Sunday, January 30
East Lansing, Mich.
11 a.m. ET
Michigan State University
5
vs
2
DePaul
Photo by: Marshal Filipowicz / MSU Athletic Communications
Women’s Tennis Claims Win over DePaul in Home Opener
1/30/2022 3:56:00 PM | Women's Tennis
Can and Stephens pick up wins in both doubles and singles
EAST LANSING, Mich. – The Michigan State women's tennis team used five singles victories to overcome dropping the doubles point, as the Spartans won a 5-2 match against DePaul Sunday afternoon in the MSU Indoor Tennis Center.
Sunday's victory improved the Green and White to a 1-1 record, while the Blue Demons shifted to 1-3 on the season.
MSU opened the day with doubles play, as senior Nicole Stephens and sophomore Ayshe Can put together a 6-2 win over the DePaul duo of Eleanor Nobbs and Valentina Martin on the second court, but the Spartans could not finish off the Blue Demons for the doubles point. A back-and-forth battle on the No. 1 court between graduate student Mary Lewis and senior Maja Pietrowicz against Lenka Antonijevic and Yuliya Kizelbasheva ended with the 7-5 win for the Antonijevic/Kizelbasheva pairing. Then, an early lead by freshman Charlotte Gisclon and sophomore Marlo Schiffman was erased in the third match, as the 7-5 victory by Hristina Djokic and Marija Jovicic gave DePaul the 1-0 team lead.
Can took care of business on the No. 4 court to give the Spartans an early lead in singles action, beating Maddie Yergler by a 6-3, 6-4 score. Her doubles partner, Stephens, continued their momentum into the No. 3 singles match, as Stephens put away Jovicic in a 6-4, 6-2 victory, but DePaul pulled the overall score even at 2-2 when Kizelbasheva was able to finish off Lewis on the top singles court (6-4, 6-4).
Kizelbasheva's win turned out to be the final DePaul victory of the day, as Maja Pietrowicz needed extra points in both of her sets and a comeback in the second set to finally defeat Antonijevic in the No. 2 spot (7-5, 7-5). Senior Lauren Lemonds then completed her own improbable comeback after she lost the first nine points of the No. 5 match against Nobbs, rallying to beat Nobbs in a thrilling 0-6, 6-4, 7-5 contest that secured the team victory for MSU. Action then wrapped up in the sixth singles match, as Gisclon was able to recover after dropping her second set to Martin and picked up the win (6-3, 3-6, 6-3).
"Just to get your first win of the season, it gets the monkey off your back a little bit," said head coach Kim Bruno. "DePaul always produces a good team that competes really hard, and it was just good for us to find a way to win. That's what champions do. We were able to find a way today, so that's what mattered."
Can now moves to 2-0 in the No. 4 singles spot and has won four-straight singles matches overall, and the Can/Stephens pairing improved to a 2-3 record. Pietrowicz and Gisclon sit tied with Can for the team lead with five singles victories, while Sunday marked the collegiate debut for Schiffman.
Michigan State will jump back on the road next weekend, going to Cincinnati, Ohio to face Virginia Tech in a neutral-site match on Feb. 5 before playing at Xavier the next day, Feb. 6.
Singles
No. 1 - Yuliya Kizelbasheva (DEP) def. Mary Lewis (MSU), 6-4, 6-4
No. 2 - Maja Pietrowicz (MSU) def. Lenka Antonijevic (DEP), 7-5, 7-5
No. 3 - Nicole Stephens (MSU) def. Marija Jovicic (DEP), 6-4, 6-2
No. 4 - Ayshe Can (MSU) def. Maddie Yergler (DEP), 6-3, 6-4
No. 5 - Lauren Lemonds (MSU) def. Eleanor Nobbs (DEP), 0-6, 6-4, 7-5
No. 6 - Charlotte Gisclon (MSU) def. Valentina Martin (DEP), 6-3, 3-6, 6-3
Doubles
No. 1 - Lenka Antonijevic/Yuliya Kizelbasheva (DEP) def. Mary Lewis/Maja Pietrowicz (MSU), 7-5
No. 2 - Nicole Stephens/Ayshe Can (MSU) def. Eleanor Nobbs/Valentina Martin (DEP), 6-2
No. 3 - Hristina Djokic/Marija Jovicic (DEP) def. Charlotte Gisclon/Marlo Schiffman (MSU), 7-5
Order of Completion: Doubles 2-1-3, Singles 4-3-1-2-5-6
Sunday's victory improved the Green and White to a 1-1 record, while the Blue Demons shifted to 1-3 on the season.
MSU opened the day with doubles play, as senior Nicole Stephens and sophomore Ayshe Can put together a 6-2 win over the DePaul duo of Eleanor Nobbs and Valentina Martin on the second court, but the Spartans could not finish off the Blue Demons for the doubles point. A back-and-forth battle on the No. 1 court between graduate student Mary Lewis and senior Maja Pietrowicz against Lenka Antonijevic and Yuliya Kizelbasheva ended with the 7-5 win for the Antonijevic/Kizelbasheva pairing. Then, an early lead by freshman Charlotte Gisclon and sophomore Marlo Schiffman was erased in the third match, as the 7-5 victory by Hristina Djokic and Marija Jovicic gave DePaul the 1-0 team lead.
Can took care of business on the No. 4 court to give the Spartans an early lead in singles action, beating Maddie Yergler by a 6-3, 6-4 score. Her doubles partner, Stephens, continued their momentum into the No. 3 singles match, as Stephens put away Jovicic in a 6-4, 6-2 victory, but DePaul pulled the overall score even at 2-2 when Kizelbasheva was able to finish off Lewis on the top singles court (6-4, 6-4).
Kizelbasheva's win turned out to be the final DePaul victory of the day, as Maja Pietrowicz needed extra points in both of her sets and a comeback in the second set to finally defeat Antonijevic in the No. 2 spot (7-5, 7-5). Senior Lauren Lemonds then completed her own improbable comeback after she lost the first nine points of the No. 5 match against Nobbs, rallying to beat Nobbs in a thrilling 0-6, 6-4, 7-5 contest that secured the team victory for MSU. Action then wrapped up in the sixth singles match, as Gisclon was able to recover after dropping her second set to Martin and picked up the win (6-3, 3-6, 6-3).
"Just to get your first win of the season, it gets the monkey off your back a little bit," said head coach Kim Bruno. "DePaul always produces a good team that competes really hard, and it was just good for us to find a way to win. That's what champions do. We were able to find a way today, so that's what mattered."
Can now moves to 2-0 in the No. 4 singles spot and has won four-straight singles matches overall, and the Can/Stephens pairing improved to a 2-3 record. Pietrowicz and Gisclon sit tied with Can for the team lead with five singles victories, while Sunday marked the collegiate debut for Schiffman.
Michigan State will jump back on the road next weekend, going to Cincinnati, Ohio to face Virginia Tech in a neutral-site match on Feb. 5 before playing at Xavier the next day, Feb. 6.
Singles
No. 1 - Yuliya Kizelbasheva (DEP) def. Mary Lewis (MSU), 6-4, 6-4
No. 2 - Maja Pietrowicz (MSU) def. Lenka Antonijevic (DEP), 7-5, 7-5
No. 3 - Nicole Stephens (MSU) def. Marija Jovicic (DEP), 6-4, 6-2
No. 4 - Ayshe Can (MSU) def. Maddie Yergler (DEP), 6-3, 6-4
No. 5 - Lauren Lemonds (MSU) def. Eleanor Nobbs (DEP), 0-6, 6-4, 7-5
No. 6 - Charlotte Gisclon (MSU) def. Valentina Martin (DEP), 6-3, 3-6, 6-3
Doubles
No. 1 - Lenka Antonijevic/Yuliya Kizelbasheva (DEP) def. Mary Lewis/Maja Pietrowicz (MSU), 7-5
No. 2 - Nicole Stephens/Ayshe Can (MSU) def. Eleanor Nobbs/Valentina Martin (DEP), 6-2
No. 3 - Hristina Djokic/Marija Jovicic (DEP) def. Charlotte Gisclon/Marlo Schiffman (MSU), 7-5
Order of Completion: Doubles 2-1-3, Singles 4-3-1-2-5-6
Team Stats
#1 Doubles Match
#2 Doubles Match
#3 Doubles Match
Order of Finish:
2,1,3
#1 Singles Match
12
Yuliya Kizelbasheva / 0 [DEP]
66
44
#2 Singles Match
12
Lenka Antonijevic / 0 [DEP]
55
77
#3 Singles Match
12
Marija Jovicic / 0 [DEP]
42
66
#4 Singles Match
12
Maddie Yergler / 0 [DEP]
34
66
#5 Singles Match
123
Eleanor Nobbs / 0 [DEP]
645
067
#6 Singles Match
123
Valentina Martin / 0 [DEP]
363
636
Order of Finish:
4,3,1,2,5,6
Players Mentioned
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
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