Michigan State University
Wildcat Invite
Women's Tennis Opens With Strong Doubles Play
9/25/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
EAST LANSING, Mich. - The Michigan State women's tennis team opened its fall campaign on Friday with a strong 5-1 mark in doubles play before a trio of Spartans posted wins in the singles draw of the Wildcat Invite in Evanston, Illinois. The competition continues on Saturday and will conclude on Sunday.
"This was just the first day, and we had some good results," said head coach Simone Jardim. "Our play in doubles was a pleasant surprise. That will be a big part of tomorrow as we move into the tougher part of the draws."
The day opened with the doubles draw, where MSU won five of its six matches. In the top half of the bracket, sophomore Allie Baer and freshman Emily Metcalf paired up for a two wins. The duo knocked off Renu Sharma and Anna Valeva of Eastern Michigan, 6-2, before battling Pittsburgh's Lolade Ogungbesan and Amber Washington to a 7-5 decision. Freshman Davina Nguyen and junior Athena Trouillot also found their stride early, notching a pair of wins over EMU's Alejandra Barcelo Almonya and Ani Gogvadze, 6-1, and Maddie Johnson and Kenya Williams of Drake, 6-1.
In the bottom half of the doubles draw, sophomore Lexi Baylis, coming off her record-breaking freshman season, and junior Erin Faulkner shutout Zaina Sufi and Jarret Fisher of DePaul, 6-0, after having a first round bye. Junior Anna Zelechonok and sophomore Aslina Chua dropped their opening match as a combination, 6-2, to Pitt's Audrey Ann Blakely and Gabriela Rezende.
In singles play, Metcalf, Nguyen and Trouillot all etched victories. Playing in the purple singles draw, Metcalf beat Rezende in straight sets, 7-5, 6-0, before falling to DePaul's Rebeca Mitrea in the second round, 6-4, 6-3. Nguyen's singles tournament began against Carmen Blanco of Ball State. Following a 6-2, 7-6 (7), win, the Utica, Michigan, native fell in three sets to Northwestern's Maddie Lipp. Trouillot was the lone Spartan to have an unblemished mark in singles play, winning her lone match, 2-1 (ret.), over Williams.
After a first-round bye, Baylis was defeated by DePaul's Marina Cozac, 6-1, 6-1. Chua's afternoon began with a 6-4, 6-0 loss to Illinois-Chicago's Jackie Altansanrai and concluded with a 7-5, 6-3 defeat to Ogungbesan.
In the white singles draw, Zelechonok and junior Emmy Virkus both saw two matches slip away.
"We will look to just keep moving forward and to make adjustments," Jardim said. "We have done that well and are excited for more tennis and chances to improve."
For a complete look at the day's results, visit the updated brackets at the link above.
Players Mentioned
