Michigan State University Athletics
Spartans Head To Illinois For Big Ten Tournament
4/26/2006 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
April 26, 2006
>Championship Information/Results
Champaign, Ill. - The Michigan State women's tennis team will open Big Ten Tournament play this weekend, at the University of Illinois. The Spartans enter the Conference Tournament as the sixth seed and will battle No. 11 Wisconsin on Thursday, April 27, at 2 p.m. Should Michigan State advance to the conference quarterfinals, it would meet arch-rival, and third-seeded, Michigan the following day, also at 2 p.m.
WEEK IN REVIEW
The Spartans wrapped up the 2006 regular season by splitting a pair of conference home matches. Michigan State fell to visiting Indiana, 6-1, on Friday, April 22, before rebounding to knock off Penn State, 4-3, on Saturday.
LOOKING AHEAD
The Spartans enter the Big Ten Conference Tournament as the sixth seed and will battle No. 11 Wisconsin on Thursday, April 27, at 2 p.m. Should Michigan State advance to the conference quarterfi nals, it would meet arch-rival, and third-seeded, Michigan the following day, also at 2 p.m.
SCOUTING WISCONSIN
Wisconsin, the tournament's 11th-seed, enters the conference championships on the heels of a 5-2 victory over Ohio State. The win snapped a fi ve-match losing streak for the red and white, who finished the 2006 season with a 5-17 overall record and a 2-8 mark in Big Ten play.
Michigan State knocked off the Badgers, 5-2, on Sunday, March 26 at the MSU Indoor Tennis Facility. The Spartans captured the doubles point, with wins at Nos. 1 and 2, and earned victories in four-of-six singles matches, including three-set wins from Bader (No. 1), Kebler (No. 4) and Andrews (No. 5).
Junior Caitlin Burke, who recently returned from injury, heads the Badger's singles lineup and ranks 32nd in the nation. Kaylan Caiati and Chelsea Nusslock round out UW's top-three singles threats. Caiati and freshman Liz Carpenter team up, to form Wisconsin's No. 1 doubles unit.
PLAYOFF PICTURE
Undefeated in Big Ten play, Northwestern has staked claim to the tournament's No. 1 seed. Iowa drew the second-seed, with a 9-1 conference record, while Michigan (8-2), Indiana (7-3) and Purdue (6-4) also drew preliminary-round byes.
The sixth-seeded Spartans will draw 11th-seeded Wisconsin in the tournament's fi rst round, on Thursday, April 27. That same day, seventh-ranked Ohio State will batlle No. 10 Illinois, while Minnesota and Penn State will compete in the No. 8 vs. No. 9 contest.
DOUBLE DIP
The Spartans have dominated doubles play this season, taking the point from their opponents on 14-of-23 occasions this season. Michigan State is a robust 13-3 when winning the doubles point, while sitting at just 1-6 when dropping the point.
The Spartans have received strong play from their No. 2 and 3 pairs, who have posted 15-8 and 17-6 overall marks, respectively. Freshman Anna Milosavljevic is a perfect 10-0 at No. 3 doubles, teaming primarily with junior Pascale Schnitzer.
ON THE ROAD AGAIN
Michigan State sports a 5-3 record away from East Lansing this season. The Green and White fi nished the 2006 regular season with a 4-2 mark on the road and posted a 1-1 ledger in matches played at neutral sites.
The Spartans played just three-road contests against Big Ten opponents this season, posting a 2-1 record. MSU fell to Iowa, in Iowa City, but knocked of Minnesota, 4-3, and Ohio State, 4-3, this season.
BUCKING THE TREND
The Spartans will look to snap a dubious streak, this weekend, and reach the second-round of the Big Ten Tournament for the first time since 1996-97. Michigan State, who has managed to win just fi ve games in the last eight conference tournaments, will be playing as the higher seed, for the first-time since 1993, when they meet the Badgers on the tournament's first day.
LAYING THE FOUNDATION Despite a young team, that features just three upperclassmen, all juniors, the Michigan State women's tennis team has netted four Big Ten wins this season, the most since 1993. That season the Spartans boasted a 4-10 record in conference play, matching their output from 2002 (4-8). The last time a Michigan State team had more than four wins was 1991, when the Spartans finished the year 7-6 in conference play, to placing fifth.
FANTASTIC FRESHMAN
Michigan State freshman Stephanie Kebler eclipsed the 30-win plateau this season, including a 16-7 mark in singles play, at the No. 4 and 5 positions. Kebler also netted a 15-7 mark in doubles action, teaming with junior Jessica Baron at No. 2 for most of the season. Kebler leads the team in overall wins (31) and singles wins (16), and is tied for fi rst in doubles wins (15).
PLAYER SPOTLIGHT
Following a perfect 4-0 weekend, junior Pascale Schnitzer upped her individual, overall record to 26-13. The Santiago, Chile, ranks third on the team in wins (26) and fourth in singles wins (12), but sits a top the roster in terms of overall winning percentage (.667) and is tied for the team lead in doubles victories (15).
Schnitzer notched the Green and White's only point vs. visiting Indiana, on Saturday, April 22, with a, 7-5, 6-0, over IU's Laura McGaffi gan at No. 2 singles. Schnitzer, and doubles partner Anna Milosavljevic, added an 8-6 victory at No. 3 doubles.
The junior ran her overall undefeated streak to fi ve matches, with a pair of wins vs the Nittany Lions on Sunday, April 23. Schnitzer knocked off Penn State's Andreea Niculescu, at No. 2 singles, 6-4, 3-6, 6-3, before clinching the doubles point, with partner Milosavljevic, 8-5 over PSU's Niculescu and Dorothy Dohanics.
