Michigan State University
Indiana
Spartans Dominate Hoosiers, 4-0, in Big Ten Home Opener
3/23/2018 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
March 23, 2018
EAST LANSING, Mich. - The Michigan State women's tennis team defeated conference foe Indiana, 4-0, on Friday evening at the MSU Indoor Tennis Facility. The team remains an undefeated 7-0 at home this season.
Michigan State is now 11-4 on the season, including a 2-1 mark in conference play, while Indiana falls to 10-2 and 0-3 in the conference.
"It feels great to get this win at home. We've been on the road and it's not easy to get road wins, there's no question about that," head coach Kim Bruno said. "It's great to take care of business at home, with great fans out here supporting us and seeing what the program can do."
The Spartans started off the match by securing the doubles point, giving the team a 1-0 lead heading into singles play.
Senior Lexi Baylis and freshman Ava Thielman put the Spartans in the lead for the doubles point with a 6-1 victory over Caitlin Bernard and Jelly Bozovic on court three.
The doubles point was then clinched at first doubles as the duo of juniors Emily Metcalf and Davina Nguyen defeated Olga Zavarotnaya and Natalie Whalen, 6-3.
Senior Habiba Shaker and freshman Sara Kuuttila were leading Madison Appel and Michelle McKamey 5-4 on court two when the point was clinched.
After gaining a 1-0 advantage, the team looked to carry their momentum over to singles play.
At No. 6 singles, sophomore Samantha Memije defeated Zavarotnaya, 6-3, 6-2, to put the Spartans up by two.
On court two, Shaker rallied to a dominating straight-set victory over Bernard, 6-1, 6-1.
The match was clinched at No. 4 singles, as Metcalf downed Xiwei Cai, 6-3, 6-3.
This is Metcalf's second match-clinching performance in Big Ten season, as she clinched Michigan State's 4-2 victory over then No. 21-ranked Nebraska on March 16.
"Getting the doubles point builds the confidence, that builds the momentum throughout the match," Bruno said. "Once again, these wins take the whole team. We're going to have to regroup again, get ready for Wisconsin to do the same thing with the same kind of effort."
The Spartans will close out the weekend with another road Big Ten match up as they travel to Wisconsin on Sunday, March 25, with the match set to begin at 12 p.m. ET.
Players Mentioned
