Michigan State University
Minnesota
No. 71 Michigan State Handles No. 57 Minnesota, 4-3
4/5/2008 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
April 5, 2008
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EAST LANSING, Mich. - The No. 71 Michigan State women's tennis team upset No. 57 Minnesota, 4-3, in a back-and-forth match on Saturday afternoon at the MSU Outdoor Tennis Courts in East Lansing. In the first outdoor match of the season, the Spartans came out tough, winning the doubles point. MSU then took out the Gophers in three of six flights to clinch the match. Michigan State improves to 11-8 (2-3 Big Ten) on the season, while Minnesota falls to 11-7 (1-5 Big Ten).
The Spartans took the early lead, taking down Minnesota in two of three doubles flights, earning the 1-0 advantage. Christine Bader and Whitney Wilson played a tight match at No. 1, and came up with the win over Minnesota's Karina Chiarelli and Lindsay Risebrough, 8-6. At No. 3, Stephanie Kebler and Lindsey Lonergan picked up their seventh win of the season, defeating Danielle Mousseau and Mikayla Rogers, 8-4.
In singles action, Minnesota's Alessanda Ferrazzi quickly tied up the score, 1-1, as she defeated No. 113 Bader, 6-0, 6-1. The Gophers then took the lead, 2-1, after MSU's Ana Milosavljevic fell to Tijana Koprivica, 6-2, 6-1, at No. 4, but MSU's Manon Noe soon evened things up, downing Karina Chiarelli in straight sets at No. 3, 6-3, 6-4. MSU's Whitney Wilson gave the Spartans back the 1-point lead, taking out Rogers, 6-4, 6-1, at No. 6.
With No. 2 and No. 5 singles in 3-set marathon matches, the Spartans led the Gophers 3-2.
Minnesota kept the suspense, tying it up once again, 3-3, as Risebrough clipped MSU's Kebler at No. 2, 3-6, 6-4, 6-3. But with the match on her shoulders, Lindsey Lonergan came up with the match-clinching win over Minnesota's Jackie Sperling at No. 5, 7-5, 2-6, 6-3.
"This was a great win for us today, starting with the doubles point," said MSU head coach Erica Perkins. "Minnesota was very strong at No. 1 and No. 2 doubles, and I felt like it was a huge win for us to come back and win at No. 1. Whitney Wilson really stepped up with a big service game to put us in position to clinch the point. In singles, we had three really great individual performances and that got us the points we needed. I was very happy for Manon Noe, who avenged a fall loss to Chiarelli. That being said, we will need to be much tougher at every spot to challenge Iowa tomorrow."
Michigan State continues play tomorrow as it plays host to No. 46 Iowa at 11 a.m. at the MSU Outdoor Tennis Courts. Check with msuspartans.com for any time or location changes.
Players Mentioned
