No. 75 Spartan Women’s Tennis Upsets Second-Straight Opponent in 4-2 Win Against No. 33 Penn State
Michigan State upsets Nittany Lions for second upset in a row.
EAST LANSING, Mich. – No. 75 Michigan State women's tennis secured their second-straight upset of the season with a 4-2 Victory for MSU over No. 33 Penn State on Saturday afternoon at the MSU Indoor Tennis Center.
The Spartans improve to a 2-1 Big Ten record going into their match on Sunday against No. 10 Ohio State. MSU now holds an overall record of 10-4.
Saturday's win was the Spartans' second-straight upset, as they knocked off No. 44 ranked Nebraska, 4-2, on March 9 on the Huskers' court.
PSU slides to 11-2 overall with Saturday's loss, and the Nittany Lions suffered their first B1G loss, now 2-1 in conference competition.
Play opened with doubles matches against the Lions, where the Spartans forced all three matches to play out, ultimately falling to the Lions in the third and final doubles match.
On No. 1 doubles, freshman Ellie Blackford and senior Liisa Vehvilainen were first to finish, with their Big Ten foes, Olivia Dorner and Maiko Uchijims, defeating them 6-0.
Evening the score on No. 3 doubles was freshman Amara Brahmbhatt and junior Matilde Morais, who took their match in a swift success of 6-3.
With the pressure on at No. 2 doubles, junior Issey Purser and redshirt-sophomore Oriana Parkins-Godwin battled back from being down two points, forcing a tie-break against Penn State's Jordina Cegarra and Patricia Grigoras.
In the tie-break, the Purser/Parkins-Godwin tandem ultimately fell 6-7 (5-7) in a consistent back and forth battle.
Being down 0-1 after the doubles point, the Green & White knew what had to be done in singles matches.
Again evening the score was Amara Brahmbhatt, making her first appearance at No. 2 singles, dominating PSU's Maiko Uchijima, 6-1, 6-3.
The Lions did not let this hold them back, quickly going up again at No. 3 singles, with Morais being defeated by Patricia Grigoras 3-6, 4-6.
Pressure was on, and Oriana Parkins-Godwin delivered in her match at No. 6 singles. The redshirt-sophomore came back from losing her first set, reverse sweeping Maria Ciubotaru 3-6, 6-1, 6-1.
Following in suite was Liisa Vehvilainen at No. 1 singles, defeating Olivia Dorner 6-3, 6-4.
The Green and White were 3-2, waiting on either Purser or redshirt-sophomore Hanna Tsitavets to finish their match..
Tsitavets ultimately clinched the match and the Victory for MSU, securing her match at No. 5 singles 7-5, 6-4 against Penn State's Yvonne Zuffova.
With Tsitavets securing the match in the Spartans favor, Purser's match went unfinished, 2-6, 6-4, 3-5.
MSU women's tennis returns to the courts on Sunday, March 16 against No. 10 ranked Ohio State at 12 p.m. at the MSU Indoor Tennis Center.
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
Tennis Match Results
Penn State vs Michigan State
3/15/2025 at East Lansing, Mich.
(MSU Indoor Tennis Center)
#75 Michigan State 4, #33 Penn State 2
Singles competition
1. Liisa Vehvilainen (MSU-W) def. Olivia Dorner (PSU) 6-3, 6-4
2. Amara Brahmbhatt (MSU-W) def. Maiko Uchijima (PSU) 6-1, 6-3
3. Patricia Grigoras (PSU) def. Matilde Morais (MSU-W) 6-3, 6-4
4. Issey Purser (MSU-W) vs. Jelena Vico (PSU) 2-6, 6-4, 3-5, unfinished
5. Hanna Tsitavets (MSU-W) def. Yvonne Zuffova (PSU) 7-5, 6-4
6. Oriana Parkins-Godwi (MSU-W) def. Maria Ciubotaru (PSU) 3-6, 6-1, 6-1
Doubles competition
1. Olivia Dorner/Maiko Uchijima (PSU) def. Ellie Blackford/Liisa Vehvilainen (MSU-W) 6-0
2. Jordina Cegarra/Patricia Grigoras (PSU) def. Issey Purser/Oriana Parkins-Godwi (MSU-W) 7-6 (7-5)
3. Matilde Morais/Amara Brahmbhatt (MSU-W) def. Jelena Vico/Yvonne Zuffova (PSU) 6-3
No. 75 Spartan Women’s Tennis Upsets Second-Straight Opponent in 4-2 Win Against No. 33 Penn State - Michigan State University Athletics
No. 75 Michigan State women's tennis secured their second-straight upset of the season with a 4-2 Victory for MSU over No. 33 Penn State on Saturday afternoo...
No. 75 MSU Women’s Tennis Clipped by No. 10 Ohio State Buckeyes
Following two conference upsets, the Spartans fell to Ohio State on Sunday
EAST LANSING, Mich. – No. 75 Michigan State women's tennis was clipped by the No. 10 ranked Ohio State Buckeyes following two Big Ten Conference upsets on Sunday, 0-4.
The Spartans now have a 10-5 overall record, while holding a 2-2 Big Ten Conference record, going into their trip to the West Coast next weekend.
Ohio State now holds an 8-2 overall record and 2-1 Big Ten Conference record, falling to No. 7 ranked Michigan just one day prior to their match against the Spartans.
Play commenced on Sunday with a new doubles lineup for the Spartans, with junior Issey Purser and redshirt-sophomore Oriana Parkins-Godwin taking the No. 1 doubles spot.
In their match against the No. 32 ranked Teah Chavez/Luciana Perry duo, the pair put up a strong performance against the dominating duo, ultimately falling 4-6.
At No. 3 doubles, freshman Amara Brahmbhatt and junior Matilde Morais had a difficult start to their day, falling to the Buckeye's Sophia Cisse-Ignatie/Nao Nishino.
With Ohio State clinching the doubles point, redshirt-sophomore Natalie Stasny and senior Liisa Vehvilainen's match at No. 2 doubles went unfinished.
While the Green & White put up a valiant effort against Ohio State, the Buckeyes were quick in their pursuit to clinch the match in their favor.
No. 6 singles was taken by OSU's Alessia Cau, who was a last-minute addition to the Buckeyes' lineup against Stasny. The Spartan fell 2-6, 2-6 in her second match of the day.
Quickly following was Vehvilainen's match at No. 1 singles against No. 7 ranked Luciana Perry, where the senior fell, 2-6, 2-6.
Wrapping up the match was Purser at No. 4 singles, where the junior dropped her match against No. 87 ranked Shelly Berenyak 1-6, 3-6.
With OSU clinching the match, the rest of singles matches went unfinished.
The Spartans travel to the West Coast next weekend to face their new Big Ten opponents USC on Saturday, Mar. 22 at 3 p.m. ET / 12 p.m. PT and UCLA on Sunday, Mar. 23 at 1 p.m. ET / 10 a.m. PT.
Following their weekend on the West Coast, the Spartans return home for another weekend of Big Ten action against Northwestern on Friday, Mar. 28 at 5 p.m., where the team will celebrate lone senior Liisa Vehvilainen, in the Spartan Senior Celebration, sponsored by HAP. MSU then faces off against Illinois on Sunday, Mar. 30 at 10 a.m.
All Spartan home women's tennis matches are the MSU Indoor Tennis Center.
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.
Tennis Match Results
Ohio State vs Michigan State
3/16/2025 at East Lansing, Mich.
(MSU Indoor Tennis Center)
#10 Ohio State 4, #75 Michigan State 0
Singles competition
1. #7 Luciana Perry (OSU) def. Liisa Vehvilainen (MSU-W) 6-2, 6-2
2. Amara Brahmbhatt (MSU-W) vs. #43 Teah Chaves (OSU) 2-6, 5-6, unfinished
3. Matilde Morais (MSU-W) vs. Nao Nishino (OSU) 3-6, 2-3, unfinished
4. #87 Shelly Bereznyak (OSU) def. Issey Purser (MSU-W) 6-1, 6-3
5. Hanna Tsitavets (MSU-W) vs. Sydni Ratliff (OSU) 2-6, 2-3, unfinished
6. Alessia Cau (OSU) def. Natalie Stasny (MSU-W) 6-2, 6-2
Order Of Finish: 3, 1
Doubles competition
1. Teah Chaves/Luciana Perry (OSU) def. Issey Purser/Oriana Parkins-Godwi (MSU-W) 6-4
2. Liisa Vehvilainen/Natalie Stasny (MSU-W) vs. Sydni Ratliff/Dani Schoenly (OSU) 3-5, unfinished
3. Sophia Cisse-Ignatie/Nao Nishino (OSU) def. Matilde Morais/Amara Brahmbhatt (MSU-W) 6-0
Order Of Finish: 6, 1, 4
No. 75 MSU Women’s Tennis Clipped by No. 10 Ohio State Buckeyes - Michigan State University Athletics
No. 75 Michigan State women's tennis was clipped by the No. 10 ranked Ohio State Buckeyes following two Big Ten Conference upsets on Sunday, 0-4.
