No. 50 Women's Tennis Finishes Regular Season
4/15/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
EAST LANSING, Mich. - The No. 50 Michigan State women's tennis team wraps up the 2015 regular season on the road this weekend at No. 52 Penn State and No. 17 Ohio State. The Spartans come into the weekend at 16-6 and at 5-4 in the Big Ten Conference. The Spartans play at Penn State on Friday, April 17 at 4 p.m. from the Sarni Tennis Center. Michigan State will finish the regular season on Sunday, April 19 at 12 p.m. at Ohio State.
"This weekend is another opportunity for us to finish the season strong," said head coach Simone Jardim. "We have been training hard and preparing for the last weeks of our season. I feel that we are in a good place as a team and getting physically and mentally ready to fight for every match."
CHAMPIONS IN THE CLASSROOM
Seven Spartans received honors at the 2015 Spartan Academic Excellence Gala on Monday. Sophomore Erin Faulkner, senior Julianne Gruber, senior Hilary Hager, junior Emily Meyers, senior Catherine Parenteau, sophomore Athena Trouillot and sophomore Emmy Virkus were all named to the honor roll. Emily Meyers claimed the highest grade point average on the team.
RECORD BREAKING BAYLIS
Freshman Lexi Baylis broke the school record against Indiana on Saturday, April 4th for the single-season singles victories at 28. Baylis holds a record of 29-7 on the year in singles.
B1G START
Michigan State is 5-4 in Big Ten play this season. The 5-0 start in Big Ten play tied the longest Big Ten win streak in school history. In 1986 from April 16-26, the Spartans defeated Michigan, Purdue, Illinois, Ohio State and Iowa.
B1G TURNAROUND
The Spartans tied last season's conference wins total. In 2014, the Spartans tallied five Big Ten wins, the most since the 1991 season.
AROUND THE CORNER
With Iowa losing this past weekend, the Spartans secured a spot at the 2015 Big Ten Championships in Evanston, Illinois. The top 10 teams in the conference qualify. The tournament begins Thursday, April 23 and will continue through Sunday, April 26.
IN THE RANKINGS
Michigan State is No. 50 in the latest ITA rankings. The Spartans' No. 37 ranking three weeks ago was the highest in school history.
CATHERINE "CLUTCH" PARENTEAU
Senior Catherine Parenteau is 3-0 this season when the match comes down to her. Parenteau capped off the 3-1 comeback on March. 15 vs. No. 61 Nebraska and on Jan. 26 vs. No. 72 Fresno State Parenteau also sealed the match on senior weekend against Illinois on March 28. Parenteau has won five of her last eight matches.
NO RETREAT, NO SURRENDER
The Spartans have come from behind to win in five matches this season. The Spartans came back from 3-0 on Jan. 26 vs. No. 72 Fresno State and from deficits against No. 61 Nebraska, Wisconsin, No. 63 Minnesota and No. 66 Illinois.
KEYS TO SUCCESS
Michigan State is 12-0 this season when winning the doubles point. The Spartans are also 12-0 when sophomore Athena Trouillot wins in singles play. MSU is 9-0 when freshman Allie Baer wins in doubles play and 7-0 when Catherine Parenteau wins in doubles.
DYNAMITE IN DUAL MATCHES
The Michigan State women's tennis team has three players who are unbeaten so far this season in singles play in dual matches. Allie Baer is 4-0; sophomore Anna Zelechonok is 2-0, while freshman Colleen O'Brien is 1-0.
LAST WEEKEND RECAP
The Spartans lost at No. 14 Michigan on Friday, April 10th, 7-0. The No. 14 Wolverines proved too much to handle sweeping the match.
No. 52 NITTANY LION NOTES
Penn State comes into the match at 11-9 and 7-2 in the Big Ten. The Nittany Lions have come alive after dropping eight of their first 10 matches. Penn State comes into the match the winner of its last seven, including wins over No. 43 Indiana, No. 47 Maryland and No. 28 Purdue. Penn State is led by sophomore Katia Blik, who has posted a 9-17 singles record this season and is 3-9 at No. 1 singles.
BREAKING OPEN THE No. 17 BUCKEYES
Ohio State is coming into the weekend with a 17-4 record and a perfect 9-0 record in the Big Ten. Ohio State and Michigan compete Friday to decide who will take the Big Ten regular season title in Columbus, Ohio. The Buckeyes boast the No. 45 ranked doubles team in the nation with sophomore Sandy Niehaus and sophomore Gabriella De Santis. De Santis has also posted a 7-1 record at No. 1 singles this season and is 15-8 on the year in singles play.
Players Mentioned
