Michigan State University
Depaul
Women's Tennis Rallies To Down DePaul
2/7/2003 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
Feb. 7, 2003
EAST LANSING, Mich. - The Michigan State women's tennis team defeated DePaul 6-1 Friday night (Feb. 7) to take its overall record to 4-3. The Spartans are now 4-1 at home with the last match of a six-match homestand set for tomorrow (Feb. 8) against Miami-Ohio. The match starts at 10 a.m. at the MSU Indoor Tennis Facility on Mt. Hope Road in East Lansing.
The doubles competition came down to the wire for the Spartans Friday (Feb. 7). Sophomores Kate Thomas (Long Beach, Calif.) and Karen Gustafson (East Lansing) came out on top in an 8-6 thriller over Megan Stewart and Rachel Dybas in the No. 3 position to help claim the doubles point.
"We had to play smart, keep the ball inside the lines and make sure we hit all our targets," said Thomas. "We knew we had to get the doubles point and at the end we were just giving it our all."
Junior Caroline Lay (Brisbane, Australia) and sophomore Keri Thompson (Clark Lake, Mich.) rebounded from last week's loss to No. 72 Eastern Michigan. They defeated Natalie Matko and Brenda Leung, 8-4 at No. 1 doubles. The freshman doubles team of Jean Willman (Alberton, Australia) and Shelley Brady (Grand Blanc) suffered their first loss together as they fell to Marina Parashkevova and Karen Faltudo 8-4 at No. 2 doubles.
In singles play Caroline Lay rallied to defeat Marina Parashkevova, 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 in the No. 1 spot. Jean Willman picked up a win in the No. 2 spot over Brenda Leung as she captured the first set 6-2, fell in the second set 6-1 and rallied back to win the third set 6-3. Shelley Brady battled to victory in another three-set match against Natalie Matko at the No. 3 position. Brady dropped the first set 6-2, won the second set 6-4, and after going down 4 games to 1 in the third set, managed to rally back to win five-straight games for a 6-4 win.
Kate Thomas and Keri Thompson continued to show the depth of the Spartans. Thompson defeated Karen Faltudo, 6-0, 7-5 at the No. 4 spot, while Thomas downed Rachel Dybas, 6-1, 6-4 at the No. 5 singles spot. Karen Gustafson fell to Stephanie Matko, 6-3, 7-5 at the No. 6 position.
"We try to teach the team everyday in practice how to battle and they battled tonight," said MSU head coach Tim Bauer. "That was probably the biggest win of the year so far because we stepped it up when we had to."
Final Results
Feb. 7, 2003MSU def. DePaul 6-1MSU Indoor Tennis Facility, East Lansing
Singles1. Caroline Lay (MSU) def. Marina Parashkevova (D) 4-6, 6-2, 6-22. Jean Willman (MSU) def. Brenda Leung (D) 6-2, 1-6, 6-33. Shelley Brady (MSU) def. Natalie Matko (D) 2-6, 6-3, 6-44. Keri Thompson (MSU) def. Karen Falduto (D) 6-0, 7-55. Kate Thomas (MSU) def. Rachel Dybas (D) 6-1, 6-46. Stephanie Matko (D) def. Karen Gustafson (MSU) 6-3, 7-5
Doubles1. Lay/Thompson (MSU) def. N. Matko/Leung (D) 8-42. Parashkevova/Falduto (D) def. Willman/Brady (MSU) 4-83. Thomas/Gustafson (MSU) def. Stewart/Dybas (D) 8-6
Players Mentioned
