STARKVILLE — Waiting to see how NCAA selection committees set national tournament brackets can be a nerve-wracking experience, especially if your team is on the bubble.
Mississippi State”s 20th-ranked men”s tennis team doesn”t have to worry about making the tournament, but the Bulldogs hope the committee doesn”t tax them for losing to the University of Florida in the quarterfinals of the Southeastern Conference tournament.
Had MSU beaten Florida, which went on to win the SEC tournament, it likely would have moved up in the national rankings and had a shot at playing host to a regional.
MSU coach Per Nilsson hopes for a “high-2 seed” in the 64-team field, which sets the top 16 teams as hosts for first-round, four-team regionals.
“But that”s done with,” Nilsson said, “and now we look forward to NCAAs. We”re gonna play a good team no matter what.”
The SEC sent eight teams to the 2010 NCAA tournament — the most of any conference — and compiled a 15-8 record. The University of Georgia and Tennessee made it to the Final Four, with Georgia falling to powerhouse Southern California in the national championship match.
Nilsson feels his team”s three wins against top-25 opponents and five, 4-3 losses to top-10 opponents will work in its favor when the brackets are announced Tuesday.
Playing in the SEC adds some luster to MSU”s credentials, too.
“We”re a little bit like the big dogs, and the other teams know it,” Nilsson said.
The Bulldogs (13-8) have four singles players nationally ranked, led by junior George Coupland, who is 50th. Juniors Artem Ilyushin and Louis Cant are ranked 63rd and 83rd, respectively. Freshman Malte Stropp is 95th.
MSU has been strong in singles all year, and sports a 76-36 record in dual matches. However, the Bulldogs are 28-28 in doubles play.
Prior to dropping two doubles matches and having another suspended against Florida, MSU had won the doubles point in four of its five previous matches.
MSU lost the doubles point in five of six matches after blanking Tulane and the University of Alabama at Bimringham earlier in the season.
MSU”s erratic form in doubles is Nilsson”s chief concern as his team prepares for the NCAA tournament .
“It”s not going to come down to who we play, it”s going to come down to how we perform in doubles and if we have a chance to win all six singles,” Nilsson said. “At Florida, it wasn”t the pairings but just a hiccup. We just gotta come out and play well out of the gate. It can be difficult to get back on track after a slow start.
“Overall, we played better doubles, but (Florida) came out strong and we came out flat. Before we knew it, the doubles point was gone.”
More concerning for Nilsson is how the lag in doubles play against Florida carried over into the singles matches.
No. 2 singles player Coupland lost 6-3, 6-4, while his No. 1 doubles partner Ilyushin had a three-set match suspended with a 5-4 lead in the final set at No. 1 singles. James Chaudry pushed his No. 3 singles match to a third set, but was shut out in the third, which suspended Ilyushin”s match.
“That”s something we have to address because once you get that 10-minute break, you have to prepare for your singles match,” Nilsson said. “The doubles is gone whether you won it or not. I think George and Zach (White) were still thinking a little bit about the doubles, but if they”re playing up to their potential, I think we can win that match 5-2.
“But I”m not too worried about it. They”ve bounced back before during the season. We”ve just got to get both clicking.”
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