March 29, 2002

STARKVILLE, Miss.-- The No. 13-ranked Tennessee tennis team defeated No. 21 Mississippi State 5-2 Friday, in Starkville. The win, which was Michael Fancutt's 90th as the Vols' head coach, raised the Vols' season record to 12-4 overall and 5-2 in SEC play.

The Vols took an early 1-0 lead with an impressive effort in the doubles segment, which saw the Vols win all three matches. The freshman duo of Mark Dietrich and Mark Henderson were winners in the No. 3 match. The No. 23rd-ranked tandem of Simon Rea and Mario Toledo were upset winners at No. 2 over No. 18 Romain Ambert and Rene-Charles Combette. The senior pair of Adam Carey and Peter Handoyo won their fourth straight match and completed the shutout of the Bulldogs (8-7, 2-5 SEC), with their win in the No. 2 match.

The outcome of the match would not remain in doubt too far into the singles segment, as the Vols won the first three completed matches to secure their 12th win of the season. The Vols' Toledo, Dietrich and Rea were winners in the No. 2, 4 and 5 matches, respectively, which was all the scoring the Vols needed. Tennessee sophomore Wade Orr captured the Vols fifth and final point in the No. 6 match, while Ambert and Carvahlo were winners for Mississippi State in the No. 1 and 3 matches, respectively.

The Vols will be back in action Sunday, as they take on Ole Miss at 2 p.m. in Oxford, Miss.