Michigan State University
Minnesota
Women's Tennis Dominates Golden Gophers, 7-0
4/3/2004 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
April 3, 2004
Minneapolis, Minn. - The Michigan State women's tennis team earned its second straight Big Ten victory today at the Baseline Tennis Center as the Spartans defeated the Minnesota Golden Gophers, 7-0. MSU's two-match winning streak improves its record to 7-8 overall and 2-2 in the Big Ten while the Gophers drop to 2-13, 0-4. Today's match marked the Spartans' first Big Ten road victory since a 5-2 win at Penn State, April 19, 1998.
"It was another excellent performance from our team," said MSU head coach Tim Bauer. "Our team has worked a lot of the season on getting the right intensity and mental approach towards play, and I think in the last two matches we've definitely reached that. They (Minnesota) are the defending Big Ten champions and we lost to them last year so this was a great victory for us."
The Spartans' doubles continued to improve as the No. 2 and 3 spot both saw victories. After the freshman tandem of Pascale Schnitzer (Santiago, Chile) and Jessica Baron (Miami, Fla.) showed Emily Bezek and Shelby Rohrer they were in control at No. 3 with an 8-1 win, sophomore Shelley Brady (Grand Blanc, Mich.) and freshman Sarah Andrews (Darwin, Australia) won a tight match over Ida Malmberg and Lindsay Risebrough, 8-6 at the No. 2 spot, to clinch the doubles point. The No. 1 spot saw Minnesota's Angela Buergis and Nischela Reddy defeat senior Caroline Lay (Brisbane, Australia) and junior Keri Thompson (Clarke Lake, Mich.), 8-3.
After the Spartans scored the first point with the doubles victory, the momentum didn't stop there as MSU swept the singles contests. Last weekend, the Spartans also controlled all six singles matches against Penn State.
At the No. 1 spot, Thompson defeated Buergis, 6-4, 7-6(3), while at the No. 2 position Lay beat Reddy, 6-2, 6-4. The No. 3 spot had Brady win in the first set against Malmberg, 6-3, before dropping the second set 4-6. Brady won the decisive third set, 6-3, to secure her point. The No. 4 spot saw Schnitzer rebound after losing the opening set to defeat Risebrough, 3-6, 6-3, 6-3. Andrews thumped Bezek, 6-1, 6-0 at the No. 5 spot and Baron blanked Tellefsen, 6-0 both sets.
"Keri Thompson had an awesome victory over a Big Ten Confernece senior who was coming off of a three-match winning streak over players we haven't come into contact with," said Bauer. "She fought a hard match."
The Spartans will continue play tomorrow as they travel south to No. 35 Iowa (10-4, 2-1) Sunday, April 4. The match will begin at 11 a.m. (EST).
Michigan State 7, Minnesota 0Baseline Tennis CenterMinneapolis, Minn.April 3, 2004
Singles1. Keri Thompson (MSU) def. Angela Buergis (UM), 6-4, 7-6 (3)2. Caroline Lay (MSU) def. Nischela Reddy (UM), 6-2, 6-43. Shelley Brady (MSU) def. Ida Malmberg (UM), 6-3, 4-6, 6-34. Pascale Schnitzer (MSU) def. Lindsay Risebrough (UM), 3-6, 6-3, 6-35. Sarah Andrews (MSU) def. Emily Bezek (UM), 6-1, 6-06. Jessica Baron (MSU) def. Jenna Tellefsen (UM), 6-0, 6-0
Doubles1. Buergis/Reddy (UM) def. Thompson/Lay (MSU), 8-32. Andrews/Brady (MSU) def. Malmberg/Risebrough (UM), 8-63. Schnitzer/Baron (MSU) def. Bezek/Shelby Rohrer (UM), 8-1
Players Mentioned
