MSU Women's Tennis Concludes Home Season
4/10/2003 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
April 10, 2003
EAST LANSING, Mich. - The Michigan State women's tennis team will wrap up the home portion of its spring season as it takes on No. 56 Purdue Saturday (April 12) and No. 22 Illinois Sunday (April 13). Matches are scheduled to start at 10 a.m. and will be held at the MSU Indoor Tennis Facility on Mt. Hope Road in East Lansing.
The Spartans are 8-10 overall and 0-6 in the Big Ten. Purdue is 9-9 overall and 3-3 in the Big Ten, which puts them in sixth place in the conference. Illinois brings a 12-5 record into East Lansing and a 5-1-conference record, which puts them one win behind Big Ten co-leaders No. 19 Northwestern (13-7, 5-1) and No. 27 Minnesota (13-5, 6-1). The top six teams in the Big Ten are ranked in the top 60 in the nation.
Michigan State is led by junior Caroline Lay (Brisbane, Australia) and sophomore Keri Thompson (Clark Lake), who each have a 28 wins on the season. Thompson leads the team in overall singles victories with 17 and overall Big Ten wins with seven. Lay leads the team in overall doubles victories with 15. Together, Lay and Thompson have combined to post an overall mark of 8-5, 3-2 in Big Ten doubles play. Sophomore Kate Thomas (Long Beach, Calif.) has 22 wins overall, which is third best on the team.
Last season, the Spartans were topped by Purdue, 4-3 in East Lansing and fell to Illinois, 4-3 in Champagne. Purdue is led by Amy Walgenbach, who ranks No. 114 in the nation, while Illinois is led by Jennifer McGaffigan, who ranks No. 69. McGaffigan and teammate Michelle Webb are ranked No. 20 in the country for doubles competition.
The Spartans will wrap up their regular season as they travel to No. 19 Northwestern (April 19) and Wisconsin (April 20).