Michigan State University
Minnesota
Women's Tennis Knocks Off No. 57 Minnesota
4/2/2005 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
April 2, 2005
EAST LANSING, Mich. - The MSU Indoor Tennis Facility appears to be a winning place for the Michigan State women's tennis team as it picked up a 5-2 victory over No. 57 Minnesota on Saturday (April 2). The win marked the Spartans' eighth-straight victory at home. MSU improved to 1-3 in the Big Ten and 11-5 overall while the Gophers dropped to 0-3 in the conference and 5-8 overall.
The Spartans took an early jump over the Gophers by clinching the doubles point with wins at No. 1 and 2. Using that momentum, State went on to take four of the six singles matches to claim its first win over a nationally ranked opponent this year.
At No. 2 singles, Christine Bader (Okemos, Mich.) quickly surpassed Minnesota's Ida Mamlberg, 6-2, 6-2, to give the Spartan squad a 2-0 lead on the Gophers. Sophomore Jessica Baron (Miami, Fla.) defeated Danielle Mousseau at No. 5, 6-3, 6-2, which extended MSU's lead to 3-0. After sophomore Sarah Andrews (Darwin, Australia) downed Marina Bugaenco, 6-2 both sets at No. 6, Michigan State climbed ahead 4-0 to seal in the victory over Gophers.
Senior Keri Thompson (Clark Lake, Mich.) contended with a fierce Nischela Reddy at No. 1. Thompson made Reddy work for every point as Reddy took the first set 7-5. Thompson would regain her rhythm in the second grabbing a 6-2 win. After an aggressive tie-break, Reddy escaped with 11-9 win to grab the point for Minnesota.
Sophomore Pascale Schnitzer (Santiago, Chile) grabbed the first set 7-5, but fell in a hard-hitting 6-4 second set to Lindsay Risebrough. Schnitzer stayed aggressive to take the tie-break 10-8 and the point for MSU at No. 3.
Michigan State will return to action Sunday (April 3) as they host No. 55 Iowa at the MSU Indoor Tennis Center or the MSU Outdoor Tennis Courts pending weather. Please call 517.355.2209 Sunday morning for location. The match will begin at 10 a.m. and is free to the public.
Comments from Head Coach Tim Bauer
"I think today's will win help our players build their own confidence as well as team confidence. It's about them getting a realistic idea of where they are and what they can do. In the Big Ten, you need to step-up for every match, and if you don't, you'll lose. We have the ability to win but we need to make sure we execute that in order to get the win.
"Christine is playing solid tennis and really developing in her freshman season. Keri is in a tough position playing at No. 1, but I think her game is going to continue to rise as we continue the Big Ten season."
Volunteer Assistant Coach Laura Bauer
On today's win over Minnesota: "I think they're getting more confident with every win. We had a solid performance against Minnesota today and it showed us we have the ability to beat nationally ranked opponents. Our level of intensity needs to continue to be high and each player needs to keep focusing on their opponent and what they need to do to get the win."
Final Stats
Minnesota vs. Michigan State4/2/2005 at East Lansing, Mich.
Michigan State 5, #57 Minnesota 1Singles competition:1. Nischela Reddy (MINN) def. #100 Keri Thompson (MSU) 7-6, 6-7, 1-0 (11-9)2. Christine Bader (MSU) def. Ida Malmberg (MINN) 6-2, 6-03. Pascale Schnitzer (MSU) def. Lindsay Risebrough (MINN) 7-5, 4-6, 1-0 (10-8)4. Jane Anderson (MINN) vs. Shelley Brady (MSU) no result5. Jessica Baron (MSU) def. Danielle Mousseau (MINN) 6-3, 6-26. Sarah Andrews (MSU) def. Marina Bugaenco (MINN) 6-2, 6-2
Doubles competition:1. Christine Bader/Keri Thompson (MSU) def. Ida Malmberg/Nischela Reddy (MINN) 8-62. Sarah Andrews/Jessica Baron (MSU) def. Jane Anderson/Lindsay Risebrough (MINN) 8-53. Marina Bugaenco/Danielle Mousseau (MINN) def. Pascale Schnitzer/Karen Gustafson (MSU) 8-5
Match Notes:Minnesota 5-8, 0-3; National ranking #57Michigan State 11-5, 1-3
Players Mentioned
