Michigan State University
Illinois
Spartans Fall to No. 11 Illinois, 4-1
4/8/2018 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
EAST LANSING, Mich. - Michigan State women's tennis fell to No. 11 Illinois, 4-1, on Sunday afternoon at the MSU Indoor Tennis Facility.
The team is now 13-7 on the season, with a 4-4 mark in conference play, while Illinois improves to 17-3 and 6-2 in Big Ten matches.
"We didn't come out here to get four points against us, but we still have to keep working the process and keep believing in what we're doing," head coach Kim Bruno said. "We still have three matches left and we need to bounce back. These losses don't feel good now, but moving forward we can only get better from it."
In doubles competition, Illinois secured the doubles point with victories on courts one and two.
On court one, No. 38 Daniela Novak and Sasha Belaya defeated the duo of juniors Emily Metcalf and Davina Nguyen, to put Illinois in the lead for the doubles point.
Senior Lexi Baylis and freshman Ava Thielman dominated their match, 6-1, at No. 3 doubles against Mia Rabinowitz and Emilee Duong to keep MSU in the running for the doubles point.
It all came down to senior Habiba Shaker and freshman Sara Kuuttila on court two, as they battled in a close match with Jaclyn Switkes and Asuka Kawai, but eventually fell 6-4.
In singles play, the Spartans looked to build a comeback after being down 1-0 upon the conclusion of doubles.
At No. 2 singles, Shaker evened the score at 1-1, as she rallied to a victory over No. 83 Kawai in straight-sets, 6-1, 6-4. This was Shaker's second win against a ranked opponent this weekend, as she also defeated Northwestern's No. 105 Lee Or in three sets on Saturday.
Illinois jumped back in the lead with wins on courts four and five to give the Fighting Illini a 3-1 advantage. On court four, Metcalf was defeated by Rabinowitz, 6-4, 6-3.
Sophomore Samantha Memije moved up in the lineup to No. 5 singles, where she fell to Belaya, 6-4, 6-3.
The match was clinched for Illinois on court six, as Nguyen fell to Duong, 7-5, 6-4.
The Spartans continue their five-match home streak next weekend as they host Rutgers on Saturday, April 14, with the match set to begin at 12 p.m. The team will then take on Maryland the following day at 12 p.m.
Players Mentioned
