Michigan State University
Eastern Michigan
Spartan Women's Tennis Tames Eagles, Grounds Rockets
1/16/2016 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
MSU vs. EMU Box | MSU vs. Toledo Box
EAST LANSING, Mich. - Michigan State opened the 2016 spring season with a pair of wins at the MSU Indoor Tennis Complex on Saturday, downing Eastern Michigan, 5-2, and Toledo, 7-0. Four different Spartans went 2-0 in singles on the day.
"I think that we knew coming into the weekend it wouldn't be easy," said head coach Simone Jardim. "Whenever you have a doubleheader, and being a little down with injuries, it is tough. I am happy because I didn't care how we got it done, we just got it done. Eastern Michigan was a team that was a talented group of kids and had no pressure coming in to play us."
No. 69 MSU jumped out to an early lead over the Eagles, claiming the doubles point with a pair of victories, while leading in the third bout. Sophomore Allie Baer and freshman Emily Metcalf made quick work on court two of EMU's Marie Mayerova and Ani Gogvadze, 6-0. Sophomore Lexi Baylis combined with senior Emily Meyers to seal the decision, 6-1, over Anna Veleva and Renu Sharma. On court one, the Midwest's No. 9-ranked team of junior Athena Trouillot and freshman Davina Nguyen ended their contest with a 3-2 lead with the region's No. 7-ranked pair of Klara Supejova and Andrea Martinovska.
Meyers increased MSU's lead to 2-0 with a straight-set victory over Sharma, 6-0, 6-2. After Supejova downed Nguyen on court one, 6-2, 6-1, Baer claimed her match to reestablish the two-point lead, winning 6-4, 6-1.
The final three matches of the contest all came down to third sets. After battling to a 7-5 second set victory, Baylis was unable to sustain the momentum, falling 6-2 in both the first and third sets. Trouillot clinched the team contest in a thriller on court three, claiming the final set 7-5 after rebounding from a 6-2 loss in the first with a convincing 6-1 win in the second.
"I think our student-athletes stepped up when we needed them," said Jardim. "Rebounding is the key. The thing I am happy about is that they (Davina Nguyen and Lexi Baylis) did not get destroyed about losing earlier in the day. They came back and won pretty confidently in the afternoon. Overall, they did a great job, and we will keep doing what we are doing."
In the night cap, the Spartans once again claimed the doubles point, winning two of the three matches. Chua and Zelechonok clinched the point over Toledo's Mackenzie Bowman and Claire Aleck after the Rockets downed MSU's top-pair of Trouillot and Nguyen, 6-1. Baylis and Metcalf combined for a 6-2 win over Rani Goodland and Lauren Thai.
Meyers and Trouillot gave Michigan State a demanding 3-0 lead, making quick work of their singles bouts. Meyers downed Megan Miller, 6-3, 6-2, as Trouillot defeated Claire Aleck in straight sets, 6-2, 6-0.
Baylis clinched the match for the Spartans, using a straight-set, 6-2, 6-1, victory over Emily Mazzola to seal MSU's second team win of the day. On court two, Nguyen rebounded from her loss against Eastern Michigan, using a strong first set to beat Sidnay Huck, 6-1, 6-4.
With the win in hand, Baer added to the total with a 7-6, 6-1, win on court five, while Chua defeated former Spartan Colleen O'Brien, 7-6, 6-4.
Michigan State returns to the courts in Miami, Florida, at the ITA Kick-Off Weekend against Auburn and the winner of Middle Tennessee/Miami (Fla.) on Jan. 22-23.
Players Mentioned
