Doubles Drives Spartans to Season Opening Win at Toledo

TOLEDO, Ohio – On the back of a dominant doubles point and three straight-set victories in singles, Michigan State women's tennis opened the 2023 dual match season with a 5-2 victory over the Toledo Rockets on Sunday at the Twos Athletic Club.

Michigan State climbs to 1-0 overall, while Toledo drops to 1-1 following a 7-0 result against Army yesterday afternoon. The Green & White improve to 6-3 on opening day in the Kim Bruno era, which dates to the 2016-17 season. MSU is 4-3 in its first match of the season since the 2017 dual campaign began.

MSU saw four newcomers make their debut in the doubles lineup on Sunday, with all three Spartan tandems recording victories to open the match. Issey Purser and Dagmar Zdrubecka started the dual match season off with an impressive 6-2 result over Julia Kuszynski and Laura Morera at the No. 3 position. The Green & White clinched the opening point of the match at No. 2, with Nicole Conard and Marley Lambert working together for a strong 6-3 finish over Mariona Perez Noguera and Sanjana Tallamraju. With the first point secured, Ayshe Can and Liisa Vehvilainen completed the Spartan sweep of doubles with a 7-5 win over Cassie Alcala and Sloane Teske at the top position.

The Spartans carried their early momentum into singles action, with the Green & White taking four-of-six first sets through the early going. Lambert, a freshman from Corona, California, was the first Michigan State player off the courts, punctuating her collegiate dual match debut with a 6-1, 6-1 straight-set victory over Sanjana Tallamraju. Leading the match 2-0, MSU called upon Conard to tally the next point, as the Boca Raton, Florida, native published a steady 6-3, 6-3 straight set win over Morera.

Vehvilainen, one of five new student-athletes in Michigan State's singles lineup, got out to a spectacular start in her match against Shalini Tallamraju. The sophomore from Turku, Finland, notched a 6-1 first set victory and battled her way through the second set to secure the clinch win at the No. 3 singles position. Vehvilainen completed a 6-1, 6-4 showing in her Spartan dual match debut, notching the first clinch of the season by a Spartan. Elsewhere in the lineup, Toledo took the match at No. 2, with Teske defeating Juliette Nask by a 6-4, 7-6(2) margin. The Rockets managed to notch their second score at the No. 1 spot, with Alcala defeating Can by a 6-4, 7-5 margin to make the score 4-2 in MSU's favor. In the last match of the day, Purser closed the afternoon out with a thrilling 7-5, 5-7, 1-0(5) win over Perez Noguera.

On an individual basis, Conard, Nask and Purser are all tied for the overall win lead at MSU with six singles victories through the early going this season. In doubles, the pairing of Can and Vehvilainen lead the Spartan roster with a 5-3 overall record highlighted by a nationally-ranked win over Northwestern's Clarissa Hand and Maria Shusharina during the fall tournament campaign. Conard and Lambert move to 1-1, while Purser and Zdrubecka remain unblemished in doubles at 4-0 this year.

UP NEXT
Michigan State women's tennis continues its season-opening road trek next week, as the Spartans head to South Bend, Indiana, to square off against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish on Saturday, January 21. First serve from Eck Tennis Pavilion is slated for 11 a.m.

POSTMATCH QUOTES
MICHIGAN STATE QUOTES
Head Coach Kim Bruno
On Sunday's performance at Toledo…
"It was a great all-around performance from our Spartan women today. They battled through a lot of tough moments out there, stayed composed, and got the job done. Nerves were high, especially considering the fact that we have five new players in our singles lineup. This was their match, and they handled the pressure well. It was a great way to win our first match of the season."

TENNIS MATCH RESULTS
Michigan State 5, Toledo 2
Twos Athletic Club – Toledo, Ohio
DOUBLES
1. Ayshe Can / Liisa Vehvilainen (MSU) def. Cassie Alcala / Sloane Teske (TOL) 7-5
2. Nicole Conard / Marley Lambert (MSU) def. Mariona Perez Noguera / Sanjana Tallamraju (TOL) 6-3
3. Issey Purser / Dagmar Zdrubecka (MSU) def. Julia Kuszynski / Laura Morera (TOL) 6-2

SINGLES
1. Cassie Alcala (TOL) def. Ayshe Can (MSU) 6-4, 7-5
2. Sloane Teske (TOL) def. Juliette Nask (MSU) 6-4, 7-6(2)
3. Liisa Vehvilainen (MSU) def. Shalini Tallamraju (TOL) 6-1, 6-4
4. Issey Purser (MSU) def. Mariona Perez Noguera (TOL) 7-5, 5-7, 1-0(5)
5. Marley Lambert (MSU) def. Sanjana Tallamraju (TOL) 6-1, 6-1
6. Nicole Conard (MSU) def. Laura Morera (TOL) 6-3, 6-3

Order of Finish: Doubles (3,2,1); Singles (5,6,3,2,1,4)

FOLLOW THE SPARTANS
Visit MSUSpartans.com for more information on Michigan State women's tennis. Fans can keep up to date with the Spartan women's tennis team on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter by following @MSU_WTennis.

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Team Stats

Players Mentioned

Ayshe Can

Nicole Conard

Marley Lambert

Juliette Nask

Issey Purser

Liisa Vehviläinen

Dagmar Zdrubecka