Michigan State University Athletics
Women's Tennis Welcomes Western Michigan
2/23/2012 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
Feb. 23, 2012
EAST LANSING, Mich. - The Michigan State women's tennis team (6-2, 0-1 Big Ten) will look to bounce back after suffering its first conference loss to No. 11 while hosting Western Michigan, Friday Feb. 24th. The match will being at 5 p.m. and takes place at the MSU Indoor Tennis Facility. It will be the Spartan's ninth straight home match and their last match in East Lansing before they travel to Florida for a Spring Break trip.
Scouting the Spartans
The Spartans had their five game winning streak snapped when they fell to Michigan, 7-0, in their conference opener. It was the first match of the season against a ranked opponent and the first time MSU failed to record a point in a match. The Spartans have gone 6-1 against nonconference opponents so far this season. They will continue nonconference play against Western Michigan on Friday.
The Particulars
Michigan State has two players that have gone 6-2 so far in singles matches, sophomore Katarina Lingl and freshman Julianne Gruber, while Marina Borher is 4-1. Redshirt junior Dana Guentert has yet to lose a doubles match, going 6-0 at the No. 3 spot along side either freshman Hilary Hager, Julianne Gruber and sophomore Jennifer Yen. Hager is 5-0 in doubles play, picking up her most recent victory alongside Gruber at the No. 2 spot. Hager and Guentert have paired up to post a 4-0 record at the No. 3 position.
Last Time Out
The Spartans were dropped, 7-0, in their first Big Ten match against No. 11 Michigan. Even though they failed to record a point in the match, MSU did see a win at the no. 3 doubles position. Redshirt junior Dana Guentert and freshman Hilary Hager defeated Sarah Lee and Kristy Dodge, 8-6. Sophomores Nicole Herzog and Katarina Lingl fell to Emina Bektas and Brooke Bolender, 8-2, and sophomore Marina Bohrer and freshman Julianne Gruber were defeated by Mimi Nguyen and Michelle Sulahian, 8-4.
In singles play, Gruber battled it out with Dodge at the No. 5 spot. Dodge took the first set, 6-1 and then Gruber came back in the second, 7-6. Dodge eventually captured the victory with a 10-3 tie breaker. Herzog fell to Bektas at the No. 1 spot, 6-2, 6-1 and Chernova suffered a 6-1, 6-0 defeat to Bolender. At the No. 3 spot, Bohrer fell in her first singles' loss of the season to Lee, 6-4, 6-4. Lingl fell to 6-2 in singles play with a 6-4, 6-4 loss to Crister. Sulahian dropped Guentert, 6-3, 6-2.
Scouting Western Michigan
Western Michigan (7-4) visit East Lansing after falling to DePaul, 5-2. The Broncos have faced three Big Ten opponents this season and fell to Michigan, Purdue, and Indiana, 7-0. Freshman Caroline Aleck picked up the MAC Women's Tennis Player of the Week award after going 2-0 against DePaul. Aleck and doubles partner April Kerr have gone 7-3 so far this season. Maria Nivia leads the Broncos in singles with a 7-4 record.
Big Ten Tennis
The Big Ten has already proven to be a tough conference to play in this year. Eight teams are ranked in the ITA DI Women's National Team Rankings, with No. 9 Northwestern and No. 11 Michigan being the only two in the top 25. No. 28 Nebraska is next and then follows No. 41 Purdue, No. 57 Illinois, No. 59 Penn State, No. 64 Ohio State and No. 70 Wisconsin.
The Spartans host four of their Big Ten opponents at home this season and will travel to Ohio State for the Big Ten Championship at the end of April.
Singles Success
The Spartans have seen success in singles play so far this season. Overall, in dual matches, they are 27-20 in singles. Gruber and Lingl have posted team-best records of 6-2 each. Gruber has gone a perfect 4-0 when competing at the No. 6 position. She began her debut season with a six-match winning streak. Lingl has gone 4-1 at the No. 4 spot. After returning back from injury this spring season, Borher has posted a 4-1 record at the No. 3 position. Silesova has a singles record of 4-2 and has gone 2-1 at both the No. 3 and No. 4 spots.
Home Sweet Home
MSU began its 2012 campaign with nine straight home games. They will travel outside the state of Michigan from March 2-6th when they visit Florida for a Spring Break trip. It will be their first time traveling outside of East Lansing since Oct. 20th when they visited Northern Illinois for the ITA Second Chance Regional on October 21st. The Spartans play 14 out of their 22 matches at home this season. Out of those 14, four are against Big Ten opponents.
Keeping it in State
The Spartans face five opponents from the state of Michigan this season, playing all of those matches at home in East Lansing. MSU so far has defeated Oakland, 7-0, Eastern Michigan, 5-2, and Detroit, 6-1. They fell to No. 11 Michigan, 7-0. On Friday, February 24th, the Spartans host Western Michigan.
Next Up
The Spartans embark on their first road trip this season on March 2nd to Florida. The Spartans are at Central Florida on March 2nd and face Stetson on March 6th.
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