Michigan State University Athletics
Friday, October 2
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Spartan Invite
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Standout Showings Shine For MSU Women’s Tennis In Spartan Invite
10/4/2026 8:04:00 PM | Women's Tennis
MSU has six players in action, combining to win 14 matches on the weekend in first tournament at Spartan Tennis, MSU Athletics’ new outdoor courts and center.
Standout Showings Shine For MSU Women's Tennis In Spartan Invite
MSU has six players in action, combining to win 14 matches on the weekend in first tournament at Spartan Tennis, MSU Athletics' new outdoor courts and center.
EAST LANSING, Mich. -- Michigan State women's tennis hosted its first-ever tournament at Spartan Tennis, MSU Athletics' new outdoor courts and center, hosting the Spartan Invite, presented by Auto Owner's Insurance over the weekend, and had a standout showing, combining to win 14 matches.
Six of the nine Spartans were in action, hosting six other teams for the three-day tournament at Spartan Tennis, MSU Athletics' new outdoor courts and center, aka "The Joan," while action was also held on the surrounding MSU rec outdoor courts.
All six of the Spartan players won at least one match in either singles or doubles, with freshman Ariane Lesterhuis leading the way going 3-0 in singles. Fellow freshman Mengquio Lu went 2-1, while juniors Nina Plihal and Kinsey Crawford, along with freshman Amiya Bowles went 1-2.
Plihal and freshman Nora Syrtviet posted a 3-0 mark in doubles on the weekend, while Lu and Bowles logged a 2-0 ledger, and Lesterhuis and Crawford went 1-2.
"I thought it was extremely awesome weekend," Lesterhuis said. "Obviously, this was my first time playing in season at Michigan State and I thought it was absolutely incredible that I had the opportunity to go here and I could go 3-0. It was amazing to have a great support system with my team and my coaches coaching me and helping me through it all. It was great to have all the fans and community stopping by to cheer us on."
Lesterhuis was one of the five Spartan newcomers who were playing their first home matches of their Green & White careers, as Plihal was the only MSU returner playing this weekend.
"It was better than I expected I would say. Overall, it's an amazing atmosphere to have a team behind you, especially in such an individual sport," Lesterhuis said.
MSU head coach Kim Bruno was excited about the results on the weekend and thought it was a solid building block for the rest of the fall season and into the spring slate.
"It went great this weekend," Bruno said. "I learned a lot of information, there's a lot of new players, I saw a lot of positives and bright spots. I loved the way they competed until the end no matter what. Did we execute our game plans all the time? No, but I think it was an awesome start. We won a lot and we learned a lot as well, so we just need to be smart moving forward these next couple of weeks."
While this was just the second weekend of competition of the 2026-27 season, Bruno and the Spartans were elated about playing on their home outdoor courts at "The Joan."
"It was awesome, the girls definitely wanted to play down there, they waited all day to do it," Bruno said about the six courts of Spartan Tennis. "We had people coming in all weekend, stopping in to cheer us on and enjoy the great weather, we had a good amount of fans get loud. It was fun, a lot of fun. We're lucky."
The fall schedule continues with the ITA Midwest Regional Championships next weekend, Oct. 8-12 in Champaign, Illinois, before some Spartans head to the ITA Sectional Championships, Nov. 5-8 in Fort Worth, Texas.
MSU's players that won't be playing in Fort Worth will be in action at the Spartans' second home tourney of the fall, the Michigan State Classic, presented by Auto-Owners Insurance on Friday-Sunday, Nov. 6-9. That will serve as the final weekend of prep and qualification for the NCAA Individual Championships, Nov. 17-22.
The Spartans will then prepare for their spring dual action schedule, which is to be announced later.
Fans can keep up to date with the Spartan women's tennis team on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter by following @MSU_WTennis.
Tennis Match Results
Spartan Invite, presented by Auto-Owners Insurance
Oct. 2-4, 2026
East Lansing, Mich. (Spartan Tennis Outdoor Courts)
Michigan State Results
Friday, Oct. 2
Singles
Mengqiao Lu (MSU) def. Maria Batinic (EMU), 6-4, 6-1
Nina Plihal (MSU) def. Frida Weijerman (WMU), 2-6, 7-5, 6-1
Amiya Bowles (MSU) def. Yasemin Pehlivan (DePaul), 6-2, 6-4
Roberta Sechi (DePaul) def. Nora Syrtveit (MSU), 4-6, 6-1, 6-3
Ariane Lesterhuis (MSU) def. Pehal Kharadkar (EMU), 7-6 (7-0), 6-1
Kseniia Saenko (EMU) def. Kinsey Crawford (MSU), 5-7, 6-2, 6-0
Doubles
Nora Syrtveit and Nina Plihal (MSU) def. Lara Diaz Zayas and Kseniia Saenko (EMU), 8-3
Mengqiao Lu and Amiya Bowles (MSU) def. Sasha Sakura Stula and Yasemin Pehlivan (DePaul), 8-4
Iva Daneva and Matilde do Canto Parreira (EMU) def. Kinsey Crawford and Ariane Lesterhuis (MSU), 8-4
Saturday, Oct. 3
Singles
Mengqiao Lu (MSU) def. Sasha Sakura Stula (DePaul), 6-4, 6-1
Erica Jessel (Northwestern) def. Nina Plihal (MSU), 6-0, 6-2
Maria Valentina Salek Rivero (EMU) def. Amiya Bowles (MSU), 6-2, 6-7 (2-7), 6-4
Aely Arai (Northwestern) def. Nora Syrtveit (MSU), 3-6, 6-2, 6-3
Ariane Lesterhuis (MSU) def. Ella Fitcher (WMU), 2-6, 6-3, 6-4
Kinsey Crawford (MSU) def. Kate Thorne (Marquette), 6-2, 6-2
Doubles
Nina Plihal and Nora Syrtveit (MSU) def. Sienna Osborne and Mahika Khanna (WMU), 8-3
Mengqiao Lu and Amiya Bowles (MSU) def. Elizabeth Stuckslager and Emmerson White (Marquette), 8-6
Roberta Sechi and Yasemin Pehlivan (DePaul) def. Kinsey Crawford and Ariane Lesterhuis (MSU), 8-5
Nina Plihal and Nora Syrtveit (MSU) def. Ella Fitcher and Ayana Yaguchi (WMU), 8-1
Kinsey Crawford and Ariane Lesterhuis (MSU) def. Aiyana Abbott and Kate Thorne (Marquette), 8-5
Sunday, Oct. 4
Singles
Erica Jessel (Northwestern) def. Mengqiao Lu (MSU), 6-0, 7-6 (7-5)
Sasha Sakura Stula (DePaul) def. Nina Plihal (MSU), 6-4, 6-1
Anaya Yaguchi (WMU) def. Nora Syrtveit (MSU), 7-5, 6-1
Ariane Lesterhuis (MSU) def. Clara Nilsson (DePaul), 7-5, 6-2
Mahika Khanna (WMU) def. Kinsey Crawford (MSU), 6-2, 6-2
Pei Chi Ho (WMU) def. Amiya Bowles (MSU), 6-2, 6-4, 6-3
Doubles
None
MSU has six players in action, combining to win 14 matches on the weekend in first tournament at Spartan Tennis, MSU Athletics' new outdoor courts and center.
EAST LANSING, Mich. -- Michigan State women's tennis hosted its first-ever tournament at Spartan Tennis, MSU Athletics' new outdoor courts and center, hosting the Spartan Invite, presented by Auto Owner's Insurance over the weekend, and had a standout showing, combining to win 14 matches.
Six of the nine Spartans were in action, hosting six other teams for the three-day tournament at Spartan Tennis, MSU Athletics' new outdoor courts and center, aka "The Joan," while action was also held on the surrounding MSU rec outdoor courts.
All six of the Spartan players won at least one match in either singles or doubles, with freshman Ariane Lesterhuis leading the way going 3-0 in singles. Fellow freshman Mengquio Lu went 2-1, while juniors Nina Plihal and Kinsey Crawford, along with freshman Amiya Bowles went 1-2.
Plihal and freshman Nora Syrtviet posted a 3-0 mark in doubles on the weekend, while Lu and Bowles logged a 2-0 ledger, and Lesterhuis and Crawford went 1-2.
"I thought it was extremely awesome weekend," Lesterhuis said. "Obviously, this was my first time playing in season at Michigan State and I thought it was absolutely incredible that I had the opportunity to go here and I could go 3-0. It was amazing to have a great support system with my team and my coaches coaching me and helping me through it all. It was great to have all the fans and community stopping by to cheer us on."
Lesterhuis was one of the five Spartan newcomers who were playing their first home matches of their Green & White careers, as Plihal was the only MSU returner playing this weekend.
"It was better than I expected I would say. Overall, it's an amazing atmosphere to have a team behind you, especially in such an individual sport," Lesterhuis said.
MSU head coach Kim Bruno was excited about the results on the weekend and thought it was a solid building block for the rest of the fall season and into the spring slate.
"It went great this weekend," Bruno said. "I learned a lot of information, there's a lot of new players, I saw a lot of positives and bright spots. I loved the way they competed until the end no matter what. Did we execute our game plans all the time? No, but I think it was an awesome start. We won a lot and we learned a lot as well, so we just need to be smart moving forward these next couple of weeks."
While this was just the second weekend of competition of the 2026-27 season, Bruno and the Spartans were elated about playing on their home outdoor courts at "The Joan."
"It was awesome, the girls definitely wanted to play down there, they waited all day to do it," Bruno said about the six courts of Spartan Tennis. "We had people coming in all weekend, stopping in to cheer us on and enjoy the great weather, we had a good amount of fans get loud. It was fun, a lot of fun. We're lucky."
The fall schedule continues with the ITA Midwest Regional Championships next weekend, Oct. 8-12 in Champaign, Illinois, before some Spartans head to the ITA Sectional Championships, Nov. 5-8 in Fort Worth, Texas.
MSU's players that won't be playing in Fort Worth will be in action at the Spartans' second home tourney of the fall, the Michigan State Classic, presented by Auto-Owners Insurance on Friday-Sunday, Nov. 6-9. That will serve as the final weekend of prep and qualification for the NCAA Individual Championships, Nov. 17-22.
The Spartans will then prepare for their spring dual action schedule, which is to be announced later.
Fans can keep up to date with the Spartan women's tennis team on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter by following @MSU_WTennis.
Tennis Match Results
Spartan Invite, presented by Auto-Owners Insurance
Oct. 2-4, 2026
East Lansing, Mich. (Spartan Tennis Outdoor Courts)
Michigan State Results
Friday, Oct. 2
Singles
Mengqiao Lu (MSU) def. Maria Batinic (EMU), 6-4, 6-1
Nina Plihal (MSU) def. Frida Weijerman (WMU), 2-6, 7-5, 6-1
Amiya Bowles (MSU) def. Yasemin Pehlivan (DePaul), 6-2, 6-4
Roberta Sechi (DePaul) def. Nora Syrtveit (MSU), 4-6, 6-1, 6-3
Ariane Lesterhuis (MSU) def. Pehal Kharadkar (EMU), 7-6 (7-0), 6-1
Kseniia Saenko (EMU) def. Kinsey Crawford (MSU), 5-7, 6-2, 6-0
Doubles
Nora Syrtveit and Nina Plihal (MSU) def. Lara Diaz Zayas and Kseniia Saenko (EMU), 8-3
Mengqiao Lu and Amiya Bowles (MSU) def. Sasha Sakura Stula and Yasemin Pehlivan (DePaul), 8-4
Iva Daneva and Matilde do Canto Parreira (EMU) def. Kinsey Crawford and Ariane Lesterhuis (MSU), 8-4
Saturday, Oct. 3
Singles
Mengqiao Lu (MSU) def. Sasha Sakura Stula (DePaul), 6-4, 6-1
Erica Jessel (Northwestern) def. Nina Plihal (MSU), 6-0, 6-2
Maria Valentina Salek Rivero (EMU) def. Amiya Bowles (MSU), 6-2, 6-7 (2-7), 6-4
Aely Arai (Northwestern) def. Nora Syrtveit (MSU), 3-6, 6-2, 6-3
Ariane Lesterhuis (MSU) def. Ella Fitcher (WMU), 2-6, 6-3, 6-4
Kinsey Crawford (MSU) def. Kate Thorne (Marquette), 6-2, 6-2
Doubles
Nina Plihal and Nora Syrtveit (MSU) def. Sienna Osborne and Mahika Khanna (WMU), 8-3
Mengqiao Lu and Amiya Bowles (MSU) def. Elizabeth Stuckslager and Emmerson White (Marquette), 8-6
Roberta Sechi and Yasemin Pehlivan (DePaul) def. Kinsey Crawford and Ariane Lesterhuis (MSU), 8-5
Nina Plihal and Nora Syrtveit (MSU) def. Ella Fitcher and Ayana Yaguchi (WMU), 8-1
Kinsey Crawford and Ariane Lesterhuis (MSU) def. Aiyana Abbott and Kate Thorne (Marquette), 8-5
Sunday, Oct. 4
Singles
Erica Jessel (Northwestern) def. Mengqiao Lu (MSU), 6-0, 7-6 (7-5)
Sasha Sakura Stula (DePaul) def. Nina Plihal (MSU), 6-4, 6-1
Anaya Yaguchi (WMU) def. Nora Syrtveit (MSU), 7-5, 6-1
Ariane Lesterhuis (MSU) def. Clara Nilsson (DePaul), 7-5, 6-2
Mahika Khanna (WMU) def. Kinsey Crawford (MSU), 6-2, 6-2
Pei Chi Ho (WMU) def. Amiya Bowles (MSU), 6-2, 6-4, 6-3
Doubles
None
Players Mentioned
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
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