Spartan Women’s Tennis Secures First Road Win Of Season Saturday
Michigan State women’s tennis collects win over James Madison for fifth-straight victory.
LYNCHBURG, Va. – Michigan State women's tennis opened its stay in Lynchburg, Va. with a 4-1 victory against James Madison on Saturday afternoon at Liberty's Indoor Tennis Center. The win was MSU's fifth-straight.
The Spartans and Dukes met on a neutral court at Liberty, with JMU playing Liberty Friday night and Michigan State playing the hosts on Sunday.
With its fifth-straight win, MSU is now 5-2 on the season, while JMU slides to 1-8, after snapping a seven-match losing skid with a 4-1 win over Liberty Friday night.
Michigan State hit the road this weekend after a productive bye-week following their first doubleheader of the season, where the Green & White were victorious against Western Michigan and Eastern Michigan, the Spartans' third and fourth-straight wins.
The junior/redshirt-sophomore tandem of Issey Purser/Oriana Parkins-Godwin were first to prevail in their match on Saturday, securing the first win towards the doubles point with a 6-2 victory over JMU's Hope Moulin and Daria Munteanu.
A similar duo of junior Matilde Morais and redshirt-sophomore Hanna Tsitavets were quick to follow, locking the doubles point for MSU, also prevailing, 6-2, over Elena Kraleva and Corinna Rietmann of JMU.
Singles matches commenced in successful style with Michigan State only allowing JMU one point before securing the match.
First to finish was freshman Amara Brahmbhatt, who continually shows up on the courts during singles. The freshman took her match 6-1, 6-2 in a dominating fashion over Mia Saveljic of JMU.
Adding to the Green & White's success was another freshman, Ellie Blackford, who succeeded in her match against JMU's Ines Oliveira by a 6-1, 6-4 final score.
Officially clinching the win for the Spartans was lone senior Liisa Vehvilainen, defeating the Dukes' Daria Munteanu in her match, 7-5, 6-3.
MSU closes out play in Lynchburg, Va. on Sunday, Feb 16 at 10 a.m., where they will face off against Liberty, hoping to secure their first win in the history of Michigan State women's tennis against the team.
Visit MSUSpartans.com for more information on Michigan State women's tennis. Fans can keep up to date with the Spartan women's tennis team on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter by following @MSU_WTennis
Match Score: Michigan State 4, James Madison 1
DOUBLES DRAWS
1 Ellie Blackford and Liisa Vehvilainen (MSU) vs. #40 Ines Oliveira and Sophie Williams (JMU) 4-3 (UF)
2 Matilde Morais and Hanna Tsitavets (MSU) def. Elena Kraleva and Corinna Rietmann (JMU) 6-2
3 Oriana Parkins-Godwi and Issey Purser (MSU) def. Hope Moulin and Daria Munteanu (JMU) 6-3
Order of finish: 2, 3
SINGLES DRAWS
1 Liisa Vehvilainen (MSU) def. Daria Munteanu (JMU) 7-5, 6-3
2 Matilde Morais (MSU) vs Elena Kraleva (JMU) 5-7, 5-6 UF
3 Ellie Blackford (MSU) def. Ines Oliveira (JMU) 6-1, 6-4
4 Sophie Williams (JMU) def. Oriana Parkins-Godwin (MSU) 6-4, 6-1
5 Amara Brahmbhatt (MSU) def. Mia Saveljic (JMU) 6-2, 6-1
6 Hanna Tsitavets (MSU) Hope Moulin (JMU) 7-6 (7-3), 5-5 UF
Order of finish: 5, 4, 3, 1
Recap courtesy of MSU Athletics.
