02/28/02
SOCCER
STARKVILLE, Miss. - Mississippi State head soccer coach Neil McGuire announced the third of four expected spring signees Wednesday morning as Florida superprep Betty Ann Casey (Coral Springs, Fla./Marjory Stoneman Douglas HS) signed her name to a national letter of intent to continue her playing career with the Bulldogs.

Casey comes to Starkville following an outstanding prep and club career in the state of Florida. She is expected to make an immediate impact for the Bulldogs upon her arrival next season.

"Betty Ann is a gifted soccer player who possess tremendous athleticism, tenaciousness and a willingness to win," McGuire said. "Her strength of character is something that will add greatly to this team and will help fashion our team's personality over the next four years. She is well-versed in big games, with both her high school and Olympic Development Regional pool experience giving her advanced college preparation. We are looking forward to Betty being a Bulldog."

A three-year letterwinner in track and field and soccer at Stoneman Douglas, Casey has made her presence known in the prep ranks having scored 110 points on 41 goals and 28 assists during her senior campaign. The efforts followed a decorative junior season in which she logged 116 points on 51 goals and 14 assists en route to garnering MSD Offensive Player of the Year honors, as well as being named Sun-Sentinel Player of the Year. She also earned a first team all-county and FSYA first team selection.

Betty Ann is participant in the state of Florida olympic development program, as well as being a recognized in the Region III Olympic Development pool. Casey is also a standout for the Cape Coral Cyclones club organization and coach Kelvin Thomas. She helped lead the Cyclones to the 2002 Orange Bowl tournament and Premier League championships.

Born Betty Ann Casey on July 19, 1984, in Perth Amboy, New Jersey, she is the daughter of Maureen Mendez. She has two brothers, George (19) and Sam (6), and two sisters, Danielle (22) and Kristen (16).

Reprinted with the permission of the MSU Media Relations Department

02/27/02
MEN'S TENNIS
STARKVILLE, Miss. ­ The Mississippi State-Middle Tennessee men's tennis match slated for this Wednesday, February 27th, on the MSU campus has been rescheduled due to predicted frigid weather in Starkville. In addition to very windy conditions, temperatures are not expected to climb higher than the mid-30s on Wednesday.

The 12th-ranked Bulldogs (6-2) and 25th-ranked Blue Raiders (7-0) will now meet Tuesday, April 2, at 2 p.m. at State's A.J. Pitts Tennis Centre.

"It is expected to be very cold and winds in the 15-20 mile-per-hour range Wednesday, neither of which are great tennis-playing conditions," MSU head coach Sylvain Guichard said. "(Middle Tennessee head) Coach (Dale) Short and I felt it was in the best interests of both teams to reschedule the match."

State's next action will now be this weekend when the Bulldogs open their 2002 Southeastern Conference slate, on the road at No. 31 South Carolina Friday and at No. 28 Florida Sunday.

Reprinted with the permission of the MSU Media Relations Department

SOCCER
STARKVILLE, Miss. - Mississippi State head soccer coach Neil McGuire announced the second of four expected spring signees Tuesday morning as Mississippi Gatorade Player of the Year Courtney Hubert (Vicksburg, Miss./Warren Central HS) inked her name to a national letter of intent to continue her playing career with the Bulldogs.

Hubert comes to Starkville after an impressive prep and club career in the state of Mississippi. She is expected to make an immediate impact for the Bulldogs upon her arrival.

"Courtney is a fantastic signing for this program," McGuire said. "Not only is she a talented goalkeeper, but she is a person who is diligent in her work habits, as showcased by her academic prowess. She will be a valuable asset to the team and will immediately make our goalkeeper position highly competitive. Courtney being named Gatorade player of the year is quite an honor, and we are excited we are able to attract a top soccer talent in the state of Mississippi to attend Mississippi State University."

A three-time Most Valuable Player selection for the Warren Central Vikings, Hubert started every game in goal during her senior campaign and helped lead her team to a 10-5-4 mark. She surrendered 19 goals in 1,430 minutes of playing time for a goals against average of 0.95 while also recording nine shutouts.

She also worked herself into the offensive statistics, scoring 10 points on four goals and a pair of assists. She was recently decorated with first team all-state and MAC all-star accolades.

As a junior, Hubert was equally impressive, allowing just 11 goals in 1,120 minutes of playing time for a goals against average of 0.79 and seven shutouts. In addition to collecting her second-straight team MVP award, she was also decorated with first team all-state and all-county honors after leading the Vikings to an 8-4-2 record. She also scored two goals for the Vikings as a junior.

As a member of the distinguished Jackson Futbol club organization, she was a six-year starter and one of the main cogs in three state championships (1998, 2000-2001) and appearances at the Adidas Blue Chip showcase and Raleigh (NC) showcase. A six-year participant in the state of Mississippi Olympic Development program, Hubert was also a Region III camp participant for four-straight years (1997-2000).

A member of the National Honor Society and distinguished academic fraternity Mu Alpha Theta, Hubert maintains a 3.765 GPA at Warren Central and ranks 35th in her class of 238. She also appeared in the 2000 and 2001 versions of Who's Who Among American High School Students.

Born Courtney Lloyd Hubert on May 10, 1984 in Vicksburg, she is the daughter of Billy and Cherryl Hubert. She has a younger sister, Erin.

Reprinted with the permission of the MSU Media Relations Department

02/16/02
MEN'S TENNIS
STARKVILLE, Miss. - Mississippi State's 13th-ranked men's tennis team notched its fourth-straight victory Friday afternoon, defeating Murray State 6-1 at the A.J. Pitts Tennis Centre on the MSU campus.

The victory moved State's record to 5-2 for 2002. The Racers fell to 4-4. The match marked the first meeting between the schools in tennis since 1984 and saw the Bulldogs take a 6-4 lead in the overall series.

The Bulldogs drew a stiff challenge in doubles from the Racers for the first point of the day. After dropping an 8-5 decision at the top position, State claimed an 8-5 win at No. 3 from the team of Michael Hailey and Aymeric Henou. It was the first career dual match for Hailey and the duo rallied from a 5-4 deficit to win. MSU's tandem of Rene-Charles Combette and Max Fomine then broke in the last game of the set at No. 2 to win 8-6 and secure the 1-0 lead for the Bulldogs.

Murray State evened the match at 1-1 when Bulldog David Ruiz retired at the No. 1 spot due to soreness in his back. Racer Nikola Aracic had taken the first set 6-3.

MSU gained a 3-1 lead when Fomine and Henou closed out their matches at the lower two spots in succession. Fomine was a 6-0, 6-2 winner over Racer Mike Schmidbauer at the No. 6 spot, while the freshman Henou ousted Zakaria Bahri 6-2, 6-0 at No. 5.

Clinching the match for State would be Jerome Le Belicard. The junior notched his fourth triumph in a row, besting Freddy Sundsten 6-2, 6-1 at the No. 2 position.

The Bulldogs then finished off the last two matches within a 30-second period. Combette, ranked 59th nationally, won for the seventh time in nine matches (and fifth in a row), downing Racer Thiago Gondim 6-4, 6-1 at No. 3. Sophomore Luiz Carvalho then won 7-5, 7-5 over Murray's Alex Hoyem at No. 4, rallying from a break down in each set to do so.

"This was a good victory for our team," MSU head coach Sylvain Guichard said. "Murray State challenged us in doubles, but we responded well to get the points when we needed them. Then we came out and played solidly in singles and fought hard to win a couple of matches we were down in early."

State will now close out its current homestand in the coming weeks, entertaining No. 75 Louisiana-Lafayette next Thursday, Feb. 21, and 28th-ranked Middle Tennessee on Wednesday, Feb. 27. The Bulldogs will then open their 2002 Southeastern Conference slate during the first weekend of March on the road at No. 30 South Carolina and No. 31 Florida.

Reprinted with the permission of the MSU Media Relations Department

The Lady Bulldogs (4-3) clinched the doubles point for the second consecutive match to open an early 1-0 lead over the Lady Blazers (0-3). MSU's No. 1 tandem of senior Carole Soubis and junior Elaine Fagan dropped a tough, hard-fought 9-7 decision to Monika Schmid and Femke deBoer.

State rallied at the two remaining spots to notch the opening point. Sophomore Camila Sagae and freshman Magdolna Rekasi made quick work of UAB's Sjouke Liem and Natascha Immele with an 8-2 win. The State duo of sophomores Yumi Ueda and Justyna Switala won their second straight match with an 8-6 victory over Nadia Dellarciprete and Yvonne Ernst.

"We did a lot of good things today," MSU head coach Tracy Lane said. "We struggled at the No. 1 and No. 2 positions more than we have this season, but we were well composed at the 3-6 spots. They had two very good players at their top two spots. We came out playing very aggressively."

The Lady Bulldogs carried that aggressiveness in doubles play over into singles action. Soubis dropped a 6-2, 6-2 decision to Schmid at No. 1, and UAB's Immele knocked off Sagae in straight sets, 7-6, 6-2, but the remainder of the Lady Bulldogs rolled through their matches in straight-set fashion.

State's netters took the final four positions to seal the win. Ueda cruised to a 6-1, 6-2 win over Liem, and Rekasi, returning to the No. 4 position, knocked off deBoer 6-2, 7-5.

Fagan rolled to a 6-1, 6-2 win over Ernst before Switala capped the win with a 6-2, 7-5 victory over Dellarciprete.

The Lady Bulldogs entertain 37th-ranked South Alabama Sunday in the opening match of a six-match homestand. The dual action between MSU and the Lady Jaguars is set to begin at 12:30 p.m. at the A. J. Pitts Tennis Centre.

Reprinted with the permission of the MSU Media Relations Department

02/13/02
MEN'S GOLF
KATY, Texas ­­ The Mississippi State men's golf team finished its first tournament of the spring in 11th with a three-round total of 912 at the Rice Intercollegiate. The Bulldogs shot a final-round 292, 17 strokes lower than Monday's lowest round of 309, at the par-72 Meadowbrook Farms in Katy, Texas.

Freshman Joe Deraney from Statesboro, Ga., and junior Codie Mudd of Louisville, Ky., tied 22nd with two-day totals of 225. Deraney shot a final-round 75, one over his best round in day one, while Mudd shot a one-under par 71, which was three strokes better than his second-round 74 and nine-strokes better than his first-round 80.

Junior college transfer Kellen Maurer, a sophomore from Parkdale, Ore., shot a four-under 68 in the final round after consistently shooting 80 in each round of day one. He finished tied 41st with a three-round total of 228.

Craig Horrocks, a freshman from South Africa, shot a three-round total of 236 and finished tied 60th. Rounding out the team scores for the Bulldogs was freshman Tim Satow, also from South Africa, who had a two-day total of 248 which placed him 69th.

Eoin Barton, a freshman from Ireland playing as an individual, shot his best round on day two with a 75, giving him a 54-hole total of 232 and placed him tied 50th.

No. 9 ranked Tennessee claimed the team title with a 54-hole total of two-under par 862. The Volunteers were 13 strokes better than second place Baylor (875, +11). While Tennessee held a comfortable lead heading into the final round, there was no shortage of drama for the individual championship. Baylor's Adam Meyer and Tennessee's David Skinns fired scores of 65 and 67, respectively, to tie for the individual lead (213, -3) after 54 holes. Meyer defeated Skinns on the second hole of a sudden-death playoff (par-birdie vs. par-par) to claim the medalist honors.

Reprinted with the permission of the MSU Media Relations Department

02/12/02
MEN'S GOLF
KATY, Texas -- The Mississippi State men's golf team finished 36 holes of its first tournament of the spring in the Rice Intercollegiate at 12th. The Bulldogs shot a two-round total of 620 at the par-72 Meadowbrook Farms in Katy, Texas.

Leading the Bulldogs is freshman Joe Deraney from Statesboro, Ga., who shot a two-round total of 150 and is listed 20th. Junior Codie Mudd of Louisville, Ky., the only upperclassman for State this season, shot a 157 and is in 52nd. Craig Horrocks, a freshman from South Africa, is currently in 55th after shooting a 158. Junior college transfer Kellen Maurer, a sophomore from Parkdale, Ore., consistently shot 80 in each round for a 160 total and 61st listing. Rounding out the team scores for the Bulldogs was freshman Tim Satow, also from South Africa, who had a 165 and is currently placed at 65th.

Eoin Barton, a freshman from Ireland playing as an individual, shot a 157 and is currently in 52nd.

Tennessee leads the 12-team field after shooting a first-round 291 and a second-round 290 for a 581 first-day total. Tennessee's Ian Parnaby leads the individuals with a 36-hole total of 144 after shooting 72 in each round.

The Rice Intercollegiate concludes on Tuesday, Feb. 12.

Reprinted with the permission of the MSU Media Relations Department

02/11/02
WOMEN'S TENNIS
MIAMI, Fla. - The 48th-ranked Mississippi State women's tennis team concluded a two-match road trip in the state of Florida with a 6-1 loss to No. 32 Florida International Sunday morning.

The 6-1 loss for head coach Tracy Lane's Lady Dogs (3-3) is the second in as many matches, as the squad dropped a decision by that same margin Friday against 38th-ranked Miami.

State took the early edge by winning the doubles point over the 32nd-ranked Golden Panthers (4-1). Anneliese Rose and Cristina Campana knocked off senior Carole Soubis and junior Elaine Fagan 8-4 at the No. 1 position, but the Lady Dogs rallied to win the final two doubles matches to claim the opening point of the match.

Sophomore Camila Sagae and freshman Magdolna Rekasi posted an 8-5 win over Maria Montoya and Dominique osenberg, and the tandem of Yumi Ueda and Justyna Switala clinched the opening point with an 8-3 victory over Mei Ly and Agnes Buronyi at No. 3.

Despite picking up the early advantage, State was unable to hold on in singles play, as FIU claimed wins in six close matches.

Soubis dropped a hard-fought decision in straight sets to 94th-ranked Rose. Rose won the opening set over State's lone senior 6-3, and then clinched the win by holding on to win the tiebreak in the second set.

Sagae fell 6-2, 6-3 to Buronyi at the No. 2 spot. Ueda, playing No. 3 singles, took FIU's Ly the full three sets. Ly won the opening set in convincing 6-1 fashion, but Ueda rebounded to dominate the second set 6-2 and force the third and deciding set. Ly claimed the win by taking the finale 6-3.

Playing at the No. 4 position, Fagan dropped the first set of her match with Campana 6-3 before falling 7-6 in the second. Rekasi fell to Montoya 6-0, 6-3 at the No. 5 position, while Switala dropped a 6-3, 6-2 decision to Marina Raic to close out singles action.

The Lady Bulldogs conclude a three-match road trip Friday, when Lane's netters head to Birmingham, Ala., for a 2 p.m. match with UAB.

Reprinted with the permission of the MSU Media Relations Department

The win upped State's record to 4-2 on the season. USA fell to 2-3. State now leads the series 7-5.

The Bulldogs set the tone for the day by fighting hard to claim the doubles point after losing the first match complete at the No. 3 position. MSU's 53rd-ranked pair of Luiz Carvalho and Jerome Le Belicard then overcame an early service break to down Jaguars Jullien Gillet and Zlatko Stupavsky 8-4 at the No. 2 spot. Soon after, 41st-ranked Bulldogs Romain Ambert and Rene-Charles Combette secured their match with USA's tandem of Vincent Baudat and Kosta Zinchanka by the same score at No. 1 to give State the first point of the match. Ambert and Combette are 10-1 in their last 11 doubles contests and 8-0 in dual matches together during their careers.

The Bulldogs would carry their fighting mentality into singles play, which would feature four tiebreakers and a three-set affair.

State actually grabbed a quick 2-0 lead when Carvalho missed a shutout by one game, routing USA's Gillet 6-0, 6-1 at the No. 5 position. MSU went up 3-0 when Ambert, ranked 15th nationally, won a close first set to go on to a 6-4, 6-1 victory over Zinchanka at the No. 1 spot. The victory was Ambert's 10th in 11 outings and moved his 2002 dual match mark to 6-0.

Though State looked to be in the driver's seat at that point, all of the other four matches still out would feature tiebreakers, three in the first set. South Alabama had gained a one-set lead on court Nos. 2 and 3 and courts 4 and 6 went to first-set tiebreaks simultaneously. MSU would secure both of those tiebreaks to roll on to the win.

Next off the court was actually the No. 4 position, where MSU's team captain, the 59th-ranked Combette, held off Stupavsky 7-6(4), 6-3 to clinch the team victory for the Bulldogs.

The Jaguars' lone point of the day would come next, when 48th-ranked Christian Thall staved off MSU's David Ruiz 6-2, 7-6(2) at the No. 3 spot.

The Bulldogs would finish off their scoring with wins in the final two matches. The junior Le Belicard rallied from a one-set deficit and a 3-1 disadvantage in the third set to win 6-7(5), 6-4, 7-5 over Baudat at the No. 2 position. True freshman Aymeric Henou then closed out his match with Jaguar Evan Fowler at No. 6, winning 7-6(3), 6-3.

"I was very proud of our effort today," MSU head coach Sylvain Guichard said, "We fought hard to win the doubles point against some very good doubles players and then kept fighting in singles when we needed big points the most. As I said going in, South Alabama is a good team. Our guys should be proud of this win."

State's next action will be this coming Friday, Feb. 15, when the Bulldogs continue their current six-match homestand, hosting Murray State at 2 p.m. That match was originally scheduled for this Saturday, but was rescheduled early in the season.

Reprinted with the permission of the MSU Media Relations Department

Senior Dion Crabbe also had a good meet for the 19th-ranked Bulldogs, placing fifth in the 200-meter dash (21.72) and third in the long jump (24-4 1/2).

Browne (6.26) beat out Mississippi's James Shelton to win the finals of the 55 meters in the O'Connell Center on the campus of the University of Florida.

The Bulldog throwers once again had a solid showing. Senior Tim Huddleston placed fifth in the shot put (51-9 3/4) and sixth in the weight throw (57-7 3/4). Teammate Viktor Mara placed seventh in the weight throw with a toss of 57-4 3/4.

Junior college transfer Elmore McConnell had his best showing of the year, running the 800 meters in 1:53.49, placing fourth in the event.

On the women's side in the 3000 meters, the Lady Bulldogs had another strong showing, with freshmen Meggan Hodge and Tiffany McWilliams finishing fifth (10:09.56) and sixth (10:10.50), respectively. Junior Christine Zawaski took eighth place with a 10:24.21 mark.

Coach Al Schmidt's track teams will compete next at the SEC Indoor Championships in Fayetteville, Ark. on Feb. 23-24.

Reprinted with the permission of the MSU Media Relations Department

02/10/02
MEN'S TENNIS
STARKVILLE, Miss. ­ Mississippi State's 15th-ranked men's tennis team continues its current six-match homestand Sunday, welcoming 29th-ranked South Alabama to the A.J. Pitts Tennis Centre on the MSU campus. Match time between the Bulldogs and Jaguars is set for 1 p.m.

State is 3-2 overall on the season following its 7-0 shutout win over Arkansas-Little Rock in Starkville Friday. The Bulldogs have also posted home victories over Southern Miss and UAB, both by 6-1 counts. MSU's losses this year have been tough ones, falling at Baylor, now ranked 13th, 4-3 to open the year and then dropping a 4-2 decision in a very close match with fifth-ranked, arch-rival Mississippi in the River Hills Cup in Jackson on Jan. 31.

South Alabama (2-2) dropped two tough road matches to open 2002, a 4-3 decision at No. 26 Miami and a 5-2 loss at No. 28 South Florida. The Jaguars rebounded with 6-1 wins over Jacksonville and New Orleans.

MSU is 6-5 against South Alabama in recorded history, but the Jaguars will be a difficult foe for the Bulldogs again this year. USA finished last season ranked ninth nationally, downing State 4-3 in Starkville along the way. The Jaguars, who return five lettermen from last year's team, are led in the individual rankings by senior Christian Thall, who is 48th in the country in singles.

"South Alabama is better than their ranking right now," MSU head coach Sylvain Guichard said. "They were ranked 17th before they lost those two early matches, both of which were very close on the road against two good teams. We know they are very talented after they beat us here last season and Sunday's match will be tough as well. This is a big match for us at this point in the season. We hope our fans will come out and support us."

The Bulldogs are led by sophomore Romain Ambert. Ranked 15th nationally, he is now 24-6 on the year, 5-0 in dual matches thus far. He and partner Rene-Charles Combette, ranked 41st in doubles, are 8-3, 4-0 in team action.

Fans can watch live updates of Sunday's match, as well as all of MSU's 2002 home contests, on State's official athletic site, www.mstateathletics.com.

Following Sunday's contest, MSU will continue its homestand this Friday, Feb. 15, hosting Murray State at 2 p.m.

Reprinted with the permission of the MSU Media Relations Department

The Lady Bulldogs, ranked No. 48 nationally, dropped to 3-2 on the season after falling 6-1 to 38th-rated Miami Friday afternoon.

Florida International enters the season undefeated after claiming a hard-fought 4-3 win over 25th-ranked South Alabama a week ago.

Reprinted with the permission of the MSU Media Relations Department

The 19th-ranked Bulldogs and Lady Bulldogs are coming off an open weekend after the LSU Purple Tiger Invitational two weeks ago.

The Bulldogs are looking to improve qualifying times and number of qualifiers for the NCAAs this weekend, especially in MSU's talented sprint corps. Junior Pierre Browne and sophomore Marquis Davis have already provisionally qualified in both the 60- and 200-meter dashes.

On the women's side, senior Elisha Williams hopes to improve upon her provisional qualifying long jump of 20-3 3/4 in Baton Rouge two weekends ago. Coach Al Schmidt's squad also looks to see continued improvement from distance running freshmen Meggan Hodge and Tiffany McWilliams.

Events are slated to begin at 10:45 a.m. in the Stephen C. O'Connell Center on the campus of the University of Florida.

Reprinted with the permission of the MSU Media Relations Department

02/09/02
MEN'S TENNIS
STARKVILLE, Miss. - Mississippi State's 15th-ranked men's tennis team registered its first shutout of the 2002 season Friday, ousting visiting Arkansas-Little Rock 7-0 at the A.J. Pitts Tennis Centre.

With the win, State improved to 3-2 on the season. UALR fell to 1-2. The Bulldogs have now won the last four meetings with UALR overall and are now 4-0 against the Trojans in Starkville.

MSU grabbed the opening point of the day with solid victories at the No. 1 and 3 doubles positions. Leading the way was the 41st-ranked Bulldog tandem of Romain Ambert and Rene-Charles Combette, who won 8-3 at No. 1 over Trojans Mithun Murali and Mariano Pettigrosso. Ambert and Combette have now won nine of their last 10 doubles matches and are 7-0 in dual matches together all-time.

It was all State in singles, as the Bulldogs registered straight-set victories at every position.

MSU went up 2-0 in the match when Max Fomine completed a 6-3, 6-3 win over Trojan Jarrad Bunt at the No. 5 spot. The Bulldogs took a 3-0 lead when Jerome Le Belicard downed Juan Carlos Baca 6-2, 6-2 at No. 2.

Clinching the match for the Bulldogs was true freshman Aymeric Henou, who held off Francesco Pagani 6-3, 6-3 at the No. 6 position.

Ambert, Combette and Luiz Carvalho finished off the scoring for State. The 59th-ranked Combette was a 6-2, 6-3 winner over UALR's Alexei Poutchinets at No. 3 and Carvalho triumphed 6-2, 6-2 over Murali at No. 4.

In a battle of top 30-ranked players, the 15th-ranked Ambert downed Pettigrosso, ranked 28th, 6-1, 6-4 at the top position. It marked Ambert's ninth win in 10 outings and improved his record to 5-0 in singles dual matches this season, 3-0 against top 30 opponents.

State will now host 29th-ranked South Alabama at 1 p.m. Sunday. The Jaguars downed State 4-3 in Starkville last season and went on to finish the year ranked ninth nationally.

"Our guys played very well today," MSU head coach Sylvain Guichard said, "but we still have plenty of room for improvement. South Alabama will be a very tough opponent for us Sunday. They beat us here last year and finished top 10 in the country, and they have most of their players back from that team. They are a better team than their current ranking indicates."

Reprinted with the permission of the MSU Media Relations Department

The Lady Bulldogs (3-2) claimed their lone victory of the day against the Hurricanes when Marcy Hora suffered an injury that forced her to default her No. 2 singles match with Camila Sagae. Hora won the first set 6-4, but Sagae was mounting a rally with a 5-2 lead in the second before UM (4-0) decided to default the match.

Senior Carole Soubis returned to the lineup only to drop a hard-fought affair in three sets to 69th-ranked Mari Toro. The Moulins, France, native lost the opening set 6-4, but she rebounded in the second to win 7-5 and force the third and deciding set. Toro won the finale to conclude the match with a 6-4, 5-7, 6-4 win.

Junior Elaine Fagan's return to the No. 3 spot in the lineup was not kind, as she went down 6-2, 6-4 to Sihem Bennacer. Hurricane Staci Stevens cruised through the first set of her match with MSU sophomore Yumi Ueda 6-0, and she fought off a Ueda rally in the second to claim the point 6-0, 6-4.

Freshman Magdolna Rekasi fell to Miami newcomer Ewelina Skaza 6-3, 6-4, and sophomore Justyna Switala dropped a 6-2, 6-2 effort to Sara Robbins.

MSU never was able to gain any momentum from the start, as Miami captured the first point of the match with a sweep in doubles play.

Fagan and Soubis dropped their first match of the spring when they fell to Toro and Hora 8-4. The Hurricanes clinched the point when Skaza and Stevens combined to knock off Sagae and Rekasi 8-5 at the No. 2 spot. Miami had to fight hard to claim the final match, but Robbins and Bennacer held on for a 9-7 win over Switala and Ueda.

The Lady Bulldogs return to action Sunday when they travel into Miami to take on 32nd-ranked Florida International.

Reprinted with the permission of the MSU Media Relations Department

02/08/02
MEN'S TENNIS - Mississippi State's 15th-ranked men's tennis team continues its current six-match homestand this weekend, hosting a pair of contests at the A.J. Pitts Tennis Centre on the MSU campus.

State, 2-2 overall on the season, will entertain Arkansas-Little Rock Friday at 2 p.m. before welcoming 29th-ranked South Alabama Sunday at 1 p.m.

UALR leads the series with MSU 5-4, but the Bulldogs are 3-0 in Starkville against the Trojans all-time. That includes a 7-0 win at State last season. UALR is led by senior Mariano Pettigrosso, who is ranked 28th nationally in singles.

MSU is 6-5 against South Alabama in recorded history, but the Jaguars will be a difficult foe for the Bulldogs again this year. USA finished last season ranked ninth nationally, downing State 4-3 in Starkville along the way. The Jaguars are paced by senior Christian Thall, who is ranked 48th in the country in singles.

"We have two tough matches ahead of us," MSU head coach Sylvain Guichard said. "UALR has a solid team again and South Alabama is better than their ranking indicates. We cannot go into either match with a lack of focus."

The Bulldogs are led by Romain Ambert. The sophomore, ranked 15th nationally, is 23-6 on the year, 4-0 in dual matches thus far. He and partner Rene-Charles Combette, ranked 41st in doubles, are 7-3 (3-0 in team action).

Fans can watch live updates of the weekend's matches, as well as all of MSU's 2002 home contests, on State's official athletic site, www.mstateathletics.com.

Following the weekend's action, MSU will continue its homestand next Friday, Feb. 15, hosting Murray State at 2 p.m.

Reprinted with the permission of the MSU Media Relations Department

The Lady Bulldogs open the two-match road swing Friday against No. 38 Miami before closing out the trip with a Sunday showdown at 32nd-rated Florida International. The match between the Hurricanes and Lady Dogs is scheduled for a 3 p.m. EST start.

Head coach Tracy Lane's MSU squad heads into the two matches at 3-1 on the season. The lady netters posted a pair of shutout victories last weekend. The squad blanked Southern Mississippi 7-0 Friday before bettering Itawamba Community College 6-0 in a Sunday match that was forced into the dry confines of McCarthy Gymnasium.

Miami enters Friday's match at the Neil Schiff Tennis Center 3-0 on the campaign. The Hurricanes knocked off 25th-ranked South Alabama last Saturday.

The Lady Bulldogs have been paced this season by sophomore Yumi Ueda. The Hyogo, Japan, native has notched a team-leading 11-7 mark this season, including a 3-1 record in dual-match action.

Like her second-year teammate, Camila Sagae has also played solid tennis this spring,. The Sao Paulo, Brazil, native has tallied a 3-1 mark, including two victories in her debut at the No. 1 position.

Newcomers Elaine Fagan and Justyna Switala have also posted 3-1 records in singles action this season. Fagan, a Dublin, Ireland, native, has also played solidly in doubles, registering a perfect 4-0 mark during the early spring campaign.

Reprinted with the permission of the MSU Media Relations Department