Women's Tennis Hosts Northwestern in Conference Finale
4/23/2011 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
April 23, 2011
EAST LANSING, Mich. - The Michigan State women's tennis team (12-10, 1-8 Big Ten) will compete in its last conference match of the season when it hosts No. 17 Northwestern on Sunday, April 24th. The match, which is set for an 11 a.m. start, will honor seniors Whitney Wilson and Manon Noe for Senior Day.
Last Time Out
The Spartans dropped both of their last road matches of the regular season, falling to Iowa, 4-3, and to Illinois, 6-1. MSU was blanked in doubles play against the Hawkeyes. Sophomore Nicole Herzog and Wilson were the only tandem to record a doubles victory last weekend when they topped Breanne Smutko and Anne McCarthy of Illinois, 8-5.
In their first match of the weekend against Iowa, three Spartans tallied singles victories. Freshman Marina Bohrer defeated Lynne Poggensee-Wei at the No. 3 position, 6-1, 6-0. Freshman Olga Chernova recorded her first singles victory of the spring season against Alexis Dorr, 6-4, 7-5. At the No. 6 spot, sophomore Dana Guentert defeated Cassandra Escobar, 6-1, 6-1.
Sophomore Amy Barton was the single Spartan to notch a point against Illinois. Barton downed Amy Allin, 6-0, 6-4, at the No. 1 singles position.
Scouting the Spartans
After losing five straight matches at the No. 1 singles spot, Barton bounced back with a victory over Illinois' Allin. Barton is now 12-6 this season, playing all of her matches at the top singles and doubles spots. Her doubles partner, Bohrer, has also recorded an impressive singles record, winning 15 matches and only dropping six. Bohrer plays most of her matches at the No. 3 singles slot. Another Spartan with an impressive personal singles record is freshman Valentina Rusakova. Rusakova is 10-8 at the No. 2 spot, and when seeing time at the No. 1 position is 3-0.
Strong Beginning
The Spartans started out strong this season, going 11-2 in non-conference play. Their current 12-10 record surpasses the Green and White's combined season records in 2010 (7-17) and 2009 (8-16). They began their season with a 7-1 record, before falling to No. 8 Michigan, 6-1, in their first Big Ten match of the season. They then posted an impressive 4-3 win over No. 43 William & Mary, when the Spartans traveled to Bradenton, Fla. They have recorded only one conference win, which was over Indiana, so far this season.
Whitney Wilson
Wilson has been a key component to the Spartans' success since arriving on campus from Evansville, Ind., her freshman year. Over the past four seasons, Wilson has accumulated a 64-55 singles record, seeing most of her action at the No. 4 and No. 5 singles positions. Currently this season, she has seen a lot of time at the No. 5 singles spot, holding a 15-13 record overall.
Wilson has compiled a 67-65 doubles record in her career as a Spartan. She has primarily seen action at the top two doubles spots. Last season, she went a perfect 8-0 alongside partner Barton at the No. 2 spot. Currently, she is back at the No. 2 spot along side Herzog, where they have won eight matches and lost five. Wilson has qualified for the ITA Midwest Regional Championships the past three seasons in both singles and doubles.
Some of her career highlights include her leading the Spartans as a sophomore with 21 singles victories and 14 doubles wins. As a freshman she captured the Spartan Invitational Flight 6 title. In 2010, she was honored as both Michigan State's recipient of the Big Ten Sportsmanship Award and the Most Valuable Player award. She is a three-time Academic All-Big Ten honoree and an ITA Scholar Athlete in 2010.
Manon Noe
After being hampered by a career ending injury, senior Manon Noe has stepped up and supported the women's tennis team through her work with both the MSU event management and marketing departments. She did however have an impressive career for the Green and White her freshman and sophomore seasons.
The Liancourt, France, native recorded a singles record of 27-42 over the two seasons she played. She also notched a doubles record of 39-37. She captured the Flight 3 singles title at the 2007 Spartan Invitational and the Flight 2 doubles title alongside Lindsey Lonergan. In 2008 she qualified for the ITA Midwest Regional main draw in singles and doubles and saw action in the qualifying rounds in 2007.
Noe was honored as an ITA Scholar Athlete for 2008 and 2010 and was recognized in 2009 and 2010 as an Academic All-Big Ten recipient. In 2008, she was given the Heather Mactaggart Spirit Award for her enthusiasm both on and off the court.
There's No Place Like Home
The Spartans have recorded a notable record on their home court this season, going 10-4 in East Lansing. They are 1-3 in Big Ten play at home, falling to Purdue (4-3), Penn State (4-3), Ohio State (5-2), and edging Indiana (4-3). MSU will host Northwestern on April 24th at 11 a.m., in their final home appearance of the season.
Down to the Wire
Out of Michigan State's ten losses, five have been by a score of 4-3. The closeness of these matches exemplifies how tough the Spartans have been playing against their opponents. MSU has lost four conference matches by one point (Purdue, Minnesota, Penn State and Iowa) and has tallied a win over Indiana. Michigan State has also recorded at least one match win in every defeat this season, failing to lose any match by a score of 7-0.
Doubles: A Point of Interest
The Spartans have won the doubles point in an impressive 17 out of their 22 matches played so far this season. Barton and Bohrer lead the squad at the No. 1 doubles spot with a record of 16-6. They posted dominating wins, including an 8-5 victory over No. 14 Brooke Bolender and Denise Muresan of Michigan, to earn them a spot in the weekly ITA rankings at No. 33.
Strong Conference
In the first half of the spring season, the Big Ten has proven to be a powerhouse conference in women's tennis. Leading the conference in the rankings is Michigan (No. 10). Following the Wolverines is Northwestern at No. 17. Purdue is ranked at No. 68 with Ohio State just ahead at No. 62.
Looking at Northwestern
Before facing the Spartans on Sunday, the Wildcats will face off against Michigan in a battle of the undefeated. Both teams have not dropped a conference match yet. Northwestern holds an overall record of 16-6 and are a perfect 8-0 in conference play. The Wildcats are led by No. 13 senior Maria Mosolova, who has posted an impressive record of 17-1 at the No. 1 singles position. NU has three other singles players ranked with No. 65 Belinda Niu, No. 77 Brittany Wowchuk and No. 101 Kate Turvy.
Tournament Time
The Spartans will travel to Ann Arbor, Mich., to compete in the Big Ten Tournament on Thursday, April 28th. The tournament will run from April 28th through May 1st.
Players Mentioned
