11/14/04
Women's Golf
STARKVILLE, Miss. ­ Mississippi State University head women's golf coach Christi Sanders announced Friday the signing of Cumberland County High School's Jillian Jones to a national letter-of-intent to compete for the Lady Bulldogs beginning in the fall of 2005.

"We are pleased to have Jillian sign with MSU," said Sanders. "She is a strong hitter and will fit well into the SEC's strong caliber of play. Jillian still has one more summer to go in her junior career. She was performing very well by the end of the summer and it carried on into her high school matches."

The native of Crossville, Tenn., is a two-time all-State selection and was named to the Chattanooga News Free Press Best of Preps Team three times. Jones has participated in four State tournaments, finishing in the top-5 twice.

In October of 2004, she finished runner-up at the Tennessee AAA State High School Championship, shooting a 73 and 76. That same month, she earned Region 3 medalist honors with her 77 performance.

Jones finished runner-up at the Southeastern Tour at Black Creek (78-73) and at the Cookeville High School Invitational (73) in August of this year. She was the Tennessee Westfield Junior PGA Champion, recording a 71-77 this past June.

Off the course, she is an honor student, a member of the Beta Club, was named freshman class treasurer and is active in her church youth group. In addition to golf, she is a two-time all-District selection for softball.

She is the daughter of Steve and Debbie Jones.

STARKVILLE, Miss. - Mississippi State University head women's golf coach Christi Sanders announced Friday the signing of Lamar High School's Leigh Phillips to a national letter-of-intent to compete for the Lady Bulldogs in the fall of 2005.

"I am pleased to announce that MSU has signed Leigh Phillips, the best girl's junior golfer in the state of Mississippi," said Sanders. "I have known Leigh for many years, and it has been a joy to watch her grow and develop in her golf game. She will be an asset to our golf program. Leigh is a true MSU fan, and we are excited knowing she will be representing this university in the near future. I can honestly say that Leigh is the first player I have ever recruited that bleeds maroon before she actually attends the school."

The Meridian, Miss., native finished runner-up at the 2004 MPSA South State Championship (71) and finished tied for third at the MPSA AAA State Championship, shooting a 74. She also took sixth place at the 2004 Exxon Conlee, recording a 154 event total.

Phillips was the 2004 Mississippi Junior State Amateur Champion. Soon after at the Mississippi State Women's Amateur, she earned junior medalist honors and overall medalist honors with her 72, advancing to the semifinal round.

In 2003, she was a three-time winner on the Arrowhead Junior Tour and a winner on the Gulf States Junior Tour. She is also a four-time member of the Mississippi Team for the Southeastern Women's Amateur Team Championship.

Phillips and her Lamar High School teammates were the 2004 South State Champions. The squad finished runner-up at the 2004 Overall State Championship and third at the 2004 AAA State Championship.

Outside of golf, Phillips, the daughter of Les and Dale Phillips, is a member of the Beta Club, Mu Alpha Theta, National Honor Society, Spanish National Honor Society and Fellowship of Christian Athletes.

Source: MSU Media Relations

Men's Golf
STARKVILLE, Miss. - Mississippi State men's golf coach Clay Homan announced the signing of Matt Fast to a golf scholarship at MSU on Friday.

The Hattiesburg, Miss. native ranks 34th in the latest Golfweek Junior Rankings. Fast received honorable mention status in the 2004 American Junior Golf Association's all-American team. He took medalist honors at the Fore!Kids Junior at TPC of Louisiana after carding rounds of 74-70-68 and the Cleveland Golf "Joe Durant" Southern Junior held in Pensacola, Fla. He registered two other top-five finishes on the junior circuits. He placed fourth in the Bubba Conlee National Junior this past June and placed fifth at the SJGT Caroline Junior Classic. The Bulldog signee also participated in events sanctioned by the Mississippi Golf Association. He placed 23rd in the 2004 MGA State Amateur Championship held at Annandale Golf Club. This past summer he fired a round of 61 at Canebrake Golf Club.

"Matt (Fast) has the talent to shoot really low numbers," said MSU head coach Clay Homan. "His biggest asset is that he knows how to win and his track record shows that. The sky's the limit in his golfing abilities."

On the high school level, Fast has captured back-to-back Mississippi Class 5A State Individual Championships in 2003 and 2004 at Oak Grove High School.

"It (Mississippi State) is a great place to get better," said Matt Fast. "Playing against the best competition in the Southeastern Conference will make you much better."

Fast joins Noah Goldman of Longwood, Fla., who also cast his lot with the Bulldogs in the early signing period.

He is the son of Michael and Lori Fast.

Source: MSU Media Relations

11/12/04
Men's Golf
STARKVILLE, Miss. - Mississippi State men’s golf coach Clay Homan announced the signing of Noah Goldman of Longwood, Fla. to play collegiate golf at State for the 2005-06 season.

Goldman is a two-time honorable mention member of the American Junior Golf Association’s Polo all-American team in 2003 and 2004. He was also named to the 2004 AJGA Cannon Cup East squad. The Cannon Cup features the top 20 boys and girls in the country in a team match play format.

The soon to be Bulldog has taken top honors in two junior tournaments the past two seasons. In 2003, he won the AJGA Abacoa Jr. Classic in his home state of Florida and captured the 2004 Hudson Junior Invitational in Ohio. Also this past summer he posted two top 20 finishes on the junior tours. He locked up a fourth-place spot in the AJGA Subaru along with a 20th place finish in the prestigious AJGA Rolex Tournament of Champions held at Sunriver Resort in Oregon. Goldman shot a competitive course record 65 at the 2004 AJGA Lubbock, Texas Classic held at the Rawls Course at Texas Tech University.

"He (Goldman) has a tremendous short game and course management. Once he gets stronger his distance will give him more of an advantage," said Homan. "He is an excellent student and somebody that will represent MSU very well."

Captain of the Lake Mary High School team, he paced the 2004 Florida High School Champion Rams. He captured the Seminole County Conference Championship en route to being named to the Seminole County, Fla. Conference Team, as well as a spot on the Orlando Sentinel All-County team this season.

"I’m really excited about coming to MSU," said Noah Goldman. "It is a great situation with great facilities and a great coach."

A stellar student in classroom, Goldman holds a 4.0 grade point average, earning him a spot on the 2004 HP Scholastic all-American Team. He is a member of the National Honor Society and the Spanish Honor Society.

He is the son of Jeffrey and Patricia Goldman and plans on majoring in economics.

Source: MSU Media Relations

11/10/04
Volleyball
STARKVILLE, Miss. - Mississippi State battles to keep its SEC Tournament hopes alive Wednesday night in Oxford, Miss., when the Volleyball Bulldogs (13-15, 4-10 SEC) close out their regular season road campaign against instate SEC rival Mississippi (10-16, 2-12 SEC). First serve at UM's Gillom Sports Center is set for 7 p.m.

The Bulldogs then wrap up their regular season schedule at home Sunday with a 2 p.m. match against SEC Western Division-leading Arkansas (13-12, 9-5 SEC).

State needs to win both of this week's matches and have either Auburn (10-12, 5-9 SEC) or South Carolina (12-11, 5-9 SEC) get swept in their final two matches to make the eight-team field of the SEC Tournament Nov. 19-21 in Gainesville, Fla.

A couple of school records and a pair of impressive personal milestone marks are also on the line for MSU in the final week of the season.

MSU is a win away from a school record-tying fifth SEC victory. One more win would also tie the school record for season-to-season turnarounds in wins. State, under first-year head coach Tina Seals, has won 13 matches this year after claiming just three match wins in 2003.

Bulldog junior outside hitter Rachel Cooper enters the week 14 kills shy of her 1,000th career kill and with a team-best 370 this season needs 30 kills to become the ninth Bulldog to reach the 400-kill mark in a single season.

Another MSU junior, first-year starting setter Andrea Mead, begins the week with 934 assists for the year and 971 for her career, 29 away from her 1,000th career scoring pass.

Mississippi State blanked Mississippi 3-0 (30-27, 30-16, 30-26) on October 13 at the Newell-Grissom Building, and with a win Wednesday can claim its first series sweep of the Lady Rebels since 1998.

Source: MSU Media Relations

Source: MSU Media Relations

11/09/04 (12:45 p.m.) - Leigh Phillips will sign a golf scholarship with the Mississippi State Lady Bulldogs on Wednesday at Lamar School in Meridian.

11/09/04
Soccer
STARKVILLE, Miss. - Fresh off its second SEC Tournament berth in school history, as well as its fifth winning season in program lore, the Mississippi State Soccer team moved up to a season-best No. 13 in the latest Central Region rankings released Monday morning by SoccerBuzz.com.

The Bulldogs (9-9-3), who were not among 64 teams announced Monday afternoon to compete in the 2004 NCAA Women's Soccer Championships, concluded their 2004 campaign with their second consecutive winning season that contained successful clips both at home (6-3-1) and on the road (3-2-1). The Maroon and White also matched a school record for conference victories with a 5-5-1 mark in league play.

Predicted to finish sixth in the SEC West and 12th overall in a preseason poll of the league's coaches in August, the Bulldogs defied the prognostication with a second place finish in the division, as well as a fifth place stand overall. The run helped MState achieve its second SEC Tournament berth in school lore and its first since 2001.

The Bulldogs thrived under first year head coach Neil Macdonald down the stretch, churning out a 5-2-0 record in its last seven outings to give Macdonald the feat of being the first rookie head coach in school history to post a winning record in his maiden regular season. The earmarked accomplishment was equally impressive as State played perhaps its most difficult schedule in its 10-year history.

The slate included six opponents who were ranked at one point during the season, including North Carolina who finished its campaign with a 17-0-2 record and the No. 1 seed overall in the national tournament.

Mississippi State's senior class ­ Allison Mullen, Morgan McDonald, Karen Sandrik, Ngum Suh, Kristin Peterson and April Berry ­ will leave Starkville as the most successful class in school history. The sextet compiled a 37-38-7 clip in their four-year tenure and captured 14 of State's 23 conference victories all-time.

State's senior class was also a member of both SEC Tournament squads and helped bring the SEC Western Division Championship trophy home with its 13-8-0 run in 2001. The class also compiled a 2-1-1 regular season mark against Ole Miss in their career, including this season when the Maroon and White blanked the Rebels 1-0 at home to capture the Magnolia Cup for the first time.

SOCCER BUZZ CENTRAL REGION RANKING (NOVEMBER 8)

Rnk School Record Prev
1 Texas A&M 17-5-0 2
2 Tennessee 15-4-3 3
3 Kansas 17-4-0 1
4 SMU 15-3-3 5
5 Texas 13-6-2 6
6 Colorado 14-5-2 4
7 Nebraska 12-8-0 8
8 Saint Louis 15-6-1 7
9 Rice 14-4-3 9
10 Oklahoma State 12-6-2 10
11 Vanderbilt 7-7-5 11
12 Missouri 9-10-1 12
13 Mississippi State 9-9-3 14
14 Oral Roberts 14-5-1 RV
15 North Texas 16-5-1 NR

Receiving Votes: Memphis (11-8-0), Ole Miss (9-10-2), UTEP (13-5-1) Source: MSU Media Relations

11/08/04
Women's Tennis
PEACHTREE CITY, Ga. - Mississippi State’s women’s tennis team concluded its fall schedule at the SEC Fall Coaches Classic on Sunday. The event was held at the Peachtree City Tennis Center in Peachtree City, Ga., with the Lady Bulldogs winning three consolation singles draw championships.

Zsuzsanna Fodor won the A consolation singles championship with a 7-5 6-3 victory over Ole Miss’s Chloe Carlotti. Senior Magdi Rekasi took the C consolation singles title, defeating Mari Muller of Alabama in a super tiebreaker, 6-2, 4-6, 11-9. In the D singles consolation finals, freshman Polina Kokoulina defeated Sonia Nikolic of Alabama, 6-1, 6-2.

In additional singles matches on the final day of competition, Tarryn Rudman fell 6-2, 6-2, to Lady Rebel Ilona Somers in A singles. Anastasia Kugakolova faced LSU’s Lauren Seamen in B singles, winning the match in a 7-6(1), 6-3 decision. Rene Joseph fell, 6-3, 6-2, to Ashley Cowart of Auburn, also in B singles. Hayley Rudman defeated Tiffany Tucker of LSU, 6-2, 6-3, in C singles.

Source: MSU Media Relations

The loss diminished Mississippi State's chances of qualifying for the 2004 SEC Volleyball Tournament Nov. 19-21 in Gainesville, Fla. The Bulldogs enter the final week of league competition with a 4-10 SEC mark and in ninth place in the league standings, a game behind Auburn (10-12, 5-9 SEC) and South Carolina (12-11, 5-9 SEC). Auburn topped Mississippi 3-1 and South Carolina surprised SEC West-leading Arkansas 3-0 Sunday.

Jamie Joyner and Christa Fulenwider combined for a block to give State an early 3-1 lead over Bama. But the Bulldogs struggled in a big way on offense the rest of the game, managing but five kills - two by Joyner, in bowing 30-14. Julie Farley totaled seven of Alabama's 17 opening game kills on 12 error-less attacks as the Tide raced into the lead.

Kelly Willinger nailed a kill to give MSU a brief 6-5 lead in game two as the Bulldogs picked up their offensive play. Freshman Erin Seago registered four of her six kills to lead the Bulldogs in the frame. But Bama's Kelley Potter connected on six kills in seven attempts and helped Alabama pull away from a 23-23 deadlock to take control of the match with a 30-27 win.

The Tide showed its muscle at the net in the deciding third game, registering nine total blocks in a clinching 30-22 win. Farley had a solo block and two assisted blocks to lead the charge. The Bulldogs fell behind 5-1 in the final stanza, battled back to close to within two at 15-13 and got a pair of kills by Jamie Joyner during a 5-0 run that closed the gap to 26-22. But Heffner did the honors with kills on the final three points to close the match for Alabama.

Joyner paced State with seven kills on a .313 hitting performance. Seago added six and Jami Hester chipped in five. MSU's usual offensive stars, junior outside hitters Rachel Cooper and Orshi Kriegel, were held to season-low totals - four kills for Cooper and none for Kriegel.

Megan Lukasek paced MSU on defense with 13 digs.

In addition to Heffner, Kelley Potter had 12 kills and Farley 11 for Alabama. Megan Hudson paced the Tide with a match-high 14 digs.

Mississippi State travels to Oxford, Miss., Wednesday, closing out regular season road competition with a 7 p.m. match at Mississippi. The Bulldogs then wrap up their 2004 home schedule Sunday in a 2 p.m. match against divisional rival Arkansas.

ALABAMA 3, MISSISSIPPI STATE 0

UA (18-7, 8-6 SEC) 30 30 30
MSU (13-15-, 4-10 SEC) 14 27 22

Source: MSU Media Relations

11/07/04
Men's Tennis
ANN ARBOR, Mich. - Mississippi State's doubles duo of Luiz Carvalho and Jose-Carlos Pinto dropped their semifinal contest in consolation doubles action at the ITA National Indoor Championships Saturday morning. The tournament, which is the second major of the year, is being held at the University of Michigan's Varsity Tennis Center.

The State duo, ranked 13th nationally, dropped an 8-5 decision to Ivan Angulo Carrasco and Ricardo Omanna of the College of Santa Fe in the consolation semifinals Saturday. Carvalho and Pinto ended the fall season 7-5 as a tandem, highlighted by a semifinal showing at the ITA All-American Championships in October.

Saturday's loss marked the end of the Bulldogs' 2004 fall schedule. MSU will open 2005 action Jan. 13-17 at the Southeastern Conference Indoor Championships in New Orleans. The Bulldogs' teams season starts Jan. 30, when MSU hosts the University of New Orleans at the A.J. Pitts Tennis Centre on campus.

State's full '05 schedule can be found on MSU's official website, www.mstateathletics.com. The Bulldog netters, which made their 14th consecutive appearance in the NCAA Championship last year, will host 11 home matches this coming spring, including six contests against foes from the always powerful SEC.

Source: MSU Media Relations

Newcomer Zsuzsanna Fodor advanced to the finals of A consolation singles with her victory over Miranda Guiterrez of South Carolina, 6-4, 6-2, in the semifinals match. In an additional match in A consolation singles, Tarryn Rudman defeated Auburn's Jelena Jovic in a third set tiebreaker, 4-6, 6-2, 14-12. In B singles, junior Anastasia Kugakolova fell, 6-4, 6-1, to Vanderbilt's Amanda Taylor in the semis. Renee Joseph dropped her match to Koukharatchouk of Ole Miss, 6-3, 6-2, in an additional match in B singles.

Lone senior Magdi Rekasi defeated Tiffany Tucker of LSU in a 6-3, 2-6, 10-4 decision to advance to the finals of C consolation singles. Hayley Rudman fell, 6-4, 7-6(1), to Alabama's Mari Muller in the semifinals of C consolation singles. Polina Kokoulina moved to the finals of D consolation singles by default against Arkansas's Whitney Morton.

In doubles action, MSU's duo of Fodor and Kugakolova defeated top-seeded Ole Miss's Carlotti and Tomatis, 8-6 in the semifinals of A doubles. MSU's tandem fell in the championship match to Kentucky's Coventry and Schwenk in a tight 9-7 decision.

Rudman and Rudman defeated Crimson Tide's Bentley and Nikolic, 8-2, to move the championship match of B doubles. The Maroon and White pair faced LSU's duo of Caliari and Chiarelli in the finals and fell 8-3 to finish runner-up. Also in B doubles, Joseph and Rekasi dropped a hard fought semifinals match to fourth-seeded Caliari and Chiarelli of LSU, 9-8(4). State's pair fell, 8-3, to Alabama's Bentley and Nikolic in an additional B doubles match.

Source: MSU Media Relations

11/06/04
Soccer
AUBURN, Ala. - Fifth-seeded Mississippi State found its offensive groove early to put together a dominating first half effort, but Alexis Yoculan's 33rd minute goal proved to be just enough as fourth-seeded Vanderbilt slipped by the Bulldogs, 1-0, in the first round of the 2004 SEC Soccer Championship Thursday evening at the Auburn Soccer Complex.

The Bulldogs (9-9-3) found seven of the game's first nine shots, but could not find an answer to a stiff Commodore (7-6-5) defense anchored by first team all-SEC goalkeeper Tyler Griffin. The loss gave Vanderbilt its second consecutive victory in the series with the Maroon and White, including a 4-1 triumph in Starkville just two weeks ago. The loss also effectively snapped a three-game winning streak for MSU.

"I thought that we worked very hard tonight, but we struggled to finish our offensive chances and I think that probably came back to bite us at the end. We did everything right apart from executing. I think we left ourself a window of opportunity in terms of an NCAA postseason berth, but we will just have to wait and see."

After trading blows in the midfield through the first seven minutes of action, Meghan Odom's 20-yard shot that sailed wide right would begin nearly 38 minutes of dominance for the Bulldogs in the first half. Betty Ann Casey's shot in the ninth minute of play nearly found itself through the VU defense, but Griffin proved up to the task and kept the game at a deadlock.

The Commodores dodged a bullet midway through the opening stanza when Jessica Fear's right shoulder found its way into the back of Casey in the penalty area but the altercation happened behind the flow of play and outside the officials' line of sight. The Black and Gold used a short burst of momentum to score the game's only goal at the 32:04 mark when Sarah Dennis' somewhat errant pass was picked up by Yoculan in the penalty area. Yoculan took a quick touch to escape her man mark, then did a 180-degree turn with the ball and fired a quick 10-yard shot past Meyers on her line.

Although State held a 9-2 shot disparity at the break, it would be Vanderbilt that would get the most of the second half play, including a pair of strikes down the stretch that would nearly get the best of Meyers. MState found its best chances on set piece blasts from defender Karen Sandrik in the 48th and 55th ticks, with the Commodores getting their best attempts in the final 16 minutes of the contest.

Dennis found space in the 84th minute of play, but her quick strike was phenomenally snagged by Meyers. In the 80th minute, Susan McLeavey's knuckleballer was nearly mishandled by the MSU netminder, but Meyers made a quick deflection, then took a touch before gaining control of the ball.

State will now wait out its postseason fate when the Bulldogs gather as a team on Monday afternoon to view the NCAA Women's College Cup selection show. The show can be accessed on ESPN News between 3 and 4 p.m. CT.

SCORING SUMMARY
At Auburn, Ala. (SEC Tournament)

MISSISSIPPI STATE 0 0 - 0
VANDERBILT 1 0 - 1

32:04 VU Alexis Yoculan (Unassisted)

Shots: MSU 10 (Casey 3), VU 13 (Dennis 4). Saves: MSU 5 (Meyers), VU 3 (Griffin). Corner Kicks: MSU 0, VU 6. Fouls: MSU 8, VU 9. Cautions And Ejections: None. Att. ­ 476.

Source: MSU Media Relations

Carvalho and Pinto, ranked 13th nationally, won by default when Duke's second-ranked team of Ludovic Walter and Jason Zimmerman were forced to withdraw due to a leg injury (muscle pull) to Zimmerman.

The MSU duo is now set to face Ivan Angulo Carrasco and Ricardo Omanna of the College of Santa Fe in the consolation semifinals Saturday morning at 10 a.m. ET. The teams have never met.

Carvalho and Pinto are one of just 16 doubles teams from around the country that were selected to compete in this weekend's prestigious event. They reached the main draw semifinals of the ITA All-American Championships, the first major of the season, last month in Chattanooga.

Source: MSU Media Relations

In A doubles, Zsuzsanna Fodor and Anastasia Kugakolova defeated Ashley Cowart and Sarah Suitor of Auburn, 8-2, in the round of 16. The tandem faced Vanderbilt's fourth-seeded pair of Taka Bertrand and Amanda Fish. MSU won the match, 8-5, to move forward in the draw.

Renee Joseph and Magdi Rekasi won their opening match against Vanderbilt's Caroline Ferreli and Carolyn Moore of Tennessee in an 8-4 decision in B doubles. In the quarterfinals of B doubles, Joseph and Rekasi won their match 5-0 when Alabama¹s duo of Natalie McElveen and Melissa Minor withdrew. Tarryn Rudman and Hayley Rudman defeated South Carolina's Megan McGavock and Justine Walsh, 8-1, in B doubles, advancing to the quarterfinals. The sister duo defeated Yawna Allen and Audrey Bordeleax in an 8-5 decision in their second match of the day.

In singles, Fodor defeated Melissa Day of Alabama, 6-3, 6-3, in the quarterfinals of A Consolation. Tarryn Rudman fell, 6-2, 6-3, to Ole Miss's Chloe Carlotti in her A Consolation match.

Kugakolova won the first set in her B singles match in a 7-6(4) tiebreaker with Ashley Cowart of Auburn. Kugakolova advanced to the semifinals, winning the second set against Cowart, 6-3. Joseph fell 6-4, 6-2 to Vanderbilt's Annie Menees, also in B singles.

Rekasi and Hayley Rudman both moved on to the semis of C consolation singles, winning their quarterfinal matches. Rekasi won her match, 6-2, 6-2, over LSU's Camilla Caliari, and Rudman defeated Carlin Cochran of Ole Miss, 6-0, 6-3.

Newcomer Polina Kokoulina defeated Commodore Julie Martin, 6-3, 6-1, in the D consolation quarterfinals.

Action continues on Saturday with another round of doubles and singles play.

Source: MSU Media Relations

11/05/04
Men's Tennis
ANN ARBOR, Mich. - Mississippi State's doubles duo of Luiz Carvalho and Jose-Carlos Pinto dropped their opening-round contest in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association's National Indoor Championships Thursday morning at the University of Michigan's Varsity Tennis Center.

Carvalho and Pinto, ranked 13th nationally, dropped an 8-5 decision to Ohio State's top-seeded and 34th-ranked tandem of Scott Green and Ross Wilson. The State team had lost to the OSU tandem earlier this year in the semifinals of the ITA All-American Hardcourt Championships, in which Green and Wilson ultimately claimed the title.

The State pair will open consolation action Friday at 8:30 a.m., when they will have another rematch from the All-American field, taking on Duke's second-ranked team of Ludovic Walter and Jason Zimmerman. Carvalho and Pinto won the earlier contest in an 8-6 upset of the Duke duo, which was the fourth-seeded team overall entering this week's tournament.

Carvalho and Pinto are one of just 16 doubles teams from around the country that were selected to compete in this weekend's event, which is the second major tournament of the college tennis season. The All-American Championships was the first.

Source: MSU Media Relations

In A singles, Sophomore Tarryn Rudman fell, 6-2, 6-2, to Vanderbilt's Taka Bertrand in her opening match. Third-seeded Zsuzsanna Fodor dropped her first match to Amanda Fish of Vanderbilt, 6-4, 6-4. Rudman and Fodor both advanced to the A consolation quarterfinals on Friday.

Newcomer Renee Joseph, in B singles, forced a three-set match with Christine Simpson of Kentucky, winning the second set 7-5 after falling 6-4 in the first set. Joseph advanced to the quarterfinals of B singles, taking the third set 6-2. Anastasia Kugakolova also won her opening match, defeating LSU's Marina Chiarelli in a 6-2, 6-1 decision.

Senior Magdi Rekasi fell, 6-1, 6-1, to Kentucky's Danielle Petrisko in the round of 16 of C singles. Hayley Rudman was defeated, 6-0, 6-4, in C singles by LSU's Staten Spencer in her first match of the tournament. Polina Kokoulina dropped her three-set match, 6-2, 0-6, 6-4, to LSU's Daisy Espinal in D singles.

The opening round of doubles action will begin Friday morning followed by the quarterfinals of singles.

Source: MSU Media Relations

11/04/04
Men's Tennis
STARKVILLE, Miss. - Mississippi State's doubles team of Luiz Carvalho and Jose-Carlos Pinto will begin competition in the ITA National Indoor Championships Thursday in Ann Arbor, Mich. The tournament, which runs through Sunday at the University of Michigan's Varsity Tennis Center, is the second major of the college tennis season.

Carvalho and Pinto, both natives of Sao Paulo, Brazil, are one of just 16 entries from around the country into the doubles draw this weekend. They earned their spot in the field by reaching the semifinals of the ITA All-American Championships, the first major of the year, last month in Chattanooga, Tenn.

Ranked 13th nationally, Carvalho and Pinto will meet Ohio State's top-seeded team of Scott Green and Ross Wilson in Thursday's first round at 9 a.m. CT. Though presently ranked just 34th nationally, Green and Wilson claimed the doubles crown at the All-American Championships last month. In fact, the OSU pair was the team that eliminated Carvalho and Pinto in the semis of that event, winning by an 8-3 score.

With their run at the All-American, the MSU tandem improved to 7-3 this fall, and became the first Bulldog duo in 10 years to reach the semis of a national event.

Source: MSU Media Relations

The Volleyball Bulldogs (13-13, 4-8 SEC) travel to Auburn Friday for a 7 p.m. match in AU's Student Activities Center. State then wraps up its first weekend of November competition Sunday with a 1:30 p.m. match against Alabama (16-7, 6-6 SEC) in the Coleman Auxiliary Volleyball Extension. State will be looking to avenge 3-0 losses to both Auburn and Alabama two weeks ago at the Newell-Grissom Building.

Mississippi State finds itself in the thick of a tight race for a berth in this year's SEC Volleyball Tournament with two weeks and four league matches remaining. The teams with the top eight SEC winning percentages advance to Gainesville, Fla., for this year's single-elimination tournament Nov. 19-21 at UF's O'Connell Center.

All 11 competing SEC teams remain in the running for one of the eight league tournament berths, and a mere three games separate the last six teams in the SEC standings. MississippI State and South Carolina, both with 4-8 league records, are presently tied for the No. 7-8 positions, a game behind LSU (5-7), a game ahead of Kentucky and Auburn (3-9) and two games ahead of Mississippi (2-10).

Mississippi State last competed in the SEC Volleyball tournament in 1998 but has not advanced to the postseason event since qualifying standards and the current eight-team format were put in place in 1999.

Junior outside hitter Rachel Cooper, who last weekend climbed to eighth on MSU's all-time career kills list with 967, paces the bulldogs this season with 351 kills, third-most in the Southeastern Conference. Freshman Christa Fulenwider, the team leader with 71 total blocks, notched her 100th kill of the season against No. 8 Florida last Sunday, while another rookie, libero Megan Lukasek, tallied her team-leading 300th dig of the year last weekend, the fourth-most digs in the league.

A weekend win for the Bulldogs would tie the school record for SEC wins in a season. Only two other MSu teams have won four league matches in a season (1993 and 1997) and the school record of five conference victories was established by coach Brenda Bowlin's 1998 MSU club. With its next win the Bulldogs would also match the school mark for the biggest season-to-season turnaround in wins. The 1984 MSU team, coached by Vivian Langley and captained by current MSU head coach Tina Seals, won 18 matches and showed an 11 win improvement over the previous season.

MSU's three-match SEC West road run concludes with a Nov. 10 (7 p.m.) match at Mississippi before the Bulldogs entertain Arkansas Nov. 14 in a Sunday afternoon regular season finale.

Source: MSU Media Relations

"This weekend is the final fall tournament for us," said head coach Tracy Lane. "We will be competing against some really tough competition. We are expecting the girls to rise to the occasion and play some really solid tennis. We hope to come away with wins, which will boost us for the spring season. Our goal is to try and win as many matches as possible and not take any unnecessary losses."

The tournament will include four draws of singles and two draws of doubles.

Source: MSU Media Relations

11/03/04
Soccer
STARKVILLE, Miss. - Fresh off a perfect weekend that saw it take down cross-state nemesis Ole Miss and Georgia State at home, the Mississippi State Soccer team moved back into the SoccerBuzz.com Central Region rankings Tuesday morning checking back in at the No. 14 spot.

The Bulldogs last held a spot in the poll on Sept. 28 when the Maroon and White was ranked at the No. 14 spot before a 1-1 tie later that evening with Jacksonville State. MState completed its regular season campaign on Sunday with a 2-1 victory over the Panthers that upped its record in regular season finales to 10-0-0.

The central region is comprised of 68 teams from 12 different states with four of the teams in this week's region ranking also appearing in the national top 30. The central region is the largest of six regions in NCAA Division I women's soccer.

Having won five of its last seven outings, including four of its last five, Mississippi State will return to action on Thursday evening when the fifth-seeded Bulldogs take on fourth-seeded Vanderbilt (6-6-5) in the opening round of the 2004 SEC Soccer Championship in Auburn, Ala. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. at the Auburn Soccer Complex and tickets for the event can be purchased by calling the SEC Ticket Office at (800) 282-1957.

SOCCER BUZZ CENTRAL REGION RANKING (NOVEMBER 2)

Rnk School Record Prev
1 Kansas 16-3-0 1
2 Texas A&M 14-5-0 2
3 Tennessee 13-3-2 3
4 Colorado 13-4-2 4
5 SMU 13-3-3 5
6 Texas 11-5-2 6
7 Saint Louis 13-5-1 7
8 Nebraska 12-7-0 8
9 Rice 13-3-3 9
10 Oklahoma State 12-5-2 10
11 Vanderbilt 6-6-5 NR
12 Missouri 9-9-1 RV
13 UTEP 12-4-1 15
14 Mississippi State 9-8-3 NR
15 Memphis 11-7-0 14

Receiving Votes: Ole Miss (8-9-2), Oral Roberts (13-5-0)

Source: MSU Media Relations

Sandrik is a member of at least two community service clubs on campus - the M Club, which participates in several service projects throughout the year (Habitat for Humanity, Project Angel Tree, Bully Book Blitz) and FCA. Sandrik, a senior, is an elementary education major, is a two-year team captain, and, in 2001, was a member of the UAB Nike Classic All-Tournament Team.

"Karen is an outstanding role model for any young player both on and off the field," said MState head coach Neil Macdonald. "She is a great leader for this team and, because of her attitude, never disappoints."

Currently ranking second on MSU's all-time minutes played list, Sandrik has played in 75 games of her Bulldog career and has earned the start in 67 of those contests. Having logged more than 6,300 minutes in her tenure in Starkville, Sandrik scored the first two goals of her career this season on gamewinning scores against both Northwestern State and Memphis.

Sandrik and her MSU teammates will return to action on Thursday evening when the fourth-seeded Bulldogs (9-8-3) battle fifth-seeded Vanderbilt (6-6-5) in the opening round of the 2004 SEC Soccer Championships at the Auburn Soccer Complex in Auburn, Ala. Kickoff for the contest has been slated for 7:30 p.m. and the game can be followed via a live stats link at the official Internet home for Mississippi State Athletics, MStateAthletics.com.

Source: MSU Media Relations

11/02/04
Softball
PLANT CITY, Fla. - Kristie Fox's knocked in a run in the bottom of the sixth to help Team USA rally behind the outstanding pitching of pitcher Alicia Hollowell as Team USA, skippered by Mississippi State head coach Jay Miller, again, avenged a first day loss to Chinese Taipei with a 1-0 victory in the gold medal game of the First World University Games for Softball Sunday afternoon in Plant City, Fla.

Having split its first day of competition on Tuesday with a 2-0 victory over Japan and a 3-2 setback to Taipei, Team USA closed out pool play with five-straight victories, including Hollowell's (Arizona) 17-strikeout appearance against Canada. The Red, White and Blue, which is composed of current collegiate softball players from around the country, got a perfect game outing from Hollowell in the semifinals to advance to Sunday's championship game.

"This was a good tournament for this ball club and we took some strides throughout the week," Miller said. "Alicia really threw her heart out the last two ballgames and, defensively, we really took the momentum out of them (Taipei) today. I am very proud of this team and their performance this week."

USA Softball is the brand created, operated and owned by the Amateur Softball Association that links the USA Men's, Women's, Junior Boys' and Junior Girls' National Team programs together. USA Softball is responsible for training, equipping and promoting these four National Teams to compete in international and domestic competitions.

The USA Softball Women's National Team is one of the only two women's sports involved in the Olympic movement to capture three consecutive medals at the Olympic Games since 1996. The U.S. women have also won seven World Championship titles including the last five consecutive. For more information about USA Softball, please visit www.usasoftball.com.

Source: MSU Media Relations

Meyers proved clutch in both games for the Maroon and White over the weekend, producing her fourth shutout of the season in MState's first victory over the Rebels since 2001 on Friday, then adding her third double digit saves total of the season in the Bulldogs' triumph over Georgia State on Sunday. The wins pushed State over the .500 mark for the first time since a 2-2 tie with Wisconsin-Milwaukee on September 5 in Lawrence, Kan.

"Emily played very well in both games this weekend," said Mississippi State head coach Neil Macdonald. "She had key saves in both games at important times that protected our leads. She is developing as a goalkeeper every day. She just seems to be getting better and better every time she steps on the field."

Meyers, who had dabbled at different positions on the pitch in her first two seasons in Starkville, has finally settled in with goalkeeping duties for the Bulldogs. In just her first career start at the position on September 26 against Georgia, the Bay St. Louis native collected 13 saves in a key overtime victory over the then-surging Red and Black. Just more than 48 hours later, Meyers, again, proved invaluable for the Bulldogs when she tallied 10 saves in MState's 1-1 draw at Jacksonville State.

For the season, Meyers has posted a 5-3-2 record with a 1.45 goals against average in a team position-high 11 starts. Currently ranking third in the SEC with 79 saves, Meyers has posted a .827 save percentage this season ­ a number that also ranks third among SEC netminders.

Mississippi State will return to action on Thursday evening when the fifth-seeded Bulldogs (9-8-3, 5-5-1 SEC) battle fourth-seeded Vanderbilt (6-6-5, 5-2-4) in the opening round of the 2004 SEC Soccer Championship in Auburn, Ala. Kickoff has been set for 7:30 p.m. at the 1,500-seat Auburn Soccer Complex and tickets can be purchased by calling the SEC Ticket Office at (800) 282-1957.

Source: MSU Media Relations

11/01/04
Soccer
STARKVILLE, Miss. ­ Senior April Berry's goal 10 minutes into the second period of play helped homestanding Mississippi State offset a shaky start as the Bulldogs used an opportunistic scoring chance and a stingy defense down the stretch to turn back visiting Georgia State, 2-1, Sunday afternoon at the MSU Soccer Field in the regular season finale for both teams.

Berry's goal was her third of the season for the Bulldogs (9-8-3), but the first gamewinning score for the Texan since netting the Golden Goal at South Carolina on Oct. 28, 2001. Fellow senior Kristin Peterson scored her third goal of the season as well with freshman Brandi Parker and sophomore Sara Moore tallying assists in the contest. Sarah Feske scored the lone goal in the contest for visiting Georgia State (7-7-5).

The win inched MSU above the .500 mark for the first time since a 2-2 tie with Wisconsin-Milwaukee on September 5 and improved the Maroon and White's record in regular season finales to a perfect 10-0. With the win, first year head coach Neil Macdonald also etched his name in the MSU record books as the only coach in program history to post a winning regular season record in his maiden campaign.

State also finished off the regular season with a 6-3-1 record at the Mississippi State Soccer Field ­ its second consecutive winning mark at home after posting a 6-2-2 mark in Starkville in 2003. The Bulldogs also improved their record to 6-1-2 in Sunday games this season with the triumph.

"I thought we came out really flat and we played at a level below us the entire game," Macdonald said. "I was pleased with the result, but concerned with some of the decisions we made in the game. We need to refocus this week and prepare for a very tough game against Vanderbilt at the SEC Tournament."

MSU wasted no time in lighting up the West end scoreboard when Parker found Peterson at the top of the penalty area and the senior finished with a one-timer to the near post for the 1-0 advantage. Although the Bulldogs got the most of the play over the course of the next 25 minutes, Georgia State would finish off a scoring opportunity of its own in the 33rd minute as Swede Veronica Botold served a ball to Feske on the far post. Feske found enough space to get off a shot and quickly unloaded to beat a charging Meyers to the endline.

The 1-1 tie would hold up until intermission, despite MSU finishing off the first 45 minutes of play with a 12-6 shot advantage, many of which came on goal.

Both teams would come out of the halftime gates swinging with neither team getting the better of their counterpart. However, State got all the second half scoring it would need seconds after the 55 minute mark when Berry collected a deflected pass from Moore and sliced through a pair of Panthers before hitting a shot past a diving Charlotte Vargo.

The Panthers would get their chances to net the Equalizer down the stretch, but Meyers would prove up to the task each time. GSU had its best chance at the goal on Botold's close-range shot in the 86th minute, but Meyers slapped the strike out of danger to preserve the victory.

Mississippi State will return to action on Thursday evening when the fifth-seeded Bulldogs take on fourth-seeded Vanderbilt (6-6-5) in the opening round of the 2004 SEC Soccer Championship in Auburn, Ala. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. at the Auburn Soccer Complex and tickets for the event can be purchased by calling the SEC Ticket Office at (800) 282-1957.

SCORING SUMMARY
At Starkville, Miss. (MSU Soccer Field)

GEORGIA STATE 1 0 - 1
MISSISSIPPI STATE 1 1 - 2

6:17 MSU Kristin Peterson (Brandi Parker)
32:39 GSU Sarah Feske (Veronica Botold)
55:34 MSU April Berry (Sara Moore)

Shots: GSU 17 (Collins-Cephers 4), MSU 20 (Berry 4). Shots On Goal: GSU 12 (Collins-Cephers 4), MSU 11 (Peterson, Berry, Casey 2). Saves: GSU 9 (Vargo 5), MSU 11 (Meyers 10). Corner Kicks: GSU 7, MSU 7. Fouls: GSU 10, MSU 10. Cautions And Ejections: MSU ­ Suh (Yellow, 44:14). Att. ­ 394.

Source: MSU Media Relations

The Volleyball Bulldogs (13-13, 4-8 SEC), a win away from matching their school record for league wins in a season, finished the weekend with a split of two SEC matches after topping Georgia 3-2 Friday night. Following the weekend's competition, MSU is in seventh place in the SEC standings and in the thick of the race for a berth in the eight-team SEC Tournament November 19-21 at Gainesville, Fla.

"It was a good weekend for our young team," said first-year head coach Tina Seals. "We picked up an important win Friday against a very fine Georgia team and had our moments today against Florida, one of college volleyball's best teams."

Orshi Kriegel and Erin Seago combined for a block to give the Bulldogs an 8-7 lead in the opening game. The 1-2 punch of Chatman and Collymore enabled the Gators to take control of the game, though a late 4-0 State run cut the lead to 26-23. Florida then went on to score the final four points in the stanza for a 30-23 win.

The Gators warmed up on offense in game two, racing to a 6-0 lead and hitting at a blistering .542 clip while committing but one attack error in a lopsided 30-13 win. Chatman registered kills on all six of her swings and Collymore added five. Chatman also assisted on six blocks and helped force a dozen Bulldog hitting errors in the set.

State managed to stay close to the talented Gators in the early going of the deciding third game, but Collymore kept the pressure on with six more kills and the tandem of Sherri Williams and Angie McGinnis combined for eight blocks in the 30-15 UF win.

Kriegel paced State with 10 kills and on defense with eight digs. Cooper, with just six kills in 31 swings, had seven digs as did freshmen Madison Hill and Megan Lukasek.

The Gators finished with a 49-27 edge in kills and a 16-4 bulge in total team blocks to join Tennessee as the SEC's only 20-match winners thus far.

"It's easy to see why Florida is ranked among the top teams in the nation," said Seals. "They are a highly-skilled and well-coached team, and they have the weapons to beat you in so many ways."

Despite the loss, the first-year coach is encouraged about the team's positioning heading into the stretch run of the 2004 campaign.

"One of our goals this season is to advance to the SEC Tournament in Gainesville, and this weekend we took another step toward that goal," continued Seals. "We've still got our work cut out for us, but with two weeks and four matches left in the season, that goal is certainly within our reach."

Mississippi State opens its November stretch run on the road this weekend, testing Auburn Friday ( 7 p.m.) and then traveling to Tuscaloosa Sunday to meet the Alabama Crimson Tide.

MSU's final home competition is a Nov. 14 battle with SEC West-leading Arkansas.

No. 8 FLORIDA 3, MISSISSIPPI STATE 0

UF (20-2, 12-0 SEC) 30 30 30
MSU (13-13, 4-8 SEC) 23 13 15

SEC VOLLEYBALL STANDINGS
SEC Pct. ALL Pct.