Women's Tennis Continues To Dominate At Home

Feb. 22, 2003

EAST LANSING, Mich. - The Michigan State women's tennis team downed Ball State 7-0 on Saturday (Feb. 22) to improve its overall record to 6-5 and 5-1 in East Lansing. The Spartans will head to Florida for a three-match road stance against Jacksonville (March 1), Richmond (March 2) and Florida A&M (March 5). The Spartans are 0-2 in the Big Ten and will return to conference action against No. 34 Michigan in Ann Arbor on Sat., March 15.

MSU won all three doubles matches to claim the first point of the day. Junior Caroline Lay (Brisbane, Australia) and sophomore Keri Thompson (Clark Lake, Mich.) improved their spring doubles record to 7-1 in an exciting 9-8(4) win against Ball State sophomores Jenny Batty and Leisa Brooks at the No. 1 spot. The freshman team of Jean Willman (Alberton, Australia) and Shelley Brady (Grand Blanc) improved their record to 7-3 with an 8-2 win at the No. 2 doubles position.

"We try to practice like we play and so for the team to come out and do well after a disappointing last weekend, I think shows that we do have standards of play. Today, we stayed focused, played to those standards and picked up a win," said MSU head coach Tim Bauer.

The Spartans dominated singles play as they outscored Ball State 79 games to 35. Keri Thompson has been shining for MSU as she improved her record to a perfect 8-0 in dual competition with a 6-1, 6-2 victory over Jill Wieman at the No. 3 singles position.

"I'm just on a roll and I'm really confident with my game right now," said Thompson. "I feel like I'm hitting everything inside the baseline where I like to be. I've been more focused at practice and the work is paying off."

"I'm extremely proud of Keri," added Bauer. "She has had to really face all of her weaknesses and work extremely hard. Our motto is 'hard work pays off,' and she is definitely one of our hardest workers."

Final Results

Feb. 22, 2003MSU defeats Ball State 7-0MSU Indoor Tennis Facility, East Lansing
Singles1. Caroline Lay (MSU) def. Leisa Brooks (BS) 6-2, 6-42. Jean Willman (MSU) def. Jenny Batty (BS) 6-3, 6-13. Keri Thompson (MSU) def. Jill Wieman (BS) 6-1, 6-24. Shelley Brady (MSU) def. Susan Kelley (BS) 6-2, 6-35. Karen Gustafson (MSU) def. Alyce Zollman (BS) 6-1, 6-26. Kate Thomas (MSU) def. Kara Sullivan (BS) 6-7, 7-5, 6-2
Doubles1. Lay/Thompson (MSU) def. Batty/Brooks (BS) 9-8(4)2. Brady/Willman (MSU) def. Wieman/Zollman (BS) 8-23. Gustafson/Thomas (MSU) def. Sullivan/Kelley (BS) 8-4

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Players Mentioned

Shelley Brady