Spartan Women’s Tennis Loses Hard-Fought Battle to No. 17 USC
EAST LANSING, Mich. - Michigan State women's tennis had its four-match winning streak halted by No. 17 Southern California, 6-1, Friday evening at the MSU Indoor Tennis Facility.In a match that was much closer than the final score indicated, MSU took the doubles point before USC found its way during singles action.
"Our fight today was amazing. It was everything that we have been talking about, and they put it together," MSU head coach Kim Bruno said. "We just got edged out, not necessarily talent wise. They made better decisions under pressure, and they did things just a little bit better than we did."
The Spartans came out hot, capturing the doubles point with two of three matches. On court two, the pair of junior Liisa Vehilainen and sophomore Matilde Morais defeated Lily Fairclough and McKenna Koenig, 6-2. The Trojans fought back to take the match on court three with No. 52 Parker Fry and Grace Piper defeating sophomore Issey Purser and freshman Ria Bhakta, 6-3.
Just moments later, MSU won the key doubles point on court one with senior Ayshe Can and graduate student Nicole Conard stopping No. 15 Eryn Cayetano and Emma Charney, 6-2.
"We have been hammering to them to be the aggressive team in doubles, and they just went out and did it on their terms," Bruno added. "We were the first ones getting the volleys, and the first ones striking, and man did it pay off. It was a really fun point to win."
The Trojans tied the match up at 1-1 with a win on court four with Piper defeating Purser in straight sets, 6-2, 6-4. USC went up 2-1 with a victory on court one with No. 53 Snow Han sweeping Morais, 6-2, 6-1. No. 20 Charney made it 3-1 USC with a 7-5, 6-4 win over Can on court two.
The final three matches all came down to the third set. Despite valiant efforts from the Spartans, the Trojans came away with the final three singles matches to take the 6-1 victory.
Women's Tennis Victorious Over Xavier, 5-2
EAST LANSING, Mich. – Despite an early 2-0 deficit, Michigan State women's tennis dominated singles for five unanswered points to guide itself to a 5-2 victory over visiting Xavier on Sunday afternoon inside the MSU Indoor Tennis Facility.With the victory, the Spartans have won five of their last six duals and improve to 6-3 overall. The Muskateers drop to 6-3.
"I think we showed in doubles we were nervous and some things didn't play as good as we would've liked," said MSU head coach Kim Bruno. "I think it was the best thing that could've happened to them, when we're down we're not out. These girls showed they can keep fighting and find ways to win. I'm really proud of them."
On the doubles court, the Muskateers would take the doubles point on court one with Anna Roggenburk and Imani Graham took down senior Ayshe Can and graduate Nicole Conard 6-3. Xavier tandem of Emily Flowers and Sofia Mazzucato secured the doubles point in a back-and-forth battle against sophomore Matilde Morais and junior Liisa Vehvilainen on court three. The Green and White duo would battle back from a 0-2 deficit to take a 5-4 lead but would drop the next three sets to fall, 7-5.
The Spartan pairing of sophomore Issey Purser and freshman Ria Bhakta cruised their way over Abby Nugent and Ellie Brotherton 6-1 to finish first on court two.
Xavier looked to keep the winning going over on the singles court as Sofia Mazzucato swept sophomore Issey Purser 7-5, 6-3 on court five.
From there, it was all Michigan State as it took the next five courts. Can would give the Spartans their first point of the day as she got revenge over Roggenburk in straight sets 6-2, 7-5 on court two. Freshman and team leader with five singles victories, Ria Bhakta on court four dished out a 6-4, 6-3 sweep to tie the score 2-2. Bhakta is a perfect 3-0 on court four.
Michigan State would lock the victory moments later with victories from freshman Natalie Stasny 6-4, 7-5 on court six and Vehvilainen 6-3, 7-6 [7-3] on court three. Out on court one for the Spartans was sophomore Matilde Morais who faced Imani Graham in the lone court that went to three sets. The Cascais, Portugal, native edged out the victory 6-4 to end the day for the Green and White.
The Spartans will close out their six-match homestand when they face Columbia on Sunday, Feb. 25 at 11 a.m.
Recap courtesy of MSU Athletics.
