Michigan State University
Purdue (Big Ten Championships)
Women's Tennis Defeated At Big Ten Championships
4/29/2004 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
April 29, 2004
Evanston, Ill. - The Michigan State women's tennis team had its season come to a close today with a 4-1 loss to No. 50 Purdue in the first round of the Big Ten Women's Championship. The ninth-seeded Boilermakers avenged a 4-3 loss to the No. 8 seed Spartans April 17 in a match that was moved indoors due to high winds in the Chicago area. Michigan State ended its season with an 8-14 record, while Purdue improved to 10-13.
"Purdue played well," said MSU head coach Tim Bauer. "Frankly, they stepped up and outplayed us. I think our team put in a solid effort, but sometimes you just get outplayed. I don't think we got outworked."
Purdue jumped on top 1-0 by winning the doubles point. The Boilermakers' No. 2 team of Hala Sufi and Shawna Zuccarini earned an 8-1 win over freshmen Pascale Schnitzer (Santiago, Chile) and Sarah Andrews (Darwin, Australia), then clinched the point with an 8-0 shutout at No. 3 by Lara Burgarello and Alyssa Rodriguez over MSU freshman Jessica Baron (Miami, Fla.) and junior Karen Gustafson (East Lansing, Mich.). The No. 1 doubles match was abandoned with junior Keri Thompson (Clark Lake, Mich.) and senior Caroline Lay (Brisbane, Australia) holding a 6-3 lead over Melissa Woods and Gretchen Haynor.
In singles, Purdue struck first at No. 3, with Amy Walgenbach defeating Andrews, 6-0, 6-1. Purdue earned its third point at No. 1, where No. 123 Sufi beat Thompson, 6-2, 6-3.
Michigan State finally got on the board at No. 5 singles, where Jessica Baron improved her singles record to 14-7 with a 6-3, 6-3 win over Zuccarini, making the score 3-1.
Purdue closed out the contest at No. 6, when Woods topped Gustafson, 6-0, 6-3. The No. 2 match, where Lay led Rodriguez, 6-4, 2-2, was abandoned, as was the No. 4 contest, where Haynor had a 6-0, 4-5 edge on Schnitzer.
Michigan State's 8-14 final record was almost identical to last year's 8-15 final mark, although the Spartans preformed better in Big Ten play this year, going 3-7 after an 0-10 record last year. Michigan State's No. 8 seed at the Big Ten Championship was its highest ever, and the Spartans' regular season win over Purdue was MSU's first in 13 years.
"I'm very proud of this team," said Bauer. "We worked very hard to build an atmosphere of excellence. I feel like we're making very good progress. We really wanted to get a win today, but that what next year's for.
"We're proud of what we've done but yet we're not satisfied. We have a lot more goals to reach."
Purdue 4, Michigan State 1Combe Indoor Tennis CenterEvanston, Ill.April 29, 2004
Singles1. #123 Hala Sufi (PUR) def. Keri Thompson (MSU) 6-2, 6-32. Caroline Lay (MSU) vs. Alyssa Rodriguez (PUR) abandoned (MSU led 6-4, 2-2)3. Amy Walgenbach (PUR) def. Sarah Andrews (MSU) 6-0, 6-14. Pascale Schnitzer (MSU) vs. Gretchen Haynor (PUR) abandoned (PUR led 6-0, 4-5)5. Jessica Baron (MSU) def. Shawna Zuccarini (PUR) 6-3, 6-36. Melissa Woods (PUR) def. Karen Gustafson (MSU) 6-0, 6-3
Doubles1. Thompson/Lay (MSU) vs. Woods/Haynor (PUR) abandoned (MSU led 6-3)2. Sufi/Zuccarini (PUR) def. Schnitzer/Andrews (MSU) 8-13. Burgarello/Rodriguez (PUR) def. Baron/Gustafson (MSU) 8-0
