Sunday, April 17
Lincoln, Neb.
Noon ET
Michigan State University
1
at
4
Nebraska
Photo by: Michigan State Athletics
Spartans Defeated by Nebraska in Final Road Match
4/17/2022 3:59:00 PM | Women's Tennis
LINCOLN, Neb. – A singles win from senior Maja Pietrowicz in the No. 2 spot was not enough, as the Michigan State women's tennis team fell by a 4-1 score to Nebraska Sunday afternoon at the Dillon Tennis Center.
Dropping their eight match in a row, the Spartans moved to 9-11 on the season and 1-8 in the Big Ten, while the 52nd-ranked Huskers now hold a 13-9 overall record and a 6-4 conference mark with the victory.
Nebraska was able to jump out to a 4-2 lead on all three doubles courts, as the No. 3 pairing of Ellie Kuckelman and Samantha Alicea were able to wrap up a 6-2 win over the MSU duo of senior Nicole Stephens and junior Tia Mukherjee.
The Huskers closed out doubles action when the combination of Kristina Novak and Maja Makoric also grabbed a 6-2 victory, defeating the top Spartan pairing of Pietrowicz and graduate student Mary Lewis. The No. 2 doubles match would go unfinished despite sophomore Ayshe Can and freshman Charlotte Gisclon winning back-to-back points to even their score, 4-4, against the Huskers' Chloe Kuckelman and Isabel Gallego.
Novak would extend the Nebraska lead to 2-0 when she won in two sets with identical scores in each, defeating Lewis on the No. 1 singles court, 6-3, 6-3.
Chloe Kuckelman added another Husker singles win on the fifth court, as she was able to pull away in both her sets against Stephens, securing a 6-3, 6-3 victory just like Novak.
MSU was able to get one back on the second singles court in a battle between the Maja's, as Pietrowicz handled business in the first set with Makoric, and then held off a rally from Makoric in the second set to pick up a 6-3, 6-3 win.
The Huskers closed out the Spartans on the fourth singles court, with Alicea cruising to a victory in the first set before having to play senior Lauren Lemonds in a tiebreaker in the second set. The No. 4 MSU player was able to make it 6-5 in the first-to-seven tiebreaker before Alicea finished it out for a 6-1, 7-6 (7-5) win over Lemonds.
In the unfinished matches, Can was able to rattle off four-straight points in the first set to comeback from down 4-2 for the win, dropped the second set, and had a 1-0 lead in the third set before play was abandoned in the 6-4, 4-6, 1-0 match. For Gisclon, she had a 3-2 edge in the opening set before Ellie Kuckelman rallied for a 6-3 set win, while Kuckelman had a 5-4 lead in the second set when action was halted.
Michigan State closes out the regular season next weekend at home, playing Northwestern on April 22 before hosting Illinois on April 24 for Senior Day.
Dropping their eight match in a row, the Spartans moved to 9-11 on the season and 1-8 in the Big Ten, while the 52nd-ranked Huskers now hold a 13-9 overall record and a 6-4 conference mark with the victory.
Nebraska was able to jump out to a 4-2 lead on all three doubles courts, as the No. 3 pairing of Ellie Kuckelman and Samantha Alicea were able to wrap up a 6-2 win over the MSU duo of senior Nicole Stephens and junior Tia Mukherjee.
The Huskers closed out doubles action when the combination of Kristina Novak and Maja Makoric also grabbed a 6-2 victory, defeating the top Spartan pairing of Pietrowicz and graduate student Mary Lewis. The No. 2 doubles match would go unfinished despite sophomore Ayshe Can and freshman Charlotte Gisclon winning back-to-back points to even their score, 4-4, against the Huskers' Chloe Kuckelman and Isabel Gallego.
Novak would extend the Nebraska lead to 2-0 when she won in two sets with identical scores in each, defeating Lewis on the No. 1 singles court, 6-3, 6-3.
Chloe Kuckelman added another Husker singles win on the fifth court, as she was able to pull away in both her sets against Stephens, securing a 6-3, 6-3 victory just like Novak.
MSU was able to get one back on the second singles court in a battle between the Maja's, as Pietrowicz handled business in the first set with Makoric, and then held off a rally from Makoric in the second set to pick up a 6-3, 6-3 win.
The Huskers closed out the Spartans on the fourth singles court, with Alicea cruising to a victory in the first set before having to play senior Lauren Lemonds in a tiebreaker in the second set. The No. 4 MSU player was able to make it 6-5 in the first-to-seven tiebreaker before Alicea finished it out for a 6-1, 7-6 (7-5) win over Lemonds.
In the unfinished matches, Can was able to rattle off four-straight points in the first set to comeback from down 4-2 for the win, dropped the second set, and had a 1-0 lead in the third set before play was abandoned in the 6-4, 4-6, 1-0 match. For Gisclon, she had a 3-2 edge in the opening set before Ellie Kuckelman rallied for a 6-3 set win, while Kuckelman had a 5-4 lead in the second set when action was halted.
Michigan State closes out the regular season next weekend at home, playing Northwestern on April 22 before hosting Illinois on April 24 for Senior Day.
Team Stats
#1 Doubles Match
#2 Doubles Match
#3 Doubles Match
Order of Finish:
3,1
#1 Singles Match
12
33
Kristina Novak / 0 [NEB]
66
#2 Singles Match
12
66
Maja Makoric / 0 [NEB]
33
#3 Singles Match
1234
6410
Isabel A. Gallego / 0 [NEB]
460UF
#4 Singles Match
12
16
Samantha Alicea / 0 [NEB]
67
#5 Singles Match
12
33
Chloe Kuckelman / 0 [NEB]
66
#6 Singles Match
123
340
Ellie Kuckelman / 0 [NEB]
65UF
Order of Finish:
1,5,2,4
Players Mentioned
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
Liisa Vehviläinen | The Way of Sisu | Spartans All-Access
Thursday, February 20
Kim Bruno | Women's Tennis Press Conference | Feb. 17 2025
Monday, February 17
Kim Bruno | Women's Tennis Press Conference | Jan. 28 2025
Tuesday, January 28
Spartans All-Access: Marlo Schiffman
Wednesday, April 03