Michigan State University Athletics
Spartans Host Illinois And Purdue This Weekend
4/5/2006 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
April 5, 2006
EAST LANSING, Mich. - The Michigan State women's tennis team returns home this weekend to face Illinois and Purdue. Illinois will take on the Spartans on Saturday, April 8, starting at 10:00 a.m. The following day, the Spartans will play Purdue, who is currently in fourth place in the Big Ten at 3-1, while Michigan State sits at seventh place at 2-3. Illinois is winless in four Big Ten contests.
Scouting the Boilermakers and Illini:
Last week, Illinois faced Ohio State in its conference home opener, falling, 5-2. Illinois is currently 4-10 overall and 0-4 in conference play. Last year, MSU traveled to Champaign, Ill., and lost to the Fighting Illini, 5-2. The Spartans' only wins came from Jessica Baron (Miami, Fla.) and Sarah Andrews (Darwin, Australia).
Illinois is led by sophomore Macall Harkins, who has won her last five matches at the No. 1 singles slot. Harkins is 3-0 against the Big Ten during her streak, and holds an upset over seventh-ranked Amanda Fink from USC. Harkins streak has moved her into the top-100 singles players in the country, where she now sits at No. 95.
The No. 43 Boilermakers downed Ohio State last Saturday, 6-1, and then fell on Sunday to the second ranked team in the nation in Notre Dame. Before Purdue heads to East Lansing, it will face Western Michigan on Wednesday, as it closes the non-conference schedule. The Boilermakers will also face No. 36 Michigan on Saturday, before playing Michigan State Sunday. Last year, Purdue beat the Spartans, 4-3, in East Lansing.
No. 66 Randi Schuler leads the Boilermakers, posting an 11-3 record this season, playing mostly at No. 2 singles. Lately, the freshman has been playing at No. 1 singles for the Boilermakers and is currently 4-0 in Big Ten play.
Spartan Action Last Week:
MSU took to the road last week to play Iowa and Minnesota. The Spartans lost to No. 33 Iowa, 6-1, with junior Andrews nabbing the Spartans' only win. Against the Golden Gophers, the Green and White lost the doubles point, but rebounded to take four out of the six singles matches, beating Minnesota, 4-3. Freshman Marianne Eelens (Noord, Aruba) earned her first Big Ten win when she defeated Marina Bugaenco 7-6 (6), 6-2, in the No. 6 singles match.
Up Next For The Spartans:
Michigan State will play Valparaiso in East Lansing on April 13, to finish MSU's non-conference schedule. On April 16, the Spartans travel to Columbus, Ohio, to play Ohio State. MSU takes on Valparaiso at 6:00 p.m., while play in Columbus will begin at 11:00 a.m.
