Michigan State University
Louisville
Women's Tennis Falls Just Short Against Louisville
2/5/2006 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
Feb. 5, 2006
EAST LANSING, Mich. - The Michigan State women's tennis team lost a close match to Louisville Sunday morning, where the meet came down to the final singles match. MSU fell to No. 75 Louisville by a score of 4-3, putting the Spartans' record for the season at 5-2, while the Cardinals improve to 5-1.
Michigan State started the morning of by taking two out of three doubles matches to earn the doubles point. No. 1 doubles pair sophomore Christine Bader (Okemos, Mich.) and junior Sarah Andrews took an early lead in their match, but dropped five straight games to lose, 8-5, to freshman Maria Klokotzky and sophomore Robyn White.
"That was 100 percent Louisville in that match," said coach Tim Bauer. "They stepped it up and took the match right out of our hands."
Spartan freshman Aglaya Kokurina (Tashkent, Uzbekistan) and junior Pascale Schnitzer (Santiago, Chile) paired together for the first time this year to earn an 8-6 victory at the No. 3 doubles spot. At No. 2 doubles, junior Jessica Baron (Miami, Fla.) and freshman Stephanie Kebler (Okemos, Mich.) sealed the doubles point for MSU when they beat Stephania Velazquez and Natalia Baez, 8-2.
In singles play, Louisville was victorious at the No.1, 2 and 4 spots. At No. 1, Bader fell in three sets to Klokotzky and Schnitzer fell to freshman Bianca Gorbea, 6-4, 6-2, at No. 2. Andrews dropped in straight sets to sophomore Suzanna Gracanin at the No. 4 spot.
MSU's two victories in singles play came from Kebler and Kokurina. In the No. 5 spot, Kebler defeated Natalie Laszkowski, 7-5, 5-6, 6-3. At No. 6 singles Kokurina beat freshman Baez in straight sets.
The final match of the competition saw Baron take on White for the final point of the meet. White won the first set 6-4, but Baron battled back in the second set, falling just short, 7-6 (8-6), giving Louisville a 4-3 victory over the Spartans.
"We needed all of our team to compete today," said Bauer. "Less than that isn't going to do it, which is why we didn't get the win. It's difficult to talk about because this team trains hard and works hard, but they have to become better competitors to win matches like these."
MSU is scheduled to face the Toledo Rockets later today at 4 p.m. at the MSU Indoor Tennis Facility.
Louisville, 4 Michigan State, 3
Doubles
No. 1 Maria Klokotzky/Robyn White (LOU) def. Christine Bader/Sarah Andrews (MSU), 8-5
No. 2 Jessica Baron/Stephanie Kebler (MSU) def. Stephania Velazquez/Natalia Baez (LOU), 8-2
No. 3 Pascale Schnitzer/Aglaya Kokurina (MSU) def. Suzanna Gracanin/Natalie Laszkowski (LOU), 8-6
Singles
No. 1 Maria Klokotzky (LOU) def. Christine Bader (MSU), 7-5, 1-6, 6-2
No. 2 Bianca Gorbea (Lou) def. Pascale Schnitzer (MSU), 6-4, 6-2
No. 3 Robyn White (LOU) def. Jessica Baron (MSU), 6-4, 7-6 (8-6)
No. 4 Suzanna Gracanin (LOU) def. Sarah Andrews (MSU), 6-3, 6-3
No. 5 Stephanie Kebler (MSU) def. Natalie Laszkowski (LOU), 7-5, 4-6, 6-3
No. 6 Aglaya Kokurina (MSU) def. Natalia Baez (LOU), 6-4, 7-5
Players Mentioned
