Saturday, March 12
East Lansing, Mich.
11 a.m. ET
Michigan State University
2
vs
5
Columbia
Photo by: Kelly Branigan
Women’s Tennis Defeated by No. 38 Columbia
3/12/2022 5:49:00 PM | Women's Tennis
Lemonds and Can Win Singles Matches
EAST LANSING, Mich. – The Michigan State women's tennis team could not overcome a strong non-conference opponent on Saturday afternoon, as the Spartans lost to No. 38 Columbia by a 5-2 score inside the MSU Indoor Tennis Center.
Saturday marked the final non-conference match of the season for the 55th-ranked Spartans, as MSU shifted to 8-3 this season, while the visiting Lions improved to a 10-3 overall record.
Columbia went up early in doubles play, as the Lions' No. 3 pairing of Anna Zhang and Winta Tewolde built up a big lead over senior Lauren Lemonds and junior Tia Mukherjee, eventually finishing off a 6-1 victory. The veteran duo of senior Maja Pietrowicz and graduate student Mary Lewis grabbed a 6-4 win for MSU on the second court against Rachele Rimondini and Shivani Amineni, but the top Spartan pairing of senior Nicole Stephens and sophomore Ayshe Can fell to the Melissa Sakar/Akanksha Bhan duo in a 6-4 match to give Columbia the doubles point.
Lemonds evened the team score at 1-1 after being the first singles winner, claiming a 6-4, 6-1 victory over Amineni in the fifth spot. The No. 2 singles player for the Lions, Jennifer Kerr, put Columbia back in front when she beat Stephens 6-3, 6-4, as Kerr rallied for four-straight points in the first set en route to the victory.
In a back-and-forth battle on the top singles court, the nation's 121st-ranked singles player in Bhan came out on the winning end of a 7-5, 7-5 over Lewis despite the Spartan going up 3-0 in the second set. Sakar then clinched the Lions win with a 6-2, 2-6, 6-3 victory against Pietrowicz in the No. 3 position, rattling off four-straight points to close out the third set after Pietrowicz went up 3-2 in the deciding set.
The final two matches continued on, as Can came back to beat Julia Haynes after dropping the first set, scoring a 2-6, 6-4, 6-2 win on the fourth court, while Columbia's Clarine Lerby defeated freshman Charlotte Gisclon in a 6-4, 2-6, 3-2 (5) match on the No. 6 court.
Can now leads the team with 11 singles wins this season, while Lemonds won her fifth-straight match in singles play.
Michigan State starts its Big Ten slate on Sunday, March 13 against Indiana. The Spartans and Hoosiers are set for an 11 a.m. opening serve.
Saturday marked the final non-conference match of the season for the 55th-ranked Spartans, as MSU shifted to 8-3 this season, while the visiting Lions improved to a 10-3 overall record.
Columbia went up early in doubles play, as the Lions' No. 3 pairing of Anna Zhang and Winta Tewolde built up a big lead over senior Lauren Lemonds and junior Tia Mukherjee, eventually finishing off a 6-1 victory. The veteran duo of senior Maja Pietrowicz and graduate student Mary Lewis grabbed a 6-4 win for MSU on the second court against Rachele Rimondini and Shivani Amineni, but the top Spartan pairing of senior Nicole Stephens and sophomore Ayshe Can fell to the Melissa Sakar/Akanksha Bhan duo in a 6-4 match to give Columbia the doubles point.
Lemonds evened the team score at 1-1 after being the first singles winner, claiming a 6-4, 6-1 victory over Amineni in the fifth spot. The No. 2 singles player for the Lions, Jennifer Kerr, put Columbia back in front when she beat Stephens 6-3, 6-4, as Kerr rallied for four-straight points in the first set en route to the victory.
In a back-and-forth battle on the top singles court, the nation's 121st-ranked singles player in Bhan came out on the winning end of a 7-5, 7-5 over Lewis despite the Spartan going up 3-0 in the second set. Sakar then clinched the Lions win with a 6-2, 2-6, 6-3 victory against Pietrowicz in the No. 3 position, rattling off four-straight points to close out the third set after Pietrowicz went up 3-2 in the deciding set.
The final two matches continued on, as Can came back to beat Julia Haynes after dropping the first set, scoring a 2-6, 6-4, 6-2 win on the fourth court, while Columbia's Clarine Lerby defeated freshman Charlotte Gisclon in a 6-4, 2-6, 3-2 (5) match on the No. 6 court.
Can now leads the team with 11 singles wins this season, while Lemonds won her fifth-straight match in singles play.
Michigan State starts its Big Ten slate on Sunday, March 13 against Indiana. The Spartans and Hoosiers are set for an 11 a.m. opening serve.
Players Mentioned
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/ Women's Tennis
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/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
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