Michigan State University
Purdue
Women's Tennis Suffers 4-3 Loss At Purdue
4/10/2005 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
April 10, 2005
WEST LAFYATTE, Ind. - The No. 62 Michigan State women's tennis team suffered its second loss of the weekend, this time a 4-3 defeat vs. No. 58 Purdue on Sunday (April 10) in a match that lasted five hours and 40 minutes. The Boilermakers improved to 4-2 in the Big Ten with the win and 7-10 overall. Sunday's loss, culminated with a 5-2 defeat Saturday to Illinois, dropped the Spartans to 1-6 in the conference and 11-8 overall.
Hoping for a repeat of least year's 4-3 win over the Old Gold and Black, MSU's doubles tandems fought hard and took the first point. Sophomores Sarah Andrews (Darwin, Australia) and Pascale Schnitzer (Santiago, Chile) defeated Brooke Beier and Stephanie Wooton, 8-5, at No. 2 doubles. Sophomore Jessica Baron (Miami, Fla.) and senior Karen Gustafson (East Lansing, Mich.) then picked up a 9-7 win over Alyssa Rodriguez and Hala Sufi at No. 3 to give the Spartans the 1-0 lead.
With regular starter Shelley Brady out of the lineup, Michigan State would need to step it up at each spot. After senior Keri Thompson (Clark Lake, Mich.) and freshman Christine Bader (Okemos, Mich.) both suffered losses at Nos. 1 and 2, respectively, the match was placed in the hands of three sophomores and one senior.
At No. 3, Schnitzer pulled away with a solid 7-6, 6-4 win over Wooten to put the Spartans back in the match. Andrews brought the battle to a 3-3 tie at No. 5 as she picked up the three-set win over Rodriguez, 6-4, 6-7, 6-3.
With the score knotted at 3-3, the deciding point came at No. 4, where MSU's Baron and PU's Beier battled it out in a three-set match. After falling to Beier in the first set 7-6, Baron fought back in the second for a 6-2 victory. Despite the close score, Beier managed to squeeze by Baron, 6-4 in the third, to secure the match for the Boilermakers.
The Spartans will return to East Lansing on Sunday (April 17) for their last home match of the season when they host Ohio State at 10 a.m.
Final Results
#58 Purdue 4, #62 Michigan State 3Singles1. #99 Hala Sufi (P) def. #121 Keri Thompson (MSU) 6-1, 6-02. Stephanie Wooten (P) def. Christine Bader (MSU) 6-4, 6-23. Pascale Schnitzer (MSU) def. Shawna Zuccarini (P) 7-6, 6-44. Brooke Beier (P) def. Jessica Baron (MS) 7-6, 2-6, 6-4 *5. Sarah Andrews (MSU) def. Alyssa Rodriguez (P) 6-4, 6-7, 6-36. Amy Walgenbach (P) def. Karen Gustafson (MSU) 6-4, 6-3
Doubles1. Lara Bugarello/Zuccarini (P) def. Thompson/Bader (MSU) 8-62. Andrews/Schnitzer (MSU) def. Beier/Wooten (P) 8-53. Gustafson/Baron (MSU) def. Rodriguez/Sufi (P) 9-7
Order of singles finish: 1, 2, 6, 3, 5, 4Order of doubles finish: 1, 2, 3
Players Mentioned
