Spartans Take On Indiana And Penn State In Last Homestand
4/19/2006 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
April 19, 2006
EAST LANSING, Mich. - The Michigan State women's tennis team finishes up its Big Ten regular season, this weekend, against No. 40 Indiana and Penn State. The Spartans close out the season at home, and will look to improve on their two-match winning streak. Currently, MSU is sixth in the Big Ten, with a 3-5 conference record, and boasts a 13-8 mark overall. The Spartans host Indiana on April 22, starting at 10 a.m. and will play at MSU's Outdoor Tennis Courts, weather permitting.
A Look At The Hoosiers And Nittany Lions:
Indiana will come into East Lansing sitting in third place in the Big Ten. The Hoosiers are ranked No. 35 in the country, thanks in large part to wins over Purdue and Tennessee. Last week, Indiana faced off against Minnesota and No. 30 Iowa. After Blanking the Gophers, 7-0 on Saturday, the Hoosiers fell to Iowa on Sunday, 4-3.
The Hoosiers are a young team, which includes four freshmen and three sophomores. Indiana has a 16-6 overall record and is led by lone senior Sarah Batty. Batty has posted a record of 19-13 this season and has played at the No. 1 spot for Indiana all spring. Teaming with Batty at the top doubles spot is junior Laura McGaffigan. McGaffigan and Batty have gone 7-1 in conference play, with their only loss coming to Northwestern. Last year, Indiana downed MSU, 6-1, in Bloomington.
The Nittany Lions are currently eighth in the Big Ten with a 3-6 league mark and an overall record of 8-10. Last week, Minnesota and Iowa came to Happy Valley, where the Nittany Lions split their weekend matches, defeating Minnesota and falling to the Hawkeyes.
Junior Sasha Abraham leads Penn State, and plays out of the No. 1 singles spot. Freshman Larua Holzberg has also played well as of late for the Nittany Lions, earning two victories last weekend at the No. 5 singles spot. Last year, Penn State hosted the Spartans, defeating them, 5-2.
A Look Back At Last Week:
The Spartans bounced back from their loss to Purdue by defeating Valparaiso, 7-0, on Thursday. MSU took all three doubles matches, giving up only one game in the process. On Sunday, the Spartans played No. 73 Ohio State, in Columbus, pulling out a 4-3 victory over the Buckeyes. The Spartans lost the doubles point, but bounced back to take four-out of-six singles matches to seal the victory. The final match of the day saw freshman Ana Milosavljevic (Johannesburg, South Africa) defeat Angela DiPastina, in three sets, to give the Spartans the come from behind win.
Putting It Together At The Right Time:
Since being put into the line-up on April 9, Milosavljevic has yet to lose. She is undefeated in her last three singles matches, including her first Big Ten win against Purdue and her match-clinching win last weekend against Ohio State. Milosavljevic has also gelled well with doubles partner, Pascale Schnitzer (Santiago,Chile). The two have won their last seven matches together, playing at the No. 3 doubles spot.
Up Next:
After concluding the regular season this weekend, the Spartans will travel to Champaign, Ill. for the Big Ten Championships. Play will start on Thursday, April 27 and run through April 30.
Players Mentioned
