Michigan State University
Northwestern
Spartan Tennis Falls To No. 2 Northwestern, 6-1
3/27/2005 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
March 27, 2005
EVANSTON, Ill. - The No. 75 Michigan State women's tennis team had another tough test as it continued Big Ten play on the road, facing No. 2 Northwestern (13-2, 3-0) on Sunday afternoon (March 27) at the Combe Tennis Center. The Spartans (10-5, 0-3) were able to pick up only one point against the nation's second-best team as the `Cats downed the Spartans, 6-1.
The Wildcats, the defending Big Ten champions, quickly took the lead against the Spartans sweeping all three doubles matches. The Spartans best chance for a doubles win came at No. 1 as senior Keri Thompson (Clark Lake, Mich.) and freshman Christine Bader (Okemos, Mich.) put up a respectable fight against the nation's No. 1 tandem of Audra Cohen and Cristelle Grier. The Spartans lost the match, 8-5.
MSU's only point came from sophomore Jessica Baron (Miami, Fla.) at No. 5 singles, as she grabbed a 6-4, 6-0 win over NU'S Jamie Peisel.
Northwestern brought three nationally-ranked singles players to the contest against the Spartans. Despite the rankings, MSU was not intimidated and made the `Cats work for every point.
At No. 1, Thompson, ranked No. 100 in the country, took the lead in the first set 4-3, but gave up the next three games as she was defeated by No. 3 Cohen, 6-4, 6-1. Bader again put up another good fight at No. 2 singles as she picked up the first set 6-4 over No. 13 Grier. The second set went to NU and in a third set tiebreaker, Grier came out with the win to clinch the point.
Michigan State hosts Minnesota Saturday (April 2) and Iowa Sunday (April 3). Both matches will begin at 10 a.m. at the MSU Indoor Tennis Facility.
Head Coach Tim Bauer's Comments Following MSU's Match Against Northwestern
"I think NU is a tough team," said head coach Tim Bauer. "There were some very big bright spots for us as Thompson and Bader pulled out five points against the No. 1 team. I think we played some great tennis against the best competition we have faced all year. Those two played a great doubles match despite the loss. Keri playing No. 3 Cohen had a chance to win the first set and battled hard through out the rest of the match. Cohen just proved to be a little too much in the second half. Bader played No. 13 Grier and won the first set, but unfortunately she lost 10-6 in the tiebreaker. I'm proud of the composure she maintained and it was a fantastic performance from a freshman. I expect we'll see a lot more of her in the future.
"Jessica is one of the better players at her position and there is a certain mind-set she needs to play. She brought that today and it was exciting for her.
"Overall, our team had a chance to measure itself against a better team in the country. We walked away realizing that with a little more work we can score these victories. Luckily, there is a lot of the season left."
Results
DoublesNo. 1 - #1 Cohen/Grier (NU) def. Thompson/Bader (MSU), 8-5No. 2 - #29 Prousis/Roemer (NU) def. Andrews/Brady (MSU), 8-3No. 3 - Vladea/Peisel (NU) def. Gustafson/Schnitzer (MSU), 8-1
SinglesNo. 1 - #3 Audra Cohen (NU) def. #100 Keri Thompson (MSU), 6-4, 6-1No. 2 - #13 Cristelle Grier (NU) def. Christine Bader (MSU), 4-6, 6-3, 1-0(10-6)No. 3 - #64 Alexis Prousis (NU) def. Pascale Schnitzer (MSU), 6-2, 6-0No. 4 - Valerie Vladea (NU) def. Shelley Brady (MSU), 6-0, 6-3No. 5 - Jessica Baron (MSU) def. Jamie Peisel (NU), 6-4, 6-0No. 6 - Andrea Yung (NU) def. Sarah Andrews (MSU), 6-0, 6-1
FINAL SCORE: Northwestern 6, Michigan State 1
Players Mentioned
