University of Tennessee Athletics
University of Tennessee
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#61 Mississippi State
VOLS GET BACK ON WINNING TRACK; TAKE OUT BULLDOGS
April 09, 2006 | Men's Tennis
April 9, 2006
The Tennessee men's tennis team defeated Mississippi State 6-1 Sunday in Starkville to even its record at 9-9 and end a tough five-match losing streak.
"We got a much needed SEC road win today," head coach Chris Mahony said. "We got good performances up and down the lineup and hopefully this win gives us a little bit of momentum heading into the Georgia match next weekend and the SEC tournament.
The Vols captured the doubles point by sweeping all three matches. Tennessee is tough to beat when they when the doubles point as they are now 9-2 when claiming the point. David Baxendine and Johnny Thornton defeated Ryan Farlow and Josh Irey 8-4 at the No. 3 spot for UT's first victory. Adam Hubble and Ben Rogers, ranked 29th in the latest Fila Doubles Rankings, beat Ivan Bjelica and Pierre Mouillon 9-7 at the No. 1 position to clinch the point for Tennessee. Sophomores Bobby Cameron and Kaden Hensel completed the sweep with an 8-6 victory over Florent Girod and Jose-Carlos Pinto.
Tennessee (9-9, 3-7 SEC) quickly took control of the singles portion also as Tennessee won the first set in five of the six matches.
Hensel gave Tennessee its first singles victory with a 6-2, 7-6 victory over Pierre Mouillon. Hensel played at the No. 1 singles position for the first time in his career this weekend and the Australian native responded well against two-ranked players, battling to a no-decision Friday night with Eric Claesson (27th) and defeating Mouillon (97) Sunday.
Freshman Derek Stephens gave Tennessee a 3-0 lead with a 6-3, 6-3 win over Philippe Frayssinoux at the No. 5 position.
Rogers clinched the match for Tennessee with a 6-4, 6-2 win over Ryan Farlow at the No. 6 position.
Cameron defeated No. 81 Ivan Bjelica 1-6, 6-1, 7-5 for his first victory over a ranked opponent since defeating Tom Eklund of South Carolina on March 12.
Kiril Tcherveniachki had Tennessee's final victory of the day, defeating Jose-Carlos Pinto at the No. 3 slot in a third-set super-tiebreaker.
Tennessee's final match of the regular season is Saturday against No.1 ranked Georgia at 1 p.m. The Bulldogs are 21-0 this season, 10-0 in the SEC. All tennis matches at the University of Tennessee are free and open to the public.
| No. 50 Tennessee 6, No. 61 Mississippi State 1 | |
| Singles | |
| 1. Kaden Hensel (UT) def. No. 97 Pierre Mouillon (MSU) | 6-2, 7-6 |
| 2. Bobby Cameron (UT) def. No. 81 Ivan Bjelica (MSU) | 1-6, 6-1, 7-5 |
| 3. Kiril Tcherveniachki (UT) def. Jose-Carlos Pinto (MSU) | 6-3, 3-6, 1-0 |
| 4. Florent Girod (MSU) def. David Baxendine (UT) | 4-6, 6-2, 2-2 (ret.) |
| 5. Derek Stephens (UT) def. Philippe Frayssinoux (MSU) | 6-3, 6-3 |
| 6. Ben Rogers (UT) def. Ryan Farlow (MSU) | 6-4, 6-2 |
| Order of Finish: 1,5,6*,2,4,3 | |
| Doubles | |
| 1. No. 29 Hubble/Rogers (UT) def. Bjelica/Mouillon (MSU) | 9-7 |
| 2. Cameron/Hensel (UT) def. Girod/Pinto (MSU) | 8-6 |
| 3. Baxendine/Thornton (UT) def. Farlow/Irey (MSU) | 8-4 |
| Order of Finish: 3,1,2 | |
Players Mentioned
