to play a very focused match to get a win against them."
MSU is led by senior all-American Marco Baron, ranked 13th in the country in singles. Expected to meet Arkansas' Johansson at the No. 1 singles position Saturday, the Nantes, France, native will be looking to extend his career-long, 11-match winning streak. He has claimed all 11 of the matches during the skein in straight sets and eight of them have come over nationally-ranked foes. Dating back to last season, he has been victorious in 20 of his last 21 singles dual matches.
Following Saturday's match, the Bulldogs will continue play at No. 42 Kentucky on Tuesday night before returning to Starkville to close out their regular season home schedule next weekend, hosting #29 Florida on Friday, April 6, and #11 Tennessee on Sunday, April 8.
Reprinted with the permission of the MSU Athletic Department
03/30/01
Track and Field - The Mississippi State track teams return home this weekend to host the Bulldog Invitational Saturday and the Bulldog High School Invitational Friday night at W.O. Spencer Stadium/Carl Maddox Track.
The Bulldogs and 21st-ranked Lady Dogs will compete against in a four-team field that includes Arkansas State, Indiana State and Middle Tennessee.
The Lady Bulldogs look to extend a seven-meet home winning streak behind senior multi-event standout Elisha Williams. Williams has finished in the top three in long jump competition nine consecutive times in 2001, claiming a national second-best 21-3 1/4 mark in a second-place finish at the Alabama Relays last weekend.
Williams scored a meet-high 30 points to key 11 first-place MSU finishes at the home-opening SEC Quadrangular Meet March 17. Williams won the long and triple jump events to lead the Lady Bulldogs to first place over Tennessee, Alabama and Vanderbilt.
Pierre Browne leads the men's charge after posting wins in the 100- and 200-meter dashes at the SEC Quadrangular. Browne provisionally qualified for the NCAA Outdoor Championships in the 100 meters in the season opener two weeks ago with a 10.25 mark to claim a win. Browne then clocked a 20.88 mark to win the 200 meters and lead the MSU men to second-place team honors.
Collegiate action begins Saturday morning at 10 a.m. with field events and noon with the running events. Fans don't have to wait until Saturday to watch exciting track and field action, as the MSU squads host the annual Bulldog High School Invitational Friday afternoon beginning at 3 p.m.
This year's Bulldog Invite field stands as the largest in history, with over 30 of the top prep teams from Mississippi and Alabama vying for the team titles at Spencer Stadium/Maddox Track. Columbus will be aiming for it's third-straight team title on the girls' side, while Madison Central aims to repeat as the team champion in boys' action.
Columbus High School won last year's women's team title with 105 points, while Madison Central took the men's crown with an impressive 160-point performance. The two squads will face a tough challenge this season as Alabama sends some of its top prep teams across the state line to compete at this year's event.
Men's pole vault action starts action in the field events at 3 p.m., while the women's 1600 meters slow heat kicks off running events. The prep action concludes with the men's and women's 4x400-meter relays at 9:10 p.m.
Reprinted with the permission of the MSU Athletic Department
Although State enters the match in the midst of a four-match losing streak, the Lady Bulldogs have seen the emergence of seniors Linda Mattsson and Claudia Oliveira. With her win at No. 26 South Carolina Sunday, Mattsson passed teammate Anca Vasiloaica for fifth-place on the school's all-time wins chart with 63 during her career. Mattsson leads the team 15 wins on the season, and has won six straight heading into Friday's match.
Oliveira, who was ranked in the top 100 earlier this month, has won six of her last nine matches, and defeated 55th-ranked Tina Hojnik of Georgia last week in convincing 6-0, 6-3 fashion.
UAB, 16-0 on the season, has moved up 23 spots in the national rankings since the season began. The Lady Blazers are led by senior Mirela Vladulescu and junior Monika Schmid. Vladulescu is currently ranked 30th nationally, and has not lost a match in dual-match action. She is 25-1 overall on the season, with a 18-match winning streak. Schmid, the other half of the 40th-ranked doubles team in the nation, has won all 16 singles matches this season, and has a 24-5 record on the year. As a duo, Schmid and Vladulescu have posted an 11-2 record in dual match action and, during the fall, defeated State's Amelie Detriviere and Oliveira, 8-6.
The Lady Bulldogs will return to Southeastern Conference action Sunday, as they welcome sixth-ranked Vanderbilt to the A.J. Pitts Tennis Centre. Match time is set for 1 p.m.
Reprinted with the permission of the MSU Athletic Department
The three-day tournament begins Friday, March 30. Eighteen teams will compete for the title at the par-72, 6,104 yard University of Georgia course.
The MSU lineup will consist of senior Lina Thoren, junior Anna Gertsson, sophomore Anna Knutsson, freshman Catalina Olarte, and senior Renata Almeida.
"This week we will play against a number of teams we haven't seen this season," said Lady Bulldog head coach Christi Sanders. "The field has a lot of teams that are ranked among the top in the nation."
Joining Mississippi State in the tournament field are Alabama, Arkansas, Auburn, Duke, Furman, Georgia, Kentucky, Michigan State, Mississippi, Nebraska, North Carolina, Northwestern, South Carolina, Texas, Tulane, Wake Forest, and Vanderbilt.
MSU finished ninth in their last tournament, the Lady Gamecock Classic. Thoren led the Lady Bulldogs, finishing tied for 20th with a score of 234.
Reprinted with the permission of the MSU Athletic Department
03/28/01
Track and Field - A win in the season-opening SEC Quadrangular Meet and a fine showing at last weekend's Alabama Relays have earned the Mississippi State women's track team the squad's highest national ranking in school history.
The Lady Bulldogs scored 10 points to stand tied for 21st in the latest top 25 poll released by Trackwire. Head coach Al Schmidt's women's contingent joins seven other SEC teams in the poll released Tuesday. "We are really excited to be ranked in the top 25 in the nation," Schmidt said. "We feel really good that our team will continue to do well and move up in the national rankings."
Alabama and Auburn join MSU at No. 21. while Arkansas, South Carolina and LSU all stand in the top 10 at No. 3, No. 4 and No. 8, respectively. Florida's Lady Gators sit in the 12th position, while Georgia remained in the poll at No. 18.
Lady Bulldog senior long jumper Elisha Williams remains second in the nation in the event with her 21-3 1/4 leap that gave her second at the Alabama Relays. The top collegian last weekend in the event at Alabama's Sam Bailey Track and Field Complex, Williams continues to stand on top of the SEC in the event while trailing only South Florida's Kerine Black (21-4) in the national rankings.
Williams has been joined by fellow senior Bulldog jumpers Ian Robertson and Vance Clarke in the national rankings. Robertson recorded the third-best triple jump mark in the nation (52-8 3/4) to take third place in Tuscaloosa, Ala., last weekend, while Clarke landed a national fourth-best 52-3 1/4 leap that gave him fourth place in the event Sunday. The duo rank first and second, respectively, in the SEC's latest superlatives with their leaps that provisionally qualified them for NCAA Outdoor Championships competition.
Sophomore Pierre Browne continues to rank in the top-five nationally in the 100 meters. Browne's 10.25 clocking recorded at the March 17 SEC Quadrangular in Starkville currently stands as the fourth-fastest 100m timing in the nation.
The Bulldogs and 21st-ranked Lady Bulldogs return home this weekend as they play host to Indiana State, Middle Tennessee and Arkansas State in the Bulldog Invitational Saturday at Spencer Stadium/Maddox Track.
Friday night the MSU track facility plays host to the annual Bulldog High School Invitational. This year's high school meet expands to feature over 30 of the top prep teams from Mississippi and Alabama.
The Bulldog High School Invitational gets underway at 3 p.m. Friday, while the collegiate meet begins at 10 a.m. Saturday. Admission to this weekend's track and field doubleheader is free.
Reprinted with the permission of the MSU Athletic Department
03/28/01
Track and Field - A win in the season-opening SEC Quadrangular Meet and a fine showing at last weekend's Alabama Relays have earned the Mississippi State women's track team the squad's highest national ranking in school history.
The Lady Bulldogs scored 10 points to stand tied for 21st in the latest top 25 poll released by Trackwire. Head coach Al Schmidt's women's contingent joins seven other SEC teams in the poll released Tuesday. "We are really excited to be ranked in the top 25 in the nation," Schmidt said. "We feel really good that our team will continue to do well and move up in the national rankings."
Alabama and Auburn join MSU at No. 21. while Arkansas, South Carolina and LSU all stand in the top 10 at No. 3, No. 4 and No. 8, respectively. Florida's Lady Gators sit in the 12th position, while Georgia remained in the poll at No. 18.
Lady Bulldog senior long jumper Elisha Williams remains second in the nation in the event with her 21-3 1/4 leap that gave her second at the Alabama Relays. The top collegian last weekend in the event at Alabama's Sam Bailey Track and Field Complex, Williams continues to stand on top of the SEC in the event while trailing only South Florida's Kerine Black (21-4) in the national rankings.
Williams has been joined by fellow senior Bulldog jumpers Ian Robertson and Vance Clarke in the national rankings. Robertson recorded the third-best triple jump mark in the nation (52-8 3/4) to take third place in Tuscaloosa, Ala., last weekend, while Clarke landed a national fourth-best 52-3 1/4 leap that gave him fourth place in the event Sunday. The duo rank first and second, respectively, in the SEC's latest superlatives with their leaps that provisionally qualified them for NCAA Outdoor Championships competition.
Sophomore Pierre Browne continues to rank in the top-five nationally in the 100 meters. Browne's 10.25 clocking recorded at the March 17 SEC Quadrangular in Starkville currently stands as the fourth-fastest 100m timing in the nation.
The Bulldogs and 21st-ranked Lady Bulldogs return home this weekend as they play host to Indiana State, Middle Tennessee and Arkansas State in the Bulldog Invitational Saturday at Spencer Stadium/Maddox Track.
Friday night the MSU track facility plays host to the annual Bulldog High School Invitational. This year's high school meet expands to feature over 30 of the top prep teams from Mississippi and Alabama.
The Bulldog High School Invitational gets underway at 3 p.m. Friday, while the collegiate meet begins at 10 a.m. Saturday. Admission to this weekend's track and field doubleheader is free.
Reprinted with the permission of the MSU Athletic Department
03/26/01
Men's Tennis - Despite notching victories over the nation's top-ranked doubles team and second-ranked singles player, Mississippi State's 18th-ranked men's tennis team was not quite able to pull an upset of fifth-ranked Georgia Sunday, as MSU dropped a very close 5-2 decision to UGA
on the MSU campus.
With the loss, MSU fell to 9-5 overall, 3-2 in the Southeastern Conference. Georgia improved to 14-1, 6-0 in the league. State, which won the doubles point, had won 30-straight home matches when taking the opening point prior to Sunday. MSU is now 70-4, all-time in that situation.
MSU played solidly to claim that opening point against UGA, notching victories at the No. 1 and 3 doubles positions. Possibly the most impressive result for either team on the afternoon came at No. 1, where State's unranked tandem of Romain Ambert and Marco Baron shut out Georgia's Matias Boeker and Travis Parrott, the country¹s top-ranked doubles duo, 8-0. MSU's pair of Luiz Carvalho and Jerome Le Belicard fought off a charge from Georgia's Bo Hodge and Lesley Joseph at No. 3 to win 8-5 and give MSU the first point of the match.
In singles, MSU looked to have an early advantage with service breaks at the top two positions and every other match standing on serve. But Georgia would take those other four very close first sets, two in tiebreakers, to get into position for its comeback.
UGA tied the match at 1-1 when Nicolas Boeker won 6-3, 6-2 over State's Mathieu Soto at the No. 6 position, breaking a five-match win streak by Soto.
MSU went back on top 2-1 when Baron, ranked 13th nationally, continued his recent onslaught of college tennis, upsetting Hodge, ranked second in the country, 6-3, 6-3 at No. 1. The victory was Baron's 11th-consecutive triumph and all 11 wins have come in straight sets, eight of them over ranked opponents.
Georgia knotted the contest once again at 2-2 when Parrott, ranked 41st in singles, won 7-5, 6-0 over MSU's David Ruiz at the No. 4 spot. Parrott remained undefeated (14-0) for the year.
In the remaining matches, State held a service break lead in the third set at No. 2, but was down a set and a break at the No. 3 and 5 spots. And Georgia would guard its advantage at Nos. 3 and 5 to post identical 7-6, 6-4 victories at those positions for the team victory. UGA's 37th-ranked Brandon Wagner held off Carvalho 7-6(0), 6-4 at No. 5, and Chad Carlson, ranked 43rd, did the same against MSU's 71st-ranked Rene-Charles Combette at No. 3 to clinch the victory for Georgia.
At No. 2, State's Ambert, ranked 17th in the country, held a 3-1 lead in the third set when he turned his left ankle. In a remarkable effort however, the freshman kept playing, and managed to earn one match point against Georgia's fifth-ranked Matias Boeker before falling 3-6, 6-4, 7-6(1).
"I am very pleased with the effort our team gave today," MSU head coach Andy Jackson said. "We took what I consider to be one of, if not the, best team in the nation to the wire in almost every match and had some big wins against some very good players.
"This match is definitely one which our team will be able to build on. We played very well against a great Georgia team. Even though we did not win, our guys should be proud of their performance today."
State will return to action this Saturday, March 31st, when MSU hosts 29th-ranked Arkansas. Match time between the Dogs and the Hogs is set for 1 p.m. at the A.J. Pitts Tennis Centre.
Reprinted with the permission of the MSU Athletic Department
With the loss, MSU falls to 4-8 , 2-5 in the Southeastern Conference. South Carolina improves to 11-5 and 5-2 in the SEC.
USC grabbed an early 1-0 lead in the match as they clinched the doubles point for the 14th time in 15 matches this spring. Conversely, State has now dropped the doubles point in eight of 11 matches this season. 36th-ranked Jennifer Radman and Kathy Boyanovich won at No. 1 doubles, defeating junior Carole Soubis and senior Claudia Oliveira, 8-5. South Carolina's 50th-ranked team of Leigh Eichelberger and Lynn-Yin Tan clinched the point with an 8-1 win over freshman Yumi Ueda and senior Linda Mattsson at No. 2 doubles, 8-1. State took the No. 3 doubles match 8-3 as freshman Camila Sagae and senior Amelie Detriviere won for the fourth time in five matches.
In singles action, USC closed out the match by winning five of the six matches. USC expanded their lead to 2-0 as Tamara Sutton defeated Sagae 6-0, 6-2 at No. 5. State would pull within one as Mattsson secured MSU's only point with a 6-3, 7-6 win over Eichelberger at No. 6. With the win, Mattsson tied teammate Anca Vasiloaica for fifth place on the school's all-time win chart with 62 singles victories.
The Gamecocks went up 3-1 as Tan squeaked past Vasiloaica 7-5, 7-6 at No. 4. It was Vasiloaica's first match since an injury sidelined her in early March. State still had hope as each of the remaining three matches entered a third set. Soubis, playing at No. 3 for only the third time this season, retired with her contest with USC's Boyanovich on serve in the third set. South Carolina got its fifth point as Oliveira fell to 96th-ranked Katarina Markovski 6-4, 2-6, 6-3 at No. 2. Detriviere's recent run of hard luck continued as she dropped a 6-7, 6-1, 7-6 decision to Radman to end the match. Although Detriviere has won the first set in four of her last five matches, it was her fourth consecutive loss.
The Lady Bulldogs will return home to host a pair of matches next weekend. MSU plays Alabama-Birmingham at the A.J. Pitts Tennis Centre on Friday before welcoming SEC foe and fifth-ranked Vanderbilt on Sunday.
Reprinted with the permission of the MSU Athletic Department
The Bulldogs shot a tournament-low 302 Saturday to move into 14th place, and the team's second-lowest round of the three-day event gave the squad a 940 mark for the tournament which was good enough to vault them ahead of Memphis, South Alabama and Troy State into 11th position.
College of Charleston did not relinquish its first-round lead, winning by five strokes with an 889 mark. Host Alabama claimed second with an 894 showing.
After firing back-to-back rounds of 73 over the first two days, senior Scott Shelton carded an 80 Sunday to fall into a tie for 15th place at 226 and lead head coach Greg Martin's squad.
Sophomore Codie Mudd tied for 34th position (232) after shooting a 79 Sunday, and Tim Cureton carded an 82 that tied him for 61st place at 242.
Redshirt freshman T.J. Washburn and junior Jason McKenzie both fired their best rounds of the tournament to finish tied for 65th place. McKenzie shot a final-round 77, and Washburn carded a 78 as the duo finished the tournament at 245.
The Mississippi State golf team's next action comes Apr. 6-8 when the Bulldogs travel to Auburn, Ala., to compete at the Billy Hitchcock Intercollegiate, the final tune-up before the Apr. 20-22 SEC Championships.
2001 ALABAMA SPRING INVITATIONAL
TEAM SCORES
1. College of Charleston 293-292-304=889
2. Alabama 294-305-295=894
3. Georgia State 298-295-305=898
4. Mississippi 305-294-302=901
UAB 304-292-305=901
6. Vanderbilt 294-302-311=907
7. South Florida 298-304-306=908
8. Central Florida 305-299-308=912
9. Southeastern Louisiana 297-295-321=913
10. Florida State 306-300-313=919
11. MISSISSIPPI STATE 324-302-314=940
12. Troy State 318-305-318=941
13. South Alabama 318-302-322=942
14. Memphis 312-302-332=946
15. Middle Tennessee 321-320-322=963
MSU INDIVIDUAL RESULTS
t15. Scott Shelton 73-73-80=226
t34. Codie Mudd 78-75-79=232
t61. Tim Cureton 87-73-82=242
t65. Jason McKenzie 87-81-77=245
t65. T.J. Washburn 86-81-78=245
Reprinted with the permission of the MSU Athletic Department
In team action, the Lady Bulldogs scored 12 points to take 10th place among the 26-team field, while the MSU men scored nine points in limited relay competition to finish 15th of 32 teams.
Robertson landed a school fourth-best 52-8 3/4 mark that placed him in third place overall and the top collegian in the field at the Sam Bailey Track and Field Complex. Clarke finished immediately behind his MSU teammate in fourth place with a season-best 52-3 1/4 leap.
"We are very pleased with the way Vance and Ian competed today in the triple jump," MSU head coach Al Schmidt said. "They should be ranked high on the national lists this week."
In addition to his triple jump success Sunday at the Alabama-hosted meet, Robertson joined Pierre Browne, Keston Nelson and Dion Crabbe to help the Bulldogs' 4x100-meter relay team to a third-place showing and eight points in a season-best 40.56.
The final point for State came when the team of Danny Ledford, Daniel Hunter, James Kimbrough and Chris Boldt captured eighth place in the distance medley relay with a 10:18.08 clocking.
Schmidt's MSU women's contingent earned points in four relay events. The Lady Dogs were paced by the 400-meter relay unit of LeKisha Barnaby-Pope, Collette Gibbs, Karen Lee and Camille Harper that took fifth place in 45.81.
Harper, Gibbs and Barnaby-Pope also teamed with Andréa Ingleton to take sixth place and three points in the 4x200-meter relay in 1:38.36. LeeAnn Ripstra, Janice Zawaski, Kristin Tallent and Christine Zawaski claimed three points for MSU Sunday as they clocked 12:14.16 to take sixth place in the DMR.
Gibbs, Harper, Ingleton and Ann-Marie Anderson earned the other two points for the Lady Bulldogs with a seventh-place showing in the 1600-meter sprint medley relay (4:03.17).
Individually for the Lady Bulldogs Sunday, senior Trish Curtis took fifth place in the hammer throw (161-3), while fellow senior Stacey Salmon threw 154-11 to finish seventh. Junior Andrea' Buie leaped a personal-best 37-1 3/4 triple jump mark to claim 15th place.
The MSU track squads return home next weekend to play host to the Bulldog Invitational Saturday, March 31. The collegiate meet will be proceeded by Friday's Bulldog High School Invitational that features many high schools from around the state. Admission to all MSU home track meets is free.
2001 ALABAMA RELAYS, March 25, 2001; Tuscaloosa, Ala.
MEN'S TEAM SCORES
1. Alabama, 29; 2. Auburn, 28; 3. Eastern Michigan, 21; 3. Middle Tennessee, 21; 3. Pittsburgh, 21; 6. Mississippi, 16; 7. Michigan State, 14; 8. Louisiana Tech, 13; 9. Georgia Tech, 12; 9. Memphis, 12; 11. Wisconsin, 11; 12. Cincinnati, 10; 12. Chattanooga, 10; 12. Tulane, 10; 15. MISSISSIPPI STATE, 9.
MSU MEN'S INDIVIDUAL RESULTS
Triple Jump -- 3. Ian Robertson, 52-8 3/4; 4. Vance Clarke, 52-3 1/4.
4x100-Meter Relay -- 3. Mississippi State, 40.56.
1600-Meter Sprint Medley -- 12. Mississippi State, 3:27.80.
Distance Medley Relay -- 8. Mississippi State, 10:18.08.
WOMEN'S TEAM SCORES
1. Pittsburgh, 50; 2. Alabama, 31; 3. Auburn, 25; 4. Mississippi, 23; 5. Georgetown, 20; 6. Chattanooga, 16; 6. Vanderbilt, 16; 8. Maryland, 15; 9. South Alabama, 13; 10. MISSISSIPPI STATE, 12.
Reprinted with the permission of the MSU Athletic Department
03/25/01
Men's Golf - Head coach Greg Martin's Mississippi State men's golf team shot a 302 Saturday to stand in 14th place heading into Sunday's final round of the Conrad Rehling Alabama Spring Invitational in Tuscaloosa, Ala.
The Bulldogs improved 22 strokes on Friday's opening-round 324 to surpass Middle Tennessee and move into 14th position with a 626 mark through two rounds at Ol' Colony Golf Complex.
College of Charleston coupled Friday's 293 with a 292 Saturday to hold the lead with a 585.
Senior Scott Shelton remained in 10th position as he fired his second-straight round of 73 to stand at 2-over par 146 heading into Sunday's final 18 holes.
After shooting a 78 in the opening round, sophomore Codie Mudd carded a 75 Saturday to move into a tie for 38th place at 153.
Tim Cureton moved up into a tie for 62nd position Saturday with a 73 put him at 160. Freshman T.J. Washburn stands in 72nd place with a 167, while junior Jason McKenzie rounds out the Bulldogs' starting five at 168.
The Bulldogs close out the Alabama Spring Invitational with a final 18 holes Sunday.
Reprinted with the permission of the MSU Athletic Department
Williams, a senior, bettered her conference-best and national second-best 20-10 3/4 mark she claimed at the season-opening SEC Quadrangular Meet last weekend with a 21-3 1/4 leap that placed her as the top collegian among the field of over 40 competitors at the Sam Bailey Track and Field Complex.
The Milton, Fla., native and NCAA indoor runner-up has now finished in the top three in long jump competition nine straight times during the 2001 season.
Sophomore Pierre Browne led the MSU men in individual action at the Alabama-hosted meet. Browne clocked 10.47 in the 100 meters to take third place out of 79 competitors.
"Elisha (Williams) has established herself as one of the top long jumpers in the nation," MSU head coach Al Schmidt said. "Pierre was ahead in the race, but he dipped early and was short of the finish line. They were running on a different straight-away, and he didn't realize he was about 10 meters short."
In other men's action, sophomore Kevin Pittman cleared 15-3 in the pole vault for the second consecutive week to finish third Saturday. Fellow sophomore Daniel Hunter threw a personal-best 183-2 javelin mark to claim fourth-place honors, and freshman Clay Garner secured his second straight top-10 finish as he took seventh place in the javelin with a 174-3 throw.
Second-year distance runner Joey Hansen also claimed a personal-best clocking for the Lady Bulldogs Saturday. The Mauston, Wis., native clocked 10:18.87 in the 3000 meters to take ninth place.
Fellow sophomore LeKisha Barnaby-Pope recorded her top 100-meter hurdles timing of the year (13.96) to finish sixth. Senior Stacey Salmon claimed a top-10 showing in the shot put, throwing 43-3 3/4 to take 10th place.
The Alabama Relays conclude Sunday with the relay events. The Alabama-hosted meet determines the team scoring strictly based on the relay events.
Reprinted with the permission of the MSU Athletic Department
03/24/01
Men's Tennis - Mississippi State's 18th-ranked men's tennis team continued its stellar play at home Friday, downing No. 49 Vanderbilt 5-2 at MSU's A.J. Pitts Tennis Centre.
With the win, MSU improved to 9-4 overall, 3-1 in the SEC, and is now 8-1 at home this season. Vandy fell to 7-8 overall, 0-5 in the league. The win also marked the Bulldogs' 18th-straight over the Commodores.
State posted 8-3 victories at the No. 2 and 3 doubles positions to gain the opening point of the day against the Commodores. Vandy claimed an 8-4 victory at the No. 1 spot.
The Bulldogs gained the early advantage in singles, winning four of six first sets to put themselves in position for the team victory.
Giving State a 2-0 lead in the match was Mathieu Soto. The senior won 6-1, 6-2 over Vandy's Josh Tarkoff at the No. 6 position to register his fifth-consecutive singles triumph.
MSU went up 3-0 when Marco Baron, ranked 13th nationally, won over VU's 82nd-ranked Eddie Coates when the Commodore senior retired in the second set. Baron, who won for the 10th-straight time, was up 6-4, 4-2 when Coates stopped play due to a stomach virus.
State got the next two points of the match within minutes of each other. Clinching the team victory was freshman sensation Romain Ambert. Ranked 17th nationally, Ambert won 6-1, 3-6, 6-0 over VU's Bobby Reynolds at the No. 2 position to improve his record to 26-8 this year. Following with a win soon after was junior David Ruiz, who ousted Jens Frederiksen 6-2, 6-3 at No. 5.
Vandy would claim victory in the final two matches of the day. Commodore Chad Harris claimed a tight 7-6(4), 6-4 decision from MSU's Jerome Le Belicard at the No. 3 spot, while Zach Dailey held off State's 71st-ranked Rene-Charles Combette 6-3, 2-6, 6-2 at No. 4.
"This was a good win over a solid Vanderbilt team," MSU head coach Andy Jackson said. "We gave good efforts in every match and that showed in the final score."
Friday's victory sets up a big showdown for the Bulldog netters Sunday, when State welcomes fifth-ranked and SEC front-runner Georgia. UGA is 13-1, 5-0 in the SEC, after a 4-3 win at No. 11 Mississippi Friday. Match time between MSU and UGA is set for 1 p.m. at the Pitts Tennis Centre.
"We have a big opportunity to help ourselves both in the conference race and in the national rankings Sunday," Jackson said. "But it will not be easy. Georgia is clearly one of the best teams in the country this year.
"We will have to give our best effort and leave everything on the court to upset them. We hope our fans will come out and support us in this very important match."
Reprinted with the permission of the MSU Athletic Department
Senior Scott Shelton paced the Bulldogs with an opening-round 73 that placed him in a six-way tie for 10th place. Shelton sits just four shots back of Vanderbilt's John Pitt, who secured the clubhouse lead with an opening-round 69.
College of Charleston carded a 293 to take the lead at the Ol' Colony Golf Complex. Alabama and Vanderbilt were tied for second after shooting rounds of 294.
Codie Mudd struggled Friday to finish at 6-over par 78 and tie for 41st heading into Saturday's second round.
Redshirt freshman T.J. Washburn carded an 86 to sit tied for 70th place, while fellow redshirt Tim Cureton and junior Jason McKenzie fired a pair of 87s to tie for 73rd place.
The Bulldogs continue the Alabama Spring Invitational with second-round play Saturday. Head coach Greg Martin's linksters close out the tournament with a final 18 holes Sunday.
Reprinted with the permission of the MSU Athletic Department
This year's field includes 63 men's teams and 56 squads on the women's side. State will go up against SEC foes Alabama, Auburn, Mississippi and Vanderbilt at this weekend's meet at the Sam Bailey Track and Field Complex.
The main emphasis will be on Sunday's relay events by which the meet is team scored. However, head coach Al Schmidt's squads will have several athletes vying for NCAA qualifying marks.
Leading the charge for the Lady Bulldogs is senior Elisha Williams. The SEC's women's Athlete of the Week provisionally qualified in the long jump in last weekend's outdoor-opening SEC Quadrangular Meet with a national second-best 20-10 3/4 leap. Williams also won the triple jump in addition to her long jump win as she finished with a meet-high 30 points.
Sophomore Pierre Browne will race in the 100- and 200-meter dashes this weekend. Browne, a double winner like Williams last weekend, won the 100 meters behind a 10.25 clocking that sends him into the weekend rated No. 1 in the country in the event. Browne clocked an SEC third-best 20.88 mark to win the 200 meters and help the Bulldogs take second place over Alabama.
The MSU contingents begin action Saturday morning with the men's hammer throw. Sunday begins team scoring action as the relays dominate the final day of competition.
Reprinted with the permission of the MSU Athletic Department
03/22/01
Track and Field - Mississippi State senior Elisha Williams has been named the Southeastern Conference's Track and Field Athlete of the Week for her two wins at the SEC Quadrangular Meet March 17.
Williams scored a meet-high 30 points to lead the Lady Bulldogs to the team title over Alabama, Tennessee and Vanderbilt at the MSU-hosted SEC Quad meet.
The NCAA indoor runner-up in the long jump, Williams won the event with a conference-best 20-10 3/4 leap that provisionally qualifies her for the NCAA Outdoor Championships and places her second in the nation in the event. The long jump win last Saturday was the eighth top-three long jump finish in as many meets this season, and the fourth win of the year for the Milton, Fla., native.
Williams won the triple jump with a team-leading and SEC eighth-best 38-7 1/2 leap. Williams also ranks eighth in the conference with a 122-0 javelin mark that gave her fourth place at Spencer Stadium/Maddox Track. She also scored in the high jump with a 5-2 1/4 leap that landed her in a tie for 10th place in the SEC standings.
Williams ended the indoor season ranked second in the SEC in the long jump (21-7 1/2), while also standing in the conference's top 10 in the high jump (5-6).
The Mississippi State men were led last weekend by sophomore sprinter Pierre Browne. Browne won the 100- and 200-meter dashes to help the Bulldogs to a second-place finish at the SEC Quadrangular.
Browne provisionally qualified for NCAA outdoor action in the 100 meters with his 10.25 timing that currently stands tops in the United States.
The Mississippi State track contingents travel to Tuscaloosa, Ala., for this weekend's Alabama Relays. The Alabama-hosted meet begins Friday and concludes with relay action Sunday.
Reprinted with the permission of the MSU Athletic Department
03/21/01
Soccer - The Mississippi State Soccer team, in the midst of its 2001 spring workouts, will suit up in its game gear this weekend as the Bulldogs stay at home to host the first annual 7 v. 7 Showcase on Saturday as part of 2001 Super Bulldog Weekend activities.
The Bulldogs will be one of eight teams in the tournament which features squads from Southeastern Louisiana University, Georgia State University and the University of Memphis, as well as top club teams from the states of Mississippi and Tennessee. Club teams involved in the event include Jackson F.C., one of the top club organizations in the state of Mississippi, and top Tennessee club teams Memphis Green and Memphis White, as well as Germantown.
Games featuring Mississippi State and Memphis White, as well as a matchup between Georgia State and Memphis Green, will open up round-robin play at 8:30 a.m. Six more games, consisting of two thirty-minute halves, will follow every 90 minutes thereafter. In addition to the 8:30 contest against Memphis White, the Bulldogs will play at 10 a.m. against Georgia State and at 2:30 p.m. against Southeastern Louisiana. All games of the 2001 Mississippi State 7 v. 7 Showcase will take place at the Mississippi State Soccer Field.
Teams for the tournament will consist of seven players apiece with the playing surface being reduced to accommodate the smaller-scale contests.
In addition to regulation games being reduced by 30 minutes, other rules for the event include: goalkeepers being unable to punt, unlimited substitutes on own throw-ins and any goal kicks and the disallowment of substitutions on corner kicks. Two yellow cards will still result in a red card (ejection) and will result in the offending player sitting out the remainder of the contest, as well as the following game.
"This tournament will give us an opportunity to see what aspects of our game we need to continue to improve on," said head coach Neil McGuire of the event. "It will also give our fans an opportunity to see some of the younger players on our squad who have stepped in to replace our senior class."
Although having practiced less than a month, State has already posted an impressive showing in a tournament in Memphis. Since then, McGuire has continued to see improvements in his squad as they begin preparations for the 2001 season which begins in late August.
"Spring is going very well, with each player working to improve on their previous personal bests in terms of fitness and skill acquisition," he said. "As a team, we are becoming more tactically aware as our understanding of the game increases. This is a very productive time for us all."
2001 MISSISSIPPI STATE 7 v. 7 SHOWCASE
SATURDAY SCHEDULE OF EVENTS
Reprinted with the permission of the MSU Athletic Department
03/18/01 (10:00 p.m.)
Women's Golf - The Mississippi State women's golf team finished ninth at the Lady Gamecock Classic in Blythewood, S.C., shooting a 960 over the course of the three-day event held at the par-72 University Club.
MSU was led by senior Lina Thoren, who shot a 234 to finish tied for 20th in the individual competition. Teammates Anna Gertsson, a junior, and Anna Knutsson, a sophomore, carded scores of 237 each to tie for 24th. Freshman Catalina Olarte posted a 255 to finish tied for 50th, while senior Renata Almeida rounded out the MSU lineup, shooting a 262 to finish 57th.
Duke took home the Lady Gamecock Classic title with a score of 887, while Georgia's Angela Jerman beat Louisiana States Katy Harris in a playoff to win the individual crown with a score of 219.
The Lady Bulldogs next tournament action will take place at the Liz Murphey Collegiate Classic in Athens, Ga., on March 30 through April 1.
LADY GAMECOCK CLASSIC, THE UNIVERSITY CLUB, Par: 72 5,996 Yards
FINAL TEAM STANDINGS
1. Duke 299-292-296=887 +23
2. Georgia 295-294-303=892 +28
3. Louisiana State 301-300-312=913 +49
4. Wake Forest 308-312-305=925 +61
5. South Carolina 309-311-316=936 +72
6. Alabama 315-320-311=946 +82
7. North Carolina 317-315-322=954 +90
8. Florida 311-315-331=957 +93
9. Mississippi State 306-321-333=960 +96
10. Furman 316-315-334=965 +101
11. Mississippi 343-327-345=1015 +151
MSU FINAL RESULTS
t20. Lina Thoren 72-81-81=234 +18
t24. Anna Gertsson 74-78-85=237 +21
t24. Anna Knutsson 77-78-82=237 +21
t50. Catalina Olarte 86-84-85=255 +39
57. Renata Almeida 83-88-91=262 +46
Reprinted with the permission of the MSU Athletic Department
03/18/01
Track and Field - The Mississippi State track and field teams opened the 2001 outdoor season on a positive note as the Lady Bulldogs took first place and the Bulldogs runner-up honors at the SEC Quadrangular Meet on the MSU campus Saturday.
Despite cool temperatures and a blustery wind that invaded the area, State's women recorded 179.50 points to run their home winning streak to seven meets. The Lady Bulldogs finished ahead of Vanderbilt, who took second place with 157 points. Alabama and Tennessee rounded out the SEC field with 155.50 and 111 points, respectively.
The Bulldogs finished the day with 172 points to place behind nationally fourth-ranked Tennessee, who captured the team crown with 213 points. The Bulldogs' 172 points them ahead of No. 2 Alabama (105 points) and South Alabama (86 points).
Head coach Al Schmidt's squad claimed 11 first-place finishes, paced by double-winners Elisha Williams and Pierre Browne.
"It was a good day all around for us," Schmidt said. "We had some individuals step up for us today. It's very pleasing because we beat some quality competition today."
Williams scored a meet-high 30 points to lead the Lady Bulldog victory. The NCAA indoor all-American won the long jump with a 20-10 3/4 leap that provisionally qualified her for the NCAA Outdoor Championships. Williams' first-place long jump showing gives her four wins in the event this season and eight consecutive top-three finishes.
The Milton, Fla., native won the triple jump title Saturday with a 38-7 1/2 mark, and she took second in the high jump, clearing 5-2 1/4. Williams rounded out action Saturday with a fourth-place finish in the javelin (122-0).
Browne, last season's SEC co-Freshman of the Year, claimed a pair of wins for the MSU men in the sprints. The Toronto, Ontario, native provisionally qualified in the 100 meters with a 10.25 clocking, and he also took top honors in the 200 meters with a 20.88 timing that narrowly missed NCAA provisional qualifying standards.
Vance Clarke started his senior outdoor season in winning fashion, as he landed a 49-5 3/4 effort to take first in the triple jump.
Sophomores Kevin Pittman and James Kimbrough rounded out the Bulldog winners Saturday. Pittman cleared 15-3 to win the pole vault, while Kimbrough won the 800 meters in 1:54.42.
In her first 3000-meter steeplechase action, sophomore Joey Hansen narrowly missed NCAA provisional qualifying standards as she won the event with an 11:14.22 clocking. Sophomore LeKisha Barnaby-Pope won the 100-meter high hurdles with a 14.07 mark, while junior Camille Harper and senior Andréa Ingleton claimed wins for State in the sprints. Harper clocked a 23.94 mark to win the 200 meters, while Ingleton ran 56.52 in a winning 400 meters effort.
Senior Trish Curtis paced the Lady Bulldogs in the throws, as she took fourth place in the discus with a school-record 143-3 toss.
The MSU track contingents continue outdoor action next weekend, traveling to Tuscaloosa, Ala., to compete in the Alabama Relays March 23-25.
MEN'S TEAM SCORES
1. Tennessee, 213; 2. MISSISSIPPI STATE, 172; 3. Alabama, 105; 4. South Alabama, 86.
MSU MEN'S INDIVIDUAL RESULTS
100 Meters -- 1. Pierre Browne, 10.25; 4. Keston Nelson, 10.68.
200 Meters -- 1. Pierre Browne, 20.88; 4. Keston Nelson, 21.28.
800 Meters -- 1. James Kimbrough, 1:54.42.
1500 Meters -- 3. Chris Boldt, 4:01.52.
3000 Meters -- 4. Tommy Barksdale, 9:21.26.
4x100-Meter Relay -- 3. Mississippi State, 42.56.
4x400-Meter Relay -- 2. Mississippi State, 3:24.97.
High Jump -- 2. Dion Crabbe, 6-4 3/4; 4. Daniel Hunter, 6-0 3/4.
Pole Vault -- 1. Kevin Pittman, 15-3; 3. Daniel Hunter, 13-11 1/4.
Long Jump -- 2. Ian Robertson, 23-8 3/4; 4. Lewis Seals, 22-3 1/2.
Triple Jump -- 1. Vance Clarke, 49-5 3/4; 2. Ian Robertson, 49-4 1/4.
Shot Put -- 3. Viktor Mara, 44-9 3/4.
Discus -- 3. Clay Garner, 146-4; 4. Matt Caton, 132-4.
Hammer -- 3. Matt Caton, 147-8; 4. Viktor Mara, 144-2.
Javelin -- 3. Clay Garner, 179-11; 5. Matt Caton, 145-9.
WOMEN'S TEAM SCORES
1. MISSISSIPPI STATE, 179.50; 2. Vanderbilt, 157; 3. Alabama, 155.50; 4. Tennessee, 111.
MSU WOMEN'S INDIVIDUAL RESULTS
100 Meters -- 2. Camille Harper, 11.72; 4. LeKisha Barnaby-Pope, 12.26.
200 Meters -- 1. Camille Harper, 23.94.
400 Meters -- 1. Andréa Ingleton, 56.52; 2. Ann-Marie Anderson, 57.23.
800 Meters -- 4. Kristin Tallent, 2:22.19.
1500 Meters -- 2. LeeAnn Ripstra, 4:43.59.
3000 Meters -- 3. Christine Zawaski, 10:30.60.
100-Meter Hurdles -- 1. LeKisha Barnaby-Pope, 14.07; 4. CeCe Brown, 15.18.
400-Meter Hurdles -- 2. CeCe Brown, 1:04.85; 5. Nicole Dunn, 1:07.51.
3000-Meter Steeplechase -- 1. Joey Hansen, 11:14.22.
4x400-Meter Relay -- 2. Mississippi State, 3:53.99.
High Jump -- 2. Elisha Williams, 5-2 1/4; 3. Renata Hendrix, 5-2 1/4.
Long Jump -- 1. Elisha Williams, 20-10 3/4; 3. Andrea' Buie, 17-4 3/4.
Triple Jump -- 1. Elisha Williams, 38-7 1/2; 3. Andrea' Buie, 35-9 1/2.
Shot Put -- 4. Stacey Salmon, 44-4; 5. Trish Curtis, 41-7 1/4.
Discus -- 4. Trish Curtis, 143-3.
Hammer -- 3. Trish Curtis, 162-9; 4. Stacey Salmon, 155-0.
Javelin -- 4. Elisha Williams, 122-0; 5. Trish Curtis, 100-9.
Reprinted with the permission of the MSU Athletic Department
Junior Anna Gertsson leads MSU with a score of 152, placing her 17th in the individual competition. Senior Lina Thoren is one stroke behind Gertsson with a mark of 153 and tied for 18th place. Sophomore Anna Knutsson follows closely behind her teammates with a score of 155 and tied for 22nd place. Freshman Catalina Olarte and senior Renata Almeida round out the MSU lineup with scores of 170 and 171, respectively, placing them 53rd and 54th.
Georgia leads the tournament with a score of 589. Louisiana State teammates Katy Harris and Meredith Duncan are tied at the top of the leaderboard with a score of 145.
Final round of action begins Sunday at 8:00 a.m. with 18 holes to be played.
Reprinted with the permission of the MSU Athletic Department
03/17/01
Men's Tennis - Mississippi State's 15th-ranked men's tennis team suffered a 5-2 upset at 24th-ranked Miami Friday evening.
With the loss, MSU fell to 8-4 overall. Miami improved to 11-2. The win for UM broke a four-match losing streak to the Bulldogs.
Miami claimed the opening point of the evening, taking victories at the No. 1 and 2 doubles positions, keyed by an 8-2 victory from the 35th-ranked team of Peter Hoffman and Tomas Smid at No. 1 over Bulldogs Romain Ambert and Marco Baron.
The Hurricanes road that momentum into singles play, winning four of six matches there for the victory. State's lone bright spots came at positions 1 and 5 from its seniors.
At the top spot, Baron continued his stellar play of late. The 14th-ranked senior all-American ousted Miami's 62nd-ranked Michael Lang 6-2, 6-1 for his ninth-consecutive victory. All nine of the wins during Baron's streak have been in straight sets and six of them have come over nationally-ranked foes.
Fellow senior Mathieu Soto won 6-4, 6-3 over Hurricane Jose Lieberman at No. 5 for State's only other point of the match. It was Soto's fourth triumph in a row in singles action.
But those two wins were not enough, as Miami won a three-set comeback at the No. 2 position and got straight-set victories in its other three wins in the contest at positions 3, 4 and 6.
"I am disappointed in our play as a team tonight," MSU head coach Andy Jackson said. "Miami has a very good team, but we did not challenge them very well at all. We've got a lot of work ahead of us to prepare for the rest of our season."
State now has a week off before beginning the stretch run of its Southeastern Conference schedule next week as part of Super Bulldog Weekend. MSU will host 42nd-ranked Vanderbilt next Friday, March 23, at 2 p.m. The Bulldogs will then welcome seventh-ranked and SEC front-runner Georgia next Sunday, March 25, at 1 p.m.
Reprinted with the permission of the MSU Athletic Department
Lady Bulldog senior Lina Thoren is in a four-way tie for first place. Thoren posted a even-par 72, her lowest first round score of the 2000-01 season.
Junior Anna Gertsson is two strokes behind teammate Thoren with a opening score of 74, placing her in a tie for ninth place in the individual competition. Sophomore Anna Knutsson is tied for 22nd place with a 77 first round score. Senior Renata Almeida carded an 83 to place her tied for 45th, while freshman Catalina Olarte shot an 86, placing her tied for 53rd.
Georgia leads the tournament with a first round score of 295. Tying Thoren for the lead in the individual competition are Georgia's Angela Jerman, Louisiana States Meredith Duncan and Furman's Jennifer Perri.
Play at the Lady Gamecock Classic continues Saturday and Sunday with 18 holes to be played each day.
TEAM STANDINGS
1. Georgia 295 +7
2. Duke 299 +11
3. Louisiana State 301 +13
4. Mississippi State 306 +18
5. Wake Forest 308 +20
6. South Carolina 309 +21
7. Florida 311 +23
8. Alabama 315 +27
9. Furman 316 +28
10. North Carolina 317 +29
11. Mississippi 343 +55
Reprinted with the permission of the MSU Athletic Department
The Bulldogs face a stiff challenge, as Alabama and Tennessee both enter the one-day meet ranked in the top 10 nationally. Alabama finished the indoor season ranked No. 2 in the country, while Tennessee ended the campaign ranked fourth. South Alabama brings its Jaguar men's contingent to Saturday's meet since Vanderbilt does not field a men's team.
Exciting SEC action gets underway from the MSU campus with the field events at 10 a.m. Running events to the first of three home meets for the State contingents begin at noon. Admission to all MSU home meets are free.
The MSU men are led into this weekend's outdoor opener by sophomore sprinter Pierre Browne and senior triple jumper Vance Clarke. Browne will run the 100- and 200-meter dashes for the Bulldogs after narrowly missing the NCAA field during the indoor season.
At the LSU-hosted indoor meet, Browne took third in the 200 meters and second in the 60 meters. Browne looks for a repeat of his rookie outdoor success that earned him SEC co-Freshman of the Year honors. Last outdoor season Browne clocked Canada's fastest outdoor 200 meters timing of 2000 (20.49) at the SEC Outdoor Championships.
Clarke had a stellar indoor regular season that included a win at the indoor SEC Quad meet in Baton Rouge, La., and a season-best 51-11 1/4 leap at the Razorback Invitational. Clarke will be aiming to qualify for the NCAA Outdoor Championships in the triple jump for the second consecutive season.
The Lady Bulldogs are led by indoor all-America jumper Elisha Williams. looks to carry over her successful indoor season to the outdoor campaign. During the 2001 indoor season, Williams placed in the top-three in each of her seven long jump outings, including runner-up honors at the USA Track and Field Championships and the NCAA Indoor Championships.
Williams leaped an indoor school-record 21-7 1/2 at the NCAA Championships to become the third Lady Bulldog all-American and first to earn the honor indoors. Williams' effort put the Lady Bulldogs in 27th place, matching the highest finish by a State women's contingent in school history.
Reprinted with the permission of the MSU Athletic Department
3/15/01
Men's Golf - Mississippi State senior captain Scott Shelton fired a final-round 69 to lead Mississippi State to a sixth-place finish at the Seminole Collegiate Classic in Tallahassee, Fla.
The Paris, Texas, native matched his career low with Wednesday's final-round tally as he carded an even-par 216 to finish the 54-hole event in fifth place.
Shelton's second top-10 finish of the season helped spark the Bulldogs to a 290 that propelled them out of 12th place and into sixth place with an 897 final score. Virginia held on to win the team title, recording a 284 final round to end the tournament with an 857 mark.
After shooting rounds of 75 and 74 Tuesday, sophomore Codie Mudd notched his best round of the tournament, 73, to move up into a tie for 19th place at 6-over par 222. Mudd's 1-over final round moved him out of 24th place and gave him his fifth top-20 showing of the year.
Redshirt freshman Tim Cureton fought his way out of a 45th-place tie as he matched his career low with a 73 Wednesday to finish tied for 34th place with a 226 score.
Junior Jason McKenzie closed the Florida State-hosted event with a final-round 75 that moved him into a 65th-place tie at 233. Fellow redshirt freshman T.J. Washburn ended the tournament tied for 74th position (236) following a final-round 75.
State hits the road during Super Bulldog Weekend, taking part in the first three-day tournament action of the season at the Alabama Spring Invitational Mar. 23-25 in Tuscaloosa, Ala.
Reprinted with the permission of the MSU Athletic Department
03/14/00
Men's Golf - Mississippi State head coach Greg Martin's Mississippi State men's golf team fired a 607 Tuesday to sit in 12th place following the opening two rounds of play at the Seminole Classic in Tallahassee, Fla.
State opened the tournament with an opening-round 304 before bettering that mark by a stroke with a 303 effort for the final 18 holes of the day. Virginia, the 50th-ranked team in the country, took the clubhouse lead with a 573 mark.
The Bulldogs head into Wednesday's final round four strokes ahead of Memphis and SEC foe Vanderbilt, and just two back of 10th-place holders Southeastern Louisiana and Central Florida. Just nine shots separate the Bulldogs from sixth place, which is currently occupied by Southern Mississippi and host Florida State.
Senior captain Scott Shelton led State through the opening day of play. Shelton carded rounds of 74 and 73, respectively, to sit in a tie for 12th place with a 3-over par 147.
Sophomore Codie Mudd lurks just one shot shy of the top 20, as he finished the opening 36 holes at 5-over 149.
Redshirt freshman Tim Cureton shot a 153 to sit in a tie for 45th position, while junior Jason McKenzie carded a 158 to finish the opening two rounds tied for 70th place. Fellow redshirt freshman T.J. Washburn ended Tuesday's first day of play tied for 82nd position at 161.
State concludes its 20th appearance at the Seminole Classic with a final 18 holes Wednesday.
Reprinted with the permission of the MSU Athletic Department
MSU dropped the critical doubles point to fall down, 1-0. State won the first match, as senior Claudia Oliveira and junior Carole Soubis defeated Katrin Gaber and Karolina Roubickova 8-2. On court 2, senior Linda Mattsson and freshman Yumi Ueda fell to 46th-ranked Rosa Perez and Saber Pierce in a tight 8-6 match. At No. 3, TCU clinched the doubles point with a 9-8(3) win by Paty Aburto and Leoni Weirich over senior Amelie Detriviere and freshman Camila Sagae.
In singles, MSU took the first set on four of the six courts, giving them a shot at coming back for the win. MSU tied the match at one with Sagae's 6-4, 7-6 win over Pierce at No. 5. TCU then went back in front with Aburto winning 7-6, 6-2 over Soubis at No. 2.
Ueda, trying to keep State in the match, forced Weirich into the third set at No. 4. At that time all four courts still playing went into a third set. Ueda fell 6-2, 4-6, 6-2, and shortly after, TCU clinched the match as Gaber defeated Detriviere at No. 1, 1-6, 6-3, 6-2.
The remaining two matches, still playing in the final set, were suspended after TCU clinched.
The Lady Bulldogs will return to Starkville for the remainder of their Spring Break before heading to Athens, Ga. to take on the No. 2 Georgia Lady Bulldogs on Thursday, March 22.
Reprinted with the permission of the MSU Athletic Department
03/12/01 (9:15 p.m.)
Men's Golf - The Mississippi State men's golf team returns to action this week, competing at the Seminole Classic in Tallahassee, Fla.
The Bulldogs tee off at the Florida State-hosted event 7:30 a.m. central time against an 18-team field that includes eight teams ranked in the MasterCard Collegiate Golf Rankings. State faces a field that includes 15th-ranked Duke, No. 21 College of Charleston and 22nd-rated Alabama-Birmingham, along with Memphis, Southern Mississippi and SEC foe Vanderbilt.
The Bulldogs head to Tallahassee looking to make up for a disappointing showing at the Matlock Collegiate Classic a week ago. The Bulldogs could never adjust to gusty winds en route to taking 12th-place team honors with a season-high 961 score.
Head coach Greg Martin's State linksters enter this week's two-day spring break tournament averaging 74.85 on the season. Sophomore Codie Mudd leads the way with a 74.00 mark. The Louisville, Ky., native looks to rebound from a 40th-place tie at the Matlock. The Bulldogs' leader in four events this season, Mudd claimed his first collegiate title at the spring-opening Rice Intercollegiate, as he built on an opening-round and career-low 66 to capture first place with a 212 total.
Senior captain Scott Shelton ranks second on the squad this season with a 75.13 scoring average. The Paris, Texas, native recorded his second top-20 finish of the season at the Rice tournament, carding a 223 to tie for 18th place in his return to his home state.
This week's action at the Seminole Classic marks the 20th appearance for the Bulldog golfers in Tallahassee. State took second place last season with an 862 total, while MSU's Alex Rocha captured the team title with a 208 mark.
MSU will play 36 holes Tuesday before closing out the Florida State-hosted tournament with a final 18 holes Wednesday.
Reprinted with the permission of the MSU Athletic Department
Seniors Claudia Oliveira and Linda Mattsson lead the Lady Bulldogs. Oliveira, ranked 100th in the latest WingspanBank.com National Rankings, had a four match winning streak snapped last week, but remains tied for the team lead with 12 wins on the season. Mattsson, also with 12 wins, has a three match win streak and a team-leading six dual-match victories.
TCU is led by the 46th-ranked doubles duo of Rosa Perez and Saber Pierce. The Horned Frogs had won four of their last five dual matches heading into their Monday match with unranked Wyoming.
MSU will be hoping for a drier forecast on Tuesday, as the Lady Bulldogs have struggled when forced indoors. State is 4-2 this spring in matches played outside, but 0-3 indoors.
Following Tuesday's match, the Lady Bulldogs will return home for an extended break. Their next match will be nine days later at No. 2 Georgia.
Reprinted with the permission of the MSU Athletic Department
03/12/01
Track and Field - Mississippi State senior Elisha Williams' second-place showing in the long jump Friday afternoon tied the MSU women for 27th place at the NCAA Indoor Championships in Fayetteville, Ark.
Williams' school-record 21-7 1/2 mark scored eight points toward the team total and put the Lady Bulldogs as the 27th-best women's team in the country. The team total ranked as the sixth-best among the SEC competitors, and the eight-point performance stood just three points shy of breaking into the top 20.
"We were the sixth-best SEC team this weekend," MSU head coach Al Schmidt said. "We beat some quality conference teams like Mississippi, Alabama, Auburn and Tennessee. I like knowing we finished in the top half at the NCAA Championships."
The 27th-place showing matches the Lady Dogs' best NCAA team finish. Falilatu Ogunkoya tallied nine points at the 1989 NCAA Outdoor Championships to give the squad a tie for 27th place.
Williams' runner-up showing Friday gave MSU the first women's indoor all-American and just the third Lady Bulldog all-American in school history.
The Milton, Fla., native's second-place showing was her seventh top-three long jump finish in as many meets this season. Williams has won three long jump events, finished second three times and taken third place once.
Head coach Al Schmidt's State squads open the 2001 outdoor season next weekend, hosting Auburn, Tennessee and Vanderbilt in the SEC Quadrangular Meet at W.O. Spencer Stadium/Carl Maddox Track.
Admission to the March 17 home-opening meet is free to the public.
Reprinted with the permission of the MSU Athletic Department
Moved up to a 9 a.m. start time, the match began with action on four indoor courts on the Texas Christian campus. Harvard¹s Sanaz Ghazal put the Crimson on top early with a 7-5, 7-5 victory over 100th-ranked Claudia Oliveira. State responded with a 7-6(4), 7-5 Carole Soubis victory over Fleur Broughton at No. 2. At the No. 1 position, Harvard¹s Sanja Bajin defeated senior Amelie Detriviere 4-6, 6-2, 6-3 to make the score 2-1.
On court No. 4, freshman Camila Sagae dropped a 6-3, 6-1 decision to Lara Naquishbandi. Harvard, 4-5, then clinched the match with a Lola Ajilore 6-3, 6-4 win over freshman Yumi Ueda at No. 5. MSU picked up a point on Linda Mattsson¹s 6-7(4), 6-1, 10-4 win over Jennie Timoney at No. 6. The supertiebreak win was the second of its kind for Mattsson, now 12-6 on the season. Her win today tied Oliveira for the team lead in wins this season, and moved her past Detriviere for sixth on the school¹s all-time wins list with 60.
MSU took the doubles point with a win at No. 2 after Harvard, having clinched the match in singles, defaulted at court No. 3. Mattsson and Ueda defeated Ajilore and Broughton 8-3 to win the point . At No. 1, Soubis and Oliveira fell to Bajin and Ghazal 8-5.
The Lady Bulldogs will remain in Ft. Worth until Tuesday, when they take on 30th-ranked TCU. The Horned Frogs are 5-3 this season following a win over Harvard on Saturday. TCU takes on Wyoming Monday before they meet MSU on Tuesday.
Reprinted with the permission of the MSU Athletic Department
03/11/01
Women's Tennis - Mississippi State's 39th-ranked women's tennis team takes on #66 Harvard in a non-conference affair on Sunday. The Lady Bulldogs, 4-4 on the season, defeated 47th-ranked Tulane on Monday. The Crimson comes into Dallas with a 3-4 record, and were scheduled to face Texas Christian on Saturday. MSU will meet TCU on Tuesday.
With MSU's win on Monday, head coach Tracy Lane moved into second-place on the school's all-time wins chart, passing Libba Birmingham (1978-80) with 40 career wins. Mississippi State men's head coach Andy Jackson holds the school record with 69 wins at the helm of the Lady Bulldogs.
Individually, MSU is led by four seniors, including Linda Mattsson, Anca Vasiloaica, Claudia Oliveira and Amelie Detriviere. Oliveira leads the Lady Bulldogs with 12 wins on the season. Vasiloaica leads the squad and stands alone in fifth place on the all-time wins chart at MSU with 62 career wins. Detriviere, who defeated 17th-ranked Anna Monhartova on Monday, and Mattsson are tied for sixth with 59 career singles wins.
Harvard enters the match on the heels of a 5-2 upset of then-#55 Virginia last weekend. MSU and Harvard have never met in women's tennis action.
After the match, the Lady Bulldogs will remain in Dallas to take on TCU Tuesday at 2 p.m. MSU then has a nine-day break before traveling to No. 2 Georgia on March 22.
Reprinted with the permission of the MSU Athletic Department
03/10/01
Track and Field - Mississippi State senior Elisha Williams concluded a sensational senior indoor track and field season by taking second place in the long jump at the NCAA Indoor Championships in Fayetteville, Ark., Friday afternoon.
Williams leaped a school-record 21-7 1/2 to finish behind Houston senior Jenny Adams, who won the national title with a 21-11 mark.
"Elisha put on a tremendous performance today," MSU head coach Al Schmidt said. "Coach (Keith) Powell did a great job getting her ready for this meet. She had some big-time jumps, and it took a super-human effort to beat her today."
Williams, who led most of the event, becomes the Lady Bulldogs' first indoor all-American and the third MSU woman in school history to earn the honor. LaTonya Hill captured all-America honors in the heptathlon during the 1997 outdoor season, while Falilatu Ogunkoya stands as the Lady Bulldogs' only other all-American, earning the honor outdoors for the 1987, 1988 and 1989 season.
The Milton, Fla., native posted the highest finish in NCAA competition by a Lady Bulldog with this afternoon's second-place showing. The effort comes a week after taking second place in the event at the USA Track and Field Indoor Championships with a 20-9 effort.
"I was feeling great on the runway today after feeling really fast at last week's USA Championships," Williams said. "I tried to stop thinking so much out there and just jumped."
Williams and the remainder of Schmidt's Mississippi State track contingent open the outdoor season next Saturday, March 17, as they host Auburn, Tennessee and Vanderbilt in SEC Quadrangular Meet action at Spencer Stadium/Maddox Track on the Mississippi State campus. Admission to the first of three home meets for State is free to the public.
Reprinted with the permission of the MSU Athletic Department
03/09/01
Track and Field - Mississippi State senior Elisha Williams will vie for all-America status when she competes in the long jump at the NCAA Indoor Championships Friday afternoon in Fayetteville, Ark.
The Milton, Fla., native advanced to NCAA competition thanks to a school-record 20-9 leap that gave her second place at the Pepsi Invitational. She took runner-up honors at last weekend's USA Indoor Championships with an identical 20-9 leap.
Williams has the opportunity to become MSU's first all-American since 1997 and the Lady Bulldogs' lone indoor all-American when she competes Friday afternoon at 4 p.m.
Reprinted with the permission of the MSU Athletic Department
03/08/01
Men's Tennis - Despite an valiant comeback effort, Mississippi State's 14th-ranked men's tennis team was upset by #27 Auburn 4-3 Wednesday on the Plains.
The loss dropped State's record to 8-3 overall, 2-1 in the Southeastern Conference. Auburn improved to 5-1, 1-1. The win marked Auburn's first over MSU since 1991, breaking a string of 10-straight victories by State in the series.
Auburn claimed the first point of the day, what would turn out to be a big one, with 8-5 and 8-4 victories at the No. 1 and 3 doubles positions, respectively. Bulldogs Romain Ambert and Marco Baron claimed MSU's lone doubles victory, an 8-5 decision over Tigers Rameez Junaid and Mark Kovacs at No. 2.
In singles, Auburn grabbed an early 3-0 advantage with victories at the No. 3 and 5 positions. Kovacs was a 6-3, 6-3 winner over Bulldog Luiz Carvalho at No. 5, while Junaid won 6-3, 6-4 over MSU's 55th-ranked Rene-Charles Combette at the No. 3 spot. Carvalho's loss broke a seven-match win streak for the Bulldog freshman.
The Bulldogs would mount a furious rally in singles, winning four of six first sets played, but Auburn would take one of those matches in three sets to clinch the win late.
State trimmed the AU advantage to 3-1 when Baron, ranked 31st in the country, won for the eighth-consecutive time, finishing his match with Tiger Georges Matijasevic at No. 1 6-0, 7-5. All eight of Baron's wins during his streak have been in straight sets.
The Bulldogs cut the Tiger lead to 3-2 when Ambert, ranked 16th in the country, held off 44th-ranked Tiger Tiago Ruffoni 7-5, 7-6(5) at the No. 2 spot.
Down 3-2, State still needed wins in the remaining matches at positions 4 and 6, both of which went to third sets, to pull out a win.
Auburn got the clinching point at the No. 4 spot, where Tiger Estevam Strecker rallied for a 3-6, 7-5, 7-5 victory over Bulldog David Ruiz, who lost for only the second time this season. Following that, State's Mathieu Soto fought back from 2-0 and 5-3 deficits in his three-set affair with Tiger Andre Boz at the No. 6 spot to triumph 6-4, 2-6, 7-6(2).
"This is a very tough loss," MSU head coach Andy Jackson said. "We put ourselves in a hole early losing doubles and the first two singles matches, but fought hard on the other four courts and got up a set on those to give ourselves a chance to come back.
"It's just very difficult to come back from 3-0 down even when you have gained an advantage in the other matches. Auburn won the close points when they needed to and played a great match to get the win."
The Bulldogs now have nine days off before its next competition, at 22nd-ranked Miami next Friday, March 16.
Reprinted with the permission of the MSU Athletic Department
03/07/01
Men's Golf - The Mississippi State men's golf team was unable to overcome windy conditions as head coach Greg Martin's squad carded a final-round 317 Tuesday to finish in 12th place at the Matlock Collegiate Classic.
State concluded its first appearance at the Florida Southern-hosted tournament with a 961 total. MSU opened the tournament with an opening-round 316, but after darkness cut Monday's second round short, the Bulldogs struggled to a 328 mark in the second round before rebounding with Tuesday's 317 final round.
Senior captain Scott Shelton led the way for the Mississippi State linksters, carding a final-round 75 to finish tied for 24th place at 19-over par 235. Fresh off his first collegiate win at Rice, sophomore Codie Mudd fought back from a second-round 87 to finish the tournament with a final-round 74 that placed him in a tie for 40th place at 23-over par (239).
Junior Jason McKenzie carded an 83 Tuesday, his highest round of the tournament, to drop into a tie for 59th position at 244 (+28). Redshirt freshman Tim Cureton ended his second career collegiate event with a 248 that tied him for 71st position, while junior John Mueller rounded out the Bulldog's five starters tied for 76th place with a three-round score of 250.
Florida Southern carded a 903 mark to claim the team title for the second consecutive year, while Mocs Steve Sokol and Alex Renard took first and second, respectively, for the host team.
Martin's Bulldogs return to the Sunshine State next Tuesday and Wednesday to compete at the Florida State-hosted Seminole Classic in Tallahassee.
Reprinted with the permission of the MSU Athletic Department
03/06/01
Women's Tennis - In a match that was decided nearly an hour before it ended, Mississippi State's 41st-ranked women's tennis team defeated #49 Tulane 4-3 at the A.J. Pitts Tennis Centre on Monday. MSU evened its record at 3-4, while Tulane fell to 2-8.
"It's always good to get a win over a top 50 team," head coach Tracy Lane said after the match. "I'm not very pleased with the way we closed the match, but we played well enough early to get the win."
With her 40th win at Mississippi State, Lane moved into second-place on the school's all-time wins chart passing Libba Birmingham (1978-80). Lane, who has guided the Lady Bulldogs to the first two NCAA Tournament appearances in school history, has been at MSU since 1997. Mississippi State men's head coach Andy Jackson holds the school record with his 69 wins at the helm of the Lady Bulldogs.
With a new lineup, the Lady Bulldogs took the opening doubles point with convincing wins on courts 1 and 3. Senior Amelie Detriviere and freshman Camila Sagae, playing together for the first time since January and making their dual match debut, stopped Tulane's Maiko Cook and Anna Monhartova 8-2 at No. 3 to set the pace for the Lady Bulldogs. Senior Claudia Oliveira and junior Carole Soubis, playing together for the first time in their career, clinched the point with an 8-3 win over Tulane's Joyce Bergman and Julie Morris at No. 1.
In singles, Detriviere demolished 17th-ranked Monhartova 6-2, 6-0 at No. 1 to give MSU a 2-0 lead. Senior Linda Mattsson added to State's lead with a 6-3, 6-3 win over Maiko Cook at No. 5.
With the Lady Bulldogs leading 3-0, freshman Yumi Ueda, playing in only her second dual match, rallied to defeat Olga Mikhailova 1-6, 6-1, 6-1 to clinch the match for State.
After the match was decided, Tulane won three-set matches on courts 2, 3, and 4 to make the final score 4-3.
The Lady Bulldogs head to Dallas to take on 73rd-ranked Harvard on Sunday, and #33 Texas Christian next Tuesday. After the trip to Texas, MSU takes a 10 day break before heading to #2 Georgia on March 22.
Reprinted with the permission of the MSU Athletic Department
Men's Golf - Head coach Greg Martins Mississippi State mens golf team shot a 316 on Monday at the Matlock Collegiate Classic to place ninth in the 18-team tournament. Second round action was not completed due to darkness and will be finished Tuesday morning on the par-72 Grasslands Country Club.
The Bulldogs battled tough weather conditions all day, with winds reaching 40 miles-per-hour and temperatures in the low 40s in Lakeland, Fla. All five MSU golfers finished the day within six strokes of each other. Freshman Tim Cureton leads MSU with a score of 77, placing him in a tie for 17th. Sophomore Codie Mudd is one stroke behind his teammate after carding a 78, placing him in a tie for 25th. Juniors Jason McKenzie and John Mueller, and senior Scott Shelton shot scores of 80, 81 and 82 respectively to round out Martins lineup.
Stanford leads the tournament with a mark of 298, while Stanfords Alex Aragon and Florida Southern Colleges Alex Renard are tied for the lead in the individual competition with a score of 71 respectively.
Play resumes Tuesday morning with the second round to be completed followed by the final 18 holes.
Reprinted with the permission of the MSU Athletic Department
03/05/01
Men's Tennis - Mississippi State's 17th-ranked men's tennis team registered its fourth-straight victory Sunday, shutting out 51st-ranked South Carolina 7-0 on the road at USC's Indoor Center.
With the victory, State improved to 8-2 overall, 2-0 in Southeastern Conference matches. USC fell to 4-3, 0-1 in the SEC. MSU now leads the series with the Gamecocks 11-2.
The Bulldogs had to fight hard to take the opening point of the day in doubles. After the teams split 8-6 decisions at the No. 1 and 3 positions, Bulldogs Romain Ambert and Marco Baron won 9-7 at No. 2 to give State a 1-0 lead. The Bulldog duo, playing USC's tandem of Guillaume Legat and Seth Rose, was down 7-6 and 40-15 on Rose's serve but broke back to go on for the win.
In singles, State went up 3-0 when freshman Luiz Carvalho and senior Marco Baron each won for the seventh-consecutive time. Carvalho ousted Gamecock Carl Wermee 6-1, 6-3 at the No. 4 position. Baron, ranked 31st nationally, bested Rose 6-1, 6-1 at No. 1.
Clinching the match for the Bulldogs was Ambert. The rookie sensation, ranked 16th in the country, overcame a 3-0 deficit in the first set to defeat Legat, ranked 62nd, 6-4, 6-1 at the No. 2 spot.
State completed the shut out with wins at the remaining three positions.
Bulldog David Ruiz rallied from dropping the first set at the No. 3 position to win 3-6, 6-4, 6-0 over USC's David Nelson.
Mathieu Soto and Max Fomine were straight-set winners at the bottom two spots. Soto triumphed 6-1, 6-4 over Gamecock Marcus Westman at No. 5, while Fomine was a 6-0, 6-2 victor against USC's Rodrigo Pacheco at No. 6.
"We played very well today," MSU head coach Andy Jackson said. "I was most impressed with our play in doubles, winning that point when it was very close. That was a big point because things were close early in singles when Romain and David were both down in the first set. Things could have gotten very interesting.
"Overall, we had a solid team effort again today. We just hope to continue this type of play. Now we turn our attention to a very talented Auburn team that we have had close matches with each of the last two years. They have a lot of experience on their team. We will have to be ready."
State will be at Auburn this Wednesday, March 7. Match time is set for 1:30 p.m. at AU's Luther Young Tennis Center. The Tigers are ranked 27th nationally.
Reprinted with the permission of the MSU Athletic Department
03/02/01 (10:30 p.m.)
Track and Field - Mississippi State sophomore Pierre Browne won the 60 meters, while senior Vance Clarke claimed top honors in the triple jump to lead four Bulldog tracksters at the LSU Last Ditch Meet in Baton Rouge, La., Friday night.
Browne took second in the prelims with a 6.86 clocking before firing back with a 6.77 mark in the finals to take first place.
Clarke cleared 51-11 to win the high jump Friday night, while fellow senior Ian Robertson landed a 49-1 mark in the event to finish seventh.
The other competitor for MSU Friday night was Dion Crabbe. The first-year junior placed fifth in the long jump with a 22-7 leap.
The four Bulldogs now wait to see if they qualify for the NCAA Indoor Championships' field, while Lady Bulldog Elisha Williams competes against the top long jumpers in the country at the USA Track and Field Championships Saturday afternoon in Atlanta, Ga.
The NCAA Indoor Championships will be held March 9-10 in Fayetteville, Ark.
Reprinted with the permission of the MSU Athletic Department
03/02/01 (4:00 p.m.)
Women's Tennis - Mississippi State's 41st-ranked women's tennis team will travel across the state to take on archrival Mississippi at noon on Saturday. MSU sports a 3-3 overall record, 2-2 in the Southeastern Conference, while Mississippi, ranked 30th, is 5-5, 0-2 in the SEC.
The Lady Bulldogs are riding high after a 4-3 come-from-behind victory over then-#35 Kentucky on Monday. State trailed 3-0 before sweeping the last four singles matches to upend the Wildcats.
Individually, MSU is led by seniors Claudia Oliveira and Amelie Detriviere. Oliveira leads the Lady Bulldogs with 11 wins on the season, including three straight. Her three match winning streak has come against SEC foes Auburn, LSU and Kentucky.
With her win over 49th-ranked Brooke Skeen on Monday, Detriviere moved ahead of former Lady Bulldog Ivana Belancic (1998-2000) and current teammate Linda Mattsson into sixth place on the school's all-time wins chart. She has tallied 58 wins in her career. Mattsson, with her next win, will also pass Belancic.
Senior Anca Vasiloaica won her team-leading 62nd match on Monday in dramatic fashion. With MSU trailing in the match 3-2, Vasiloaica finished off Amy trefethen of Kentucky in a third-set tie break, 5-7, 6-3, 7-6(10) to even the match. Vasiloaica needs just five wins to tie Claire Pollard (1986-89) in fourth-place all time at MSU. With 12 matches remaining in the regular season, she needs 10 wins to tie Jackie Holden (1986-89) for the school record.
Mississippi enters the match in the midst of a five-match losing streak after beginning the season with five consecutive wins. In their last match, the Lady Rebels fell to Kentucky 6-1 in Oxford. Mississippi is 3-3 at home this season, 0-2 in SEC matches.
Beginning with a match against #49 Tulane on Monday, the Lady Bulldogs step away from conference action three consecutive matches. MSU begins its brief aside with a 1:30 p.m. home affair Monday before heading to Dallas to take on 73rd-ranked Harvard and #33 Texas Christian next weekend.
Reprinted with the permission of the MSU Athletic Department
03/1/01 (10:15 p.m.)
Men's Tennis - Mississippi State's 17th-ranked men's tennis team began the month of March on a solid note Thursday, downing 34th-ranked Middle Tennessee 6-1 at MSU's A.J. Pitts Tennis Centre.
With the win, State improved to 7-2 overall. MT dropped to 5-2. MSU is now 12-0 in the series with the Blue Raiders in recorded history.
State grabbed an early 1-0 lead in the match, sweeping doubles play for the fourth time in nine matches this year. MSU won 8-3, 8-4 and 8-3 at the three doubles positions.
MSU rode its momentum from doubles into singles, winning five of six matches to go on for the victory.
Putting MSU up 2-0 early was freshman Luiz Carvalho who, after winning a close first set, cruised to a 6-4, 6-0 triumph over Trevor Short at the No. 5 position. The Bulldogs grabbed a 3-0 lead when 31st-ranked Marco Baron won at No. 1 when 15th-ranked Blue Raider Daniel Klemetz retired due to a wrist injury in the second set. Baron was up 6-2, 3-2 and a break when Klemetz retired.
State clinched team victory when freshman sensation Romain Ambert, ranked 16th nationally, downed Middle Tennessee's 37th-ranked Robert Gustafsson 6-1, 6-4 at the No. 2 spot.
MSU would take two of the remaining three matches left on court. Bulldog Mathieu Soto held off Kirk Jackson 6-4, 6-4 at the No. 6 position. MSU's 55th-ranked sophomore Rene-Charles Combette, back in the singles lineup for the first time in three weeks, bested Oliver Foreman 6-2, 7-6(7) at the No. 2 spot.
The only Bulldog casualty was at the No. 4 spot, where Blue Raider Michael Staniak fought off MSU's David Ruiz for a 7-6(7), 4-6, 6-3 victory. It was Ruiz's first singles loss of the 2001 season (now 7-1).
"This was an impressive effort by our team today," MSU head coach Andy Jackson said. "Middle Tennessee is a very, very talented team. I certainly thought we could win the match, but not as convincingly as we did. Our guys should be proud of their work in this match."
State will now hit the road for the first time this season, jumping back into Southeastern Conference play at 51st-ranked South Carolina on Sunday. Match time is set for 1 p.m. ET at USC's Sam Daniel Tennis Center. Following that contest, the Bulldogs will remain on the road at 27th-ranked Auburn next Wednesday.
Reprinted with the permission of the MSU Athletic Department
Williams enters the competition at the Georgia Dome fresh off a third-place finish at the SEC Championships with a 20-5 leap.
Williams won three long jump events during the indoor season, and she claimed a school record and NCAA provisional 20-9 mark in a second-place showing at the Pepsi Invitational.
While Williams will be competing against the top track athletes in the country, several Bulldogs will head to Baton Rouge, La., to better NCAA qualifying marks at the LSU Last Ditch.
Seniors Vance Clarke and Ian Robertson will focus on lengthening their NCAA provisional triple jump marks, while Dion Crabbe will compete for a spot in the NCAA Indoor Championships field in the long jump.
Sophomore Pierre Browne will run in the 60 and 200 meters at the LSU Field House after claiming fifth-place finishes in the events to lead the MSU men's squad at the SEC Indoor Championships last weekend.
Browne ran his top marks of the year in both the 60- and 200-meter dashes in the prelims of the SEC Indoors, clocking 6.70 and 21.03 marks, respectively.
The MSU men compete in the LSU-hosted event Friday evening, while Williams long jumps at the USA Championships beginning at 2:30 p.m. eastern time.
Reprinted with the permission of the MSU Athletic Department
03/01/01
Men's Tennis - Coming off a big win over LSU Sunday to open Southeastern Conference action, Mississippi State's men¹s tennis team, tied for 17th in the latest national rankings (released Wednesday), steps back out of conference Thursday to host No. 34 Middle Tennessee. Match time
between the Bulldogs and Blue Raiders is set for 2 p.m. at MSU's A.J. Pitts Tennis Centre.
The Bulldogs will enter the match 6-2 overall. Middle Tennessee is 5-1. All five of the Blue Raiders' wins this season are over ranked opponents and their lone loss was a 4-3 setback at then-10th-ranked Mississippi.
The two teams have met 11 times in recorded history, with MSU having won all 11 contests. But that fact means nothing to Bulldog head coach Andy Jackson.
"History is just that; history," Jackson said. "The fact remains that we have to play this year's Middle Tennessee team and this year's Middle Tennessee team is very, very talented. Their results this year are solid and their loss at Ole Miss was decided in the third set of the last match. We will have to be well-prepared to beat this team."
Prior to joining the Sun Belt Conference this season, Middle Tennessee had won 10-straight Ohio Valley Conference regular-season championships and nine of the last 10 OVC Tournament titles.
Following Thursday's match, State will hit the road for the first time this season, jumping back into SEC play at 51st-ranked South Carolina on Sunday.
Mississippi State men's tennis all-American Marco Baron has been named Southeastern Conference Player of the Week this week, as released by the SEC office Wednesday. As the first player to earn the award this year, the honor is based on his performance during the first month of play in 2001.
Baron, a senior, is 5-1 in singles and 4-2 in doubles in team competition thus far this year, having helped lead the 17th-ranked Bulldogs to a 6-2 overall start, 1-0 in the SEC. Dating back to last season, he has won 14 of his last 15 singles dual matches, including the last five in a row in straight sets. His last four victories have all come over nationally-ranked opponents.
The Nantes, France, native, who was unranked entering the spring after playing only one match in the fall due to injury, has climbed back to a national rating of 31st after his success in the first month of action this semester.
An Academic all-America selection last year, Baron currently holds 67-26 singles and 53-24 doubles overall records during his MSU career. That includes outstanding 32-11 singles and 29-14 doubles records in dual match competition.
"We are extremely proud of Marco for this honor," MSU head coach Andy Jackson said. "He is one of the most deserving players because he is a true team leader. As I have said many times, he is not only our best player, but also our hardest worker."
Baron is the second Bulldog ever to earn the SEC's weekly award since the league initiated it for the sport of tennis last season. Four-year star Jeremy Bayon earned the distinction during the week of March 21 last spring.
Baron and the Bulldogs (6-2, 1-0 SEC) will be back in action Thursday, hosting 34th-ranked Middle Tennessee. Match time is set for 2 p.m. at MSU's A.J. Pitts Tennis Centre.
Reprinted with the permission of the MSU Athletic Department