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Mississippi State
Ole Miss Wins Seventh Straight Mississippi Cup
2/9/2006 | Men's Tennis
Feb. 9, 2006
JACKSON, Miss. - The No. 5 nationally-ranked Ole Miss men's tennis team defeated 23rd-ranked Mississippi State 4-0 Thursday night at the River Hills Club to win its seventh straight Mississippi Cup and 16th consecutive match in the series.
The win also marked their fourth consecutive shutout in the Mississippi Cup. State's last win in the overall series came in the 1999 Mississippi Cup. The Rebels moved to 3-0 on the season, while State dropped to 1-1.
"We knew it was going to be a tough match," head coach Billy Chadwick said. "The whole match can be summed up at No. 1 singles. It looked like we were in control, but the next thing you know, we are fighting for our lives. I have to give Erling (Tveit) and the rest of the guys all the credit. They fought hard when they needed too."
Ole Miss got things going early by claiming the doubles point, as Juan Pablo Di Cesare and Robbye Poole defeated State's Ryan Farlow and Florent Girod, 8-4 on court three. Bram ten Berge and Jakob Klaeson clinched the point when they finished off Pierre Mouillon and Philippe Frayssinoux, 8-6 at No. 2 doubles. The Rebels improved to 65-3 when they win the doubles point dating back to the 2002 season.
The Rebels jumped on the Bulldogs early in singles, taking the first sets on all three courts. But, State battled back to make it interesting.
At No. 3 singles, 83rd-ranked ten Berge got the first set against Mouillon, 6-3 but found himself down 0-3 in the second. He would rally to tie it up, before Mouillon won the final three games to extend the match to a third set. ten Berge raced out to a 5-2 advantage in the decisive set and served it out for 6-3 to give the Rebels a 2-0 lead.
Junior Eric Claesson, ranked No. 22 in the nation, appeared to be well on his way to giving Ole Miss a quick point before ten Berge even finished, after taking the first set against MSU senior Jose' Carlos Pinto, 6-2 and jumping out to a 5-2 lead in the second. However, Pinto won four straight games to take a 6-5 lead. Claesson held serve to send the set to a tiebreaker, which he won 7-4 to put Ole Miss within one of clinching.
"We knew they were a good team," Claesson said. "My opponent came back in the second set and played harder, but I was able to finish him off. When you beat a player or a team so many times, it gives you confidence."
It also looked as if Ole Miss would get a quick point on court one with sophomore Erling Tveit, ranked No. 26 in the country, battling State's 74th-ranked Ivan Bjelica. After Tveit won the first set 6-4, he gained a 4-1 lead in the second, before Bjelica came back to tie it at 4-4. At 5-5, Bjelica broke Tveit's serve and then held to force a third set.
Tveit got the break to start the third set, but Bejlica would break back. The two traded serves until at 5-5, Tveit broke again and held to clinch the Rebel victory. Tveit improved to 14-3 overall and 3-0 at No. 1 singles. He has won 10 of his last 11 matches dating back to the fall.
"I played pretty good in the first set," Tveit said. "I had good control, but then he started playing really well in the second. I was up 2-0 in the third and then he broke back. I was a little down, but when I got the break at 5-5, I knew I was going to win."
The Rebels will now hit the road to face Portland Feb. 15 before traveling to Seattle for the USTA/ITA National Team Indoor.
MISSISSIPPI CUP - JACKSON, Miss.
#5 Ole Miss 4
#23 Mississippi State 0
DOUBLES
#1 Tveit/Claesson (OM) vs. Bjelica/Pinto (MSU) 6-4 OM, sus.
#2 ten Berge/Klaeson (OM) def. Mouillon/Frayssinoux (MSU) 8-6
#3 Di Cesare/Poole (OM) def. Farlow/Girod (MSU) 8-4
SINGLES
#1 Erling Tveit (OM) def. Ivan Bjelica (MSU) 6-4, 5-7, 7-5
#2 Eric Claesson (OM) def. Jose' Carlos Pinto (MSU) 6-2, 7-6(4)
#3 Bram ten Berge (OM) def. Pierre Mouillon (MSU) 6-3, 3-6, 6-3
#4 Juan Pablo Di Cesare (OM) vs. Philippe Frayssinoux (MSU) 3-3, sus.
#5 Robbye Poole (OM) vs. Florent Girod (MSU) 1-0 MSU, sus.
#6 Jakob Klaeson (OM) vs. Ryan Farlow (MSU) DNP
