Spartans Down Illini, 5-2

March 25, 2007

Results |  Illinois Women's Tennis vs. Michigan State 

URBANA, Ill.  - The Illinois women's tennis team battled for almost four hours at the Atkins Tennis Center but could not overcome Michigan State today, falling 5-2. Despite hard-fought efforts in doubles and singles by Illinois, the Spartans were resilient until the end in the dual-match victory. Illinois dropped to 4-9 on the season, 0-2 in Big Ten play, while Michigan State improved to 11-4 overall and 1-1 in league action.

"It was a tough match," head coach Michelle Dasso said. "Overall, I was really proud of the way Emily was able to push through her match and pull it out in the tiebreaker. It also was a great sign to see Kristina battling out there and playing through some pain. It was impressive to see both of them out their fighting hard."

The Illini and the Spartans played under the sunny skies of Urbana for Illinois' first home outdoor match of the season, but it was MSU who got off to a strong start, sweeping the doubles point. Illinois, despite junior Alejandra Meza Cuadra and sophomore Shivani Davé  leading in their doubles match on court two before allowing the Spartans to creep back into the match, could not get its footing in the opening stages of the contest to give MSU a 1-0 lead in the dual.

In a grueling singles portion that took two hours before the first match was decided, Michigan State grabbed the first victories on courts three and five to take a 3-0 lead. On court two, however, Qu (ILL) tabbed the Illini's first point of the afternoon as she took down Stephanie Kebler (MSU), 7-6(3), 6-1.  

On the remaining courts, the Orange and Blue netters forced their matches to decisive third sets, with senior Emily Wang (ILL) battling Marianne Eelens (MSU) on No. 6, freshman Megan Fudge (ILL) facing Christine Bader (MSU) in the top slot and freshman Kristina Minor (ILL) taking on Jessica Baron (MSU) on court five.  

Unfortunately, the Illini began to lose steam as the match lingered on and could not overcome their Spartan opponents as Michigan State went on to claim wins at No. 1 and 4 singles to clinch the match.

Wang, on the other hand, tallied her first dual-win of the season as she went the distance, overcoming Eelens (MSU) 6-4, 0-6, 7-6(4), making the final score 5-2.

Illinois returns to the courts when its travels to Evanston, Ill., to take on the Northwestern Wildcats on Saturday, March 31, at noon. The weekend road trip will end with a dual on Sunday, April 1, against the Wisconsin Badgers in Madison, Wis., at noon.

TENNIS MATCH RESULTS

URBANA, ILL.

3/25/2007

MICHIGAN STATE 5, ILLINOIS 2

 Singles competition

1. Christine Bader (MSU) def. Megan Fudge (ILL) 6-3, 4-6, 6-2

2. Momei Qu (ILL) def. Stephanie Kebler (MSU) 7-6 (7-3), 6-1

3. Pascale Schnitzer (MSU) def. Shivani Davé (ILL) 6-4, 6-0

4. Jessica Baron (MSU) def. Kristina Minor (ILL) 4-6, 6-1, 6-3

5. Ana Milosavljevic (MSU) def. Alejandra Meza Cuadra (ILL) 6-4, 6-4

6. Emily Wang (ILL) def. Marianne Eelens (MSU) 6-4, 0-6, 7-6 (7-4)

 Doubles competition

1. Christine Bader/Stephanie Kebler (MSU) def. Megan Fudge/Emily Wang (ILL) 8-4

2. Ana Milosavljevic/Pascale Schnitzer (MSU) def. Shivani Davé/Alejandra Meza Cuadra (ILL) 8-6

3. Sarah Andrews/Jessica Baron (MSU) def. Momei Qu/Kristina Minor (ILL) 8-4

Match Notes:

Michigan State University 11-4, 1-1 Big Ten

Illinois 4-9, 0-2 Big Ten

Order of finish: Doubles (3, 2, 1); Singles (3, 5, 2, 1, 4, 6)

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Players Mentioned

Alejandra Cuadra

Shivani Davé

Megan Fudge

Kristina Minor

Momei Qu

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