Men's Tennis
LINCOLN, Neb. - Michigan State men's tennis picked up a pair of wins at No. 1 and No. 2 singles, but was unable to top No. 45 Nebraska, falling 5-2 at the Dillon Tennis Center in Lincoln Saturday night in the Spartans' conference opener.
MSU drops to 6-8 (0-1 B1G) with the loss, while Nebraska moves to 9-5 (1-0 B1G).
After MSU's No. 2 doubles team of junior Luke Baylis and sophomore Josh Portnoy fell 6-3 to the Cornhuskers' Nic Wiedenhorn and Leo Linquet, freshman Ozan Baris and fifth-year senior Anthony Pero wrapped up a dominant 6-1 victory over Nebraska's William Gleason and Calvin Mueller on court one to keep the doubles point hopes alive for the Spartans. Nebraska secured the doubles point after a back-and-forth battle on court three, as Roni Hietaranta and Shunya Maruyama defeated sophomore Max Sheldon and freshman David Saye, 7-5.
The teams continued to play out the final matches after Nebraska won four-straight singles points to clinch the win. Baris earned his fifth win at No. 1 singles this season with a hard-fought 7-6(9), 6-0 win over Hietaranta. Sheldon picked up MSU's second point of the match with a three-set comeback victory over Linquet on court two. Sheldon won his first set 6-4 before falling 1-6 in the second. He fought back in the third set, 7-6(10), to secure his eighth singles win of the season.
At No. 3 singles, Maruyama defeated Baylis, 6-4, 6-1, while Pero fell to Gleason, 6-1, 6-2, at No. 4, junior Graydon Lair fell to Mueller, 7-6(4), 6-1, at No. 5 and Wiedenhorn defeated Saye 6-4, 6-3 at No. 6.
MADISON, Wis. - Michigan State men's tennis fell to No. 52 Wisconsin, 5-2, Sunday afternoon in Madison in its second-straight Big Ten road match.
MSU drops to 6-9 (0-2 B1G), while the Badgers move to 8-6 (1-1 B1G).
Wisconsin secured the doubles point to kick off the match with wins at the No. 2 and No. 3 positions. Playing in their second-straight match on court one, freshman Ozan Baris and fifth-year senior Anthony Pero topped 41st-ranked Gabriel Huber and Michael Minasyan of Wisconsin, 6-3. At No. 2, junior Luke Baylis and sophomore Josh Portnoy fell 6-4 to the Badgers' Robin Parts and Sebastian Vile, while sophomore Max Sheldon and freshman David Saye dropped their match 6-1 to the Badgers' Jared Pratt and Mihailo Popovic at No. 3 doubles.
The Badgers won four-straight singles matches to clinch the match, but the Spartans picked up a point from Baris on court one with a 6-4, 6-1 win over Pratt for his third-straight singles win. Portnoy earned the second point for the Spartans on court six after a back-and-forth battle with Parts, winning 6-1, 1-6, 7-6(9).
The Spartans kept the matches close on the remaining courts but were unable to match the Badgers on their home court. Sheldon fell to Popovic at No. 2, 6-1, 6-2 at No. 3, Baylis dropped his match at No. 3 to Vile, 6-2, 6-4, Pero fell at No. 5 to Huber, 6-1, 7-5, and junior Graydon Lair fell to Minasyan, 6-4, 6-4 on court five.
MSU returns to action on Thursday, March 30 at 4 p.m., hosting Michigan in East Lansing. Location of the match will be determined based on weather later this week.
Men's Tennis Falls at Nebraska, 5-2 - Michigan State University Athletics
Michigan State men's tennis picked up a pair of wins at No. 1 and No. 2 singles, but was unable to top No. 45 Nebraska, falling 5-2 at the Dillon Tennis Center in
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Spartans Fall to Badgers on the Road - Michigan State University Athletics
Michigan State men's tennis fell to No. 52 Wisconsin, 5-2, Sunday afternoon in Madison in its second-straight Big Ten road match.
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Women's Tennis
EAST LANSING, Mich. — Michigan State women's tennis secured its first Big Ten win, sweeping the visiting Minnesota Golden Gophers 4-0 at the MSU Indoor Tennis Center on Saturday. With the win, MSU moves to 8-7 (1-3 B1G) overall while the Golden Gophers slide to 5-10 (0-4 B1G) on the season.
"It feels really, really good," said head coach Kim Bruno. "We are going to savor this one and hopefully continue the feeling heading into tomorrow."
The Spartans started strong by taking the doubles point for the third-consecutive match in a highly contested opening to the dual. Due to a limited number of players on the Gophers roster, only two doubles matches were played, meaning the first pairing to win would take the doubles point for their team. Down 5-3, the duo of Marley Lambert and Dagmar Zdrubecka held Minnesota's Lucy Lu and Zeyneb Sarioglan at bay as the Spartan pairing of Liisa Vehvilainen and Ayshe Can picked up an emphatic 6-2 win at the No. 1 position to steal the doubles point.
"When those two are getting forward and hitting volleys, I think they are one of the best doubles teams in the country," said Bruno. "They made adjustments and stuck with the plan and that allowed us to clinch that point."
MSU started the singles portion with a 2-0 lead after Minnesota forfeited a point due to insufficient players. The Spartans would then utilize impressive performances at the No. 2 and No. 3 singles positions to earn the clinch.
With Minnesota jumping out to first set leads at three courts, Spartans Can and Lambert were able to put the Green and White in a position to win the dual by taking the lead in their respective matches. Lambert picked up a straight set win in dominant fashion, dispatching Minnesota's Sarioglan 6-0, 6-1 at No. 3 singles for her sixth singles win of the season.
In a highly contested first set at No. 2 singles, Can would fend off Minnesota's Anet Koskel 6-4 before running away with the match, winning the second set without dropping a game for a 6-0 result. Can's fourth singles victory of the season put the finishing touch on the day as the Spartans would clinch the match, 4-0.
"For Ayshe to just come out and win that second set was huge for us," said Bruno. "We needed those two points with Marley and Ayshe because we were down first sets everywhere else and that could have been a totally different match."
In No. 1 and No. 4 singles, Vehvilainen and Nicole Conard were locked in ties in the second set with Minnesota's Zoey Weil and Aiva Schmitz, respectively, with both matches left unfinished. At No. 5 singles, freshman Juliette Nask was locked in a close battle in the second set of her match until play was stopped.
Up next, the Spartans conclude their three-game homestand with a dual against #17 Wisconsin on Sunday, March 26 for Girl Scout Day at the MSU Indoor Tennis Center. First serve is slated for 11 a.m.
RESULTS
DOUBLES
1. Ayshe Can/Liisa Vehvilainen (MSU) def. Zoey Weil/Anet Koskel (MINN) 6-2
2. Marley Lambert/Dagmar Zdrubecka (MSU) vs. Lucy Lu/Zeyneb Sarioglan (MINN) 3-5, unfinished
3. No player/No player (MSU) def. No player/No player (MINN), by forfeit
SINGLES
1. Liisa Vehvilainen (MSU) vs. Zoey Weil (MINN) 3-6, 3-3, unfinished
2. Ayshe Can (MSU) def. Anet Koskel (MINN) 6-4, 6-0
3. Marley Lambert (MSU) def. Zeyneb Sarioglan (MINN) 6-0, 6-1
4. Nicole Conard (MSU) vs. Aiva Schmitz (MINN) 3-6, 4-4, unfinished
5. Juliette Nask (MSU) vs. Lucy Lu (MINN) 1-6, 3-4, unfinished
6. No player (MSU) def. No player (MINN), by forfeit
EAST LANSING, Mich. — Michigan State women's tennis could not overcome early deficits, eventually falling to No. 17 Wisconsin on Sunday at the MSU Indoor Tennis Center, 5-0. With the loss, MSU slides to 8-8 (1-4 Big Ten) while the Badgers move to 14-4 (5-2 Big Ten).
"We weren't probably expected to beat this team, but I still think we have the ability," said head coach Kim Bruno. "We can do some damage to good programs like Wisconsin. We just have to keep moving forward."
The Spartans fought in a highly contested doubles portion, pushing the doubles point to a decisive third match at No. 2 doubles. The Badgers took an early advantage at No. 1 doubles as MSU's pairing of Ayshe Can and Liisa Vehvilainen could not complete the comeback, falling to Xinyu Cai and Alina Mukhortova 6-4. MSU would tie things up just moments later as Nicole Conard and Issey Purser claimed six-straight games en route to a 7-5 win at the No. 3 slot for their third-straight doubles win.
In a thrilling match at No. 2 doubles, Spartans Marley Lambert and Dagmar Zdrubecka fell to Wisconsin's No. 65 pairing of Maria Sholokhova and Ava Markham 6-7 (2) as the Badgers took the opening point.
MSU would start the singles portion at a disadvantage as Can was unable to go in the second half of the dual, forcing the Spartans to shuffle the lineup. With the new lineup, Wisconsin took advantage by jumping out to one-set leads on all six courts.
"It's hard when your number two girl goes out, but it's just part of the game," said Bruno. "People have to be ready, and I thought the girls did the best they could with that situation."
Wisconsin would steal the first two singles points with wins at No. 2 and No. 6 singles as No. 92 Maria Sholokhova defeated MSU's Lambert 6-3, 6-1 at the No. 2 slot. At No. 6 singles, Spartan Tia Mukherjee fell to Wisconsin's Charmaine Seah at No. 6 singles, 6-2, 6-3 as the Badgers stormed off to a 3-0 lead.
The Badgers would clinch the match with simultaneous wins at No. 4 and No. 5 singles as the Spartans could not come back to force a third set. In a valiant effort at No. 4 singles, Conard could not cap off the comeback in the second set, falling to Wisconsin's Taylor Cataldi. Meanwhile, at No. 5 singles, freshman Juliette Nask dropped a close tilt with Wisconsin's No. 113 Xinyu Cai, 6-3, 6-4 as the Badger's took the final two points of the dual to secure the 5-0 win.
Spartan efforts were halted at the No. 1 and No. 3 singles positions after Wisconsin clinched the match. Vehvilainen and Purser were in the third set of their respective matches when play was stopped.
Up next, the Spartans hit the road for a weekend doubleheader, taking on Illinois on Friday, March 31 and capping the weekend with a trip to Northwestern on Sunday, April 2. Friday's match against the Fighting Illini is slated for 5 p.m. ET / 4 p.m. CT and Sunday's match against the Wildcats is scheduled for 1 p.m. ET / noon CT.
RESULTS
DOUBLES
1. Xinyu Cai/Alina Mukhortova (WIS) def. Liisa Vehvilainen/Ayshe Can (MSU) 6-4
2. #65 Maria Sholokhova/Ava Markham (WIS) def. Marley Lambert/Dagmar Zdrubecka (MSU) 7-6 (7-2)
3. Issey Purser/Nicole Conard (MSU) def. Charmaine Seah/Taylor Cataldi (WIS) 7-5
SINGLES
1. Liisa Vehvilainen (MSU) vs. #44 Ava Markham (WIS) 1-6, 6-4, 0-1, unfinished
2. #92 Maria Sholokhova (WIS) def. Marley Lambert (MSU) 6-3, 6-1
3. Issey Purser (MSU) vs. Alina Mukhortova (WIS) 1-6, 6-4, 0-2, unfinished
4. Taylor Cataldi (WIS) def. Nicole Conard (MSU) 6-2, 7-5
5. #113 Xinyu Cai (WIS) def. Juliette Nask (MSU) 6-3, 6-4
6. Charmaine Seah (WIS) def. Tia Mukherjee (MSU) 6-2, 6-3
Order of finish: Doubles (1,3,2); Singles (2,6,4,5)
Can Propels Spartans Sweep of Minnesota - Michigan State University Athletics
Michigan State women's tennis secured its first Big Ten win, sweeping the visiting Minnesota Golden Gophers 4-0 at the MSU Indoor Tennis Center on Saturday.
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No. 17 Badgers Nip Spartans in Homestand Finale - Michigan State University Athletics
Michigan State women's tennis could not overcome early deficits, eventually falling to No. 17 Wisconsin on Sunday at the MSU Indoor Tennis Center, 5-0.
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