Spartans Coast To 6-1 Victory Over Ball State
2/12/2006 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
Feb. 12, 2006
MUNCIE, Ind. - Michigan State breezed to victory over the Ball State Cardinals Sunday afternoon to conclude its weekend road trip at 2-0. MSU came out on top, 6-1, to improve to 8-2 on the season, while the Cardinals fell to 5-3. Ball State is the second MAC team MSU beat this weekend, the first being Miami University on Friday.
"I was disappointed in our doubles play, even though we got the point," said coach Tim Bauer. "Like any other sport, you're trained to run plays and either you execute or you don't, and I felt like we didn't execute. Our singles play though, I was quite pleased with."
The Spartans played well in singles action, led by No.1 singles player sophomore Christine Bader (Okemos, Mich.), who took care of junior Jessica Thompson, 6-0, 6-4. Bader also won at the No. 1 doubles spot with partner Sarah Andrews (Darwin, Australia).
Junior Pascale Schnitzer (Santiago, Chile) defeated sophomore Stephanie Farrar, 6-2, 6-1 to go along with her doubles victory, where she teamed with freshman Ana Milosavljevic. Schnitzer and Milosavljevic defeated sophomore Jennifer Pollack and freshman Rachael Lemar, 8-5 at the No. 3 doubles spot.
Milosavljevic also earned a victory playing in the sixth singles spot over fellow freshman Emma Retter, 6-0, 6-1.
Junior Jessica Baron defeated Pollack at the third singles spot, 6-3, 6-1, giving Baron eight wins in her last nine singles matches. Baron and doubles partner, freshman Stephanie Kebler (Okemos, Mich.) fell however, to Farrar and senior Katie Owens, 8-2.
Kebler went on to win her singles match against sophomore Haly Calderwood, 6-2, 6-2, upping her win streak in singles play to nine matches.
"We were challenged this weekend in a way that was quite good for us," said Bauer. "I feel like we came through and stood up to the challenge successfully. At the same time, I feel it gives us quite a bit of direction as to what we need to sharpen up on in the next couple of weeks in practice. I think the best you can hope for on the road is to win and find any areas where you need work, so you can rise to the next level for your next performance."
MSU's only singles loss of the day came when Andrews fell in straight sets to Owens.
The MSU women's tennis team will not play again until next month when they travel to Miami, Fla., to take on Boston University on March 7, at noon.
Michigan State 6, Ball State 1
Singles
No. 1 -- Christine Bader (MSU) def. Jessica Thompson (BSU) 6-0, 6-4
No. 2 -- Pascale Schnitzer (MSU) def. Stephanie Farrar (BSU) 6-2, 6-1
No. 3 -- Jessica Baron (MSU) def. Jennifer Pollack (BSU) 6-3, 6-1
No. 4 -- Stephanie Kebler (MSU) def. Haly Calderwood (BSU) 6-2, 6-2
No. 5 -- Katie Owens (BSU) def. Sarah Andrews (MSU) 6-3, 7-6
No. 6 -- Ana Milosavljevic (MSU) def. Emma Retter (BSU) 6-0, 6-1
Doubles
No. 1 -- Bader/Andrews (MSU) def. Thompson/Calderwood (BSU) 8-6
No. 2 -- Farrar/Owens (BSU) def. Kebler/Baron (MSU) 8-2
No. 3 -- Milosavljevic/Schnitzer (MSU) def. Pollack/Rachel Lemar 8-5
Players Mentioned
