Michigan State University
Indiana
Women's Tennis Falls To No. 35 Indiana, 6-1
4/11/2004 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
April 11, 2004
EAST LANSING, Mich. - The Michigan State women's tennis team fell to another nationally-ranked opponent, as the No. 35 Indiana Hoosiers earned a 6-1 victory Sunday at the MSU Indoor Tennis Facility. The loss dropped MSU's record to 7-10 overall and 2-4 in the Big Ten, while Indiana improved to 13-6, 5-1. Each of MSU's last six losses have come against ranked teams.
"The Big Ten is very close," said MSU head coach Tim Bauer. "A lot of the teams are very close in performance and we just didn't capitalize. We played decent but didn't convert that into winning sets and winning matches, so it's back to the drawing board."
The highlight of the day for MSU came at No. 1 singles, where junior Keri Thompson (Clark Lake, Mich.) upset Dora Vastag, who is not only the No. 38-ranked singles player in the nation, but a friend and former Spartan teammate of Thompson's. Vastag transferred to Indiana after spending the last two years at MSU, and Thompson and Vastag grew up playing together at Court One Athletic Clubs in Lansing and against each other in tournaments.
"Dora and I have a lot of history," said Thompson. "We played each other in local tournaments and I never seemed to beat her in those tournaments, but now I believe in myself a lot more. I've beaten other ranked players and I have the confidence."
In the first set, Thompson and Vastag went to a tiebreaker, where Thompson dominated en route to a 7-1 victory in the tiebreaker to take a one-set lead. The second set featured several breaks of serve, but it was Thompson who came through when it counted, winning a lengthy 6-3 set to clinch a victory over the highest-ranked opponent she has beaten to date.
"I got off to a slow start," said Thompson. "I started to think about things too much instead of just playing my game, and she also came out hitting some good shots. But my ability to work the ball, my patience, that was the key. Sometimes I try to go for too much too soon, but I was patient and I jumped on the balls that I needed to, and when she wanted to rally, I would rally back with her."
"It was an awesome match from Keri," said Bauer. "There's a lot of history between those two and I was really excited to see her have a big-time win."
Unfortunately for the Spartans, it would prove to be the only win of the day, as Indiana swept the doubles matches, all by scores of 8-2, and won the other five singles matches. None of the other five Spartan singles players managed to win a set, although freshman Jessica Baron (Miami, Fla.) came close during a 7-5, 6-2 loss at No. 6 singles.
"At the beginning of the season, I felt like we made a few too many unforced errors at any time in points," said Bauer. "Now we're setting up the points well, we're just not converting that last shot. It's like driving all the way down to the 10-yard line and not getting a touchdown out of it. We're putting ourselves in winning positions, we just didn't convert that into wins today."
The Spartans hit the road for the last time during the regular season next weekend when MSU visits No. 55 Purdue Saturday, April 17, and No. 17 Illinois, Sunday, April 18.
No. 35 Indiana 6, Michigan State 1MSU Indoor Tennis FacilityEast Lansing, Mich.April 11, 2004
Singles1. Keri Thompson (MSU) def. #38 Dora Vastag (IU), 7-6(1), 6-32. Linda Tran (IU) def. Caroline Lay (MSU), 6-1, 6-33. Sarah Batty (IU) def. Shelley Brady (MSU), 6-1, 6-24. Laura McGaffigan (IU) def. Sarah Andrews (MSU), 6-2, 6-15. Karie Schlukebir (IU) def. Pascale Schnitzer (MSU), 6-2, 6-26. Cecile Perton (IU) def. Jessica Baron (MSU), 7-5, 6-2
Doubles1. Batty/Tran (IU) def. Thompson/Lay (MSU), 8-22. Vastag/McGaffigan (IU) def. Andrews/Brady (MSU), 8-23. Schlukebir/Grimm (IU) def. Baron/Schnitzer (MSU), 8-2
Players Mentioned
