Mississippi State fall sports roundup

Enjoy this recap of fall Mississippi State University sports updates:

Mississippi State volleyball

Julie Darty Dennis has had a rough start to her first three years at the helm of the Bulldogs’ women’s volleyball program, with her previous MSU teams amassing a 23-58 overall record and an 8-48 Southeastern Conference record. In 2021, she has turned a corner, leading the Bulldogs to a 17-5 overall and an 8-2 SEC record.

The only two conference blemishes are from splitting two matches with No. 17 Florida and dropping a match to No. 5 Kentucky, the defending national champions. While the Bulldogs aren’t yet receiving votes for the American Volleyball Coaches Association Top 25 poll, they’ll ring that (cow)bell soon if they continue to shine in SEC play.

Senior captain Gabby Waden has led the way for this tenacious group, and she was named SEC’s offensive player of the week on Oct. 18. A pair of other Bulldogs have outshined the competition in conference play. Sophomore Shania Cromartie was named SEC player of the week on Sep. 27 and sophomore Lilly Gunter was named defensive player of the week on Oct. 25.

Next up, the Bulldogs host the Alabama Crimson Tide on Wednesday.

The Country Club Circuit: Fairways and Aces

Men’s golf just wrapped up the fall schedule on a positive note this past weekend at the Steelwood Collegiate Invitational, hosted at the Steelwood Country Club in Loxley, Alabama, by the University of South Alabama.

The Bulldogs finished with a total of 11-under-par 72 course over three rounds of play, good for fourth place of the 14 teams participating. Missouri, the tournament champions, posted a 17-under to take the crown, while Kentucky and Memphis placed second and third, respectively. However, MSU’s Ford Clegg took home the individual title with a score of 11-under-par, winning his third individual title by 2 strokes.

Women’s golf closed out the fall season by hosting a tough field at The Ally at Old Waverly. This field included eight teams ranked in the top 40, and the Bulldogs finished strong in fourth place of the 12 teams participating. Julia Lopez Ramirez led the Bulldogs, finishing tied for sixth place overall by posting a 7-under for the three-round tournament on the par-72 course. Alabama dominated the team tournament field with a 22-under final total, finishing 10 strokes ahead of second-place Florida’s 12-under.

Strong finish to the fall seasons for both golf teams! They will resume play in February of 2022.

The MSU men’s tennis team is preparing to compete in the Georgia Tech invitational this weekend. To this point in the fall season, the team has amassed a 25-25 singles record and a 10-11 doubles record. Highlights include Bulldog Florian Broska taking down Oklahoma State’s two-time All-American Tyler Zink during the International Tennis Federation Fayetteville 15K event in Arkansas. Broska has earned a national ranking high of No. 27 this season, while the doubles pairing of Broska and Gregor Ramskogler has been ranked as high as No. 6.

The MSU women’s tennis team will be hosting the John Cade Invitational this weekend in Starkville. To this point in the fall season, the team has amassed an 18-23 singles record and an 8-12 doubles record.

Highlights include outstanding Bulldog action during the ITA Invitational in early October, where MSU’s 22nd-ranked Emmanouela Antonaki defeated No. 28 Chloe Beck of Duke in three sets. This effort was followed by Antonaki pairing up with Tamara Racine to defeat Wake Forest’s 38th-ranked tandem of Anna Campana and Carolyn Campana.

The Other Football…

The MSU soccer team completed the season a high note, taking the Magnolia Bowl game from No. 16 Ole Miss on Thursday with a 3-2 win. The decisive game was a goalkeeper-on-goalkeeper affair, with MSU sophomore Maddy Anderson striking the game-winner on her first career shot.

While the Bulldog’s record (5-8-3, 3-6-1 SEC) was middle-of-the-road, the program’s path appears to be positive. Anderson and senior defender Andrea Tyrrell were named to the All-SEC second team, while midfielder Ally Perry made the SEC All-Freshman Team.

Other Cats and (Bull)Dogs

The women’s cross country team participated in four invitational meets this season, finishing in the top half of the respective tournament fields in all four invitationals. However, they finished in 13th place out of 14 at the just-concluded SEC Championships on Friday.

For previews of the upcoming Bulldogs’ basketball action, please see Starkville’s Got Talent – Fall 2021 women’s basketball edition and Mississippi State men’s basketball postseason hunt: Make your pick.

Hope you enjoyed catching up on these other fall sports. Hail State!