Michigan State University
Wisconsin
Women's Tennis Notches First Conference Win
3/26/2006 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
March 26, 2006
EAST LANSING, Mich. - The MSU women's tennis team earned its first Big Ten win of the year when they beat the Badgers, 5-2. The Spartans record now sits at 10-5 overall and 1-2 in conference play.
Michigan State started off strong, winning the No. 1 and No. 2 doubles matches to give the Spartans the doubles point. Sophomore Christine Bader (Okemos, Mich.) and partner Sarah Andrews (Darwin, Australia) beat Nicole Beck and Kaylan Caiati at the No. 1 spot, 8-4. Caiati filled in for Beck's usual partner, Caitlin Burke, who was injured.
Jessica Baron (Miami, Fla.) and Stephanie Kebler (Okemos, Mich.) also won their doubles match by beating the tandem of Morgan Tuttle and Chelsea Nusslock, 8-5.
MSU's third doubles pairing fell in a tie breaker, after the first two doubles matches had been decided. Junior Pascale Schnitzer (Santiago, Chile) and freshman Marianne Eelens (Noord, Aruba) lost in a close match to the freshman duo of Erin Jobe and Elizabeth Carpenter, by a score of 8-7 (11-9).
Singles play saw the Spartans earn four victories, three of which came in three sets. Bader's No. 1 singles match saw her win the first set, 6-2, but loose the next by the same score. Bader prevailed to win the third set, 6-4, to beat Caiati. Bader's doubles partner, Sarah Andrews also won her match in three sets against Erin Jobe. After taking the first set, 6-2, and narrowly losing the second, 7-5, Andrews bounced back to win the third set, 6-3.
Stephanie Kebler also won in three sets, defeating Carpenter, 6-2, 2-6, 6-3, in the No. 4 singles match.
At the No. 3 singles spot, Baron defeated Beck, winning the first set 6-4. In the second set, Beck rallied to win 7-6 (4), only to be stopped by Baron who won a ten point tie-breaker to win the match, 1-0 (10-6).
"Wisconsin played tough," said interim coach Brett Page. "It's a good win for the girls, and I'm happy for them."
The Spartans' two losses on the day came, when Schnitzer fell in a hard fought three-set match to Chelsea Nusslock, 6-3, 4-6, 6-3. Eelens lost in straight sets to Tuttle in the No. 6 singles match.
Michigan State will play again when they take to the road on April 1, to play the Iowa Hawkeyes in Iowa City, and then travel to Minneapolis to take on the Golden Gophers of Minnesota.
MSU 5 WIS 2
Doubles
No.1 Christine Bader/Sarah Andrews (MSU) def. Nicole Beck/Kaylan Caiati (WIS), 8-4
No.2 Jessica Baron/Stephanie Kebler (MSU) def. Morgan Tuttle/Chelsea Nusslock (WIS), 8-5
No.3 Elizabeth Carpenter/Erin Jobe (WIS) def. Pascale Schnitzer/Marianne Eelens (MSU), 8-7 (11-9)
Singles
No.1 Bader (MSU) def. Caiati (WIS), 6-2, 2-6, 6-4.
No.2 Nusslock (WIS) def. Schnitzer (MSU), 6-3, 4-6, 6-3
No.3 Baron (MSU) def. Beck (WIS), 6-4, 6-7 (4), 1-0 (10-6)
No.4 Kebler (MSU) def. Carpenter (WIS), 6-2, 2-6, 6-3
No.5 Andrews (MSU) def. Jobe (WIS), 6-2, 5-7, 6-3
No.6 Tuttle (WIS) def. Eelens (MSU), 6-4, 6-0
Order of Finish
Doubles: 1, 2, 3
Singles: 6, 4, 1, 5, 2, 3
Players Mentioned
