Women’s Tennis Drops B1G Opener at No. 6 Michigan

ANN ARBOR, Mich. – Michigan State women's tennis dropped its first match of the Big Ten campaign on Saturday, as the Spartans fell to the No. 6 Michigan Wolverines in a 4-0 contest at the Varsity Tennis Center.

Following its victory on Saturday afternoon, Michigan climbs to 9-2 overall this season with a 1-0 start after its Big Ten-opening win. In defeat, Michigan State drops its league opener and falls to 7-5 overall. The Green & White have won two of five matches away from East Lansing, including a 4-0 victory over Middle Tennessee in neutral site action earlier this week.

The Wolverines started out strong in the doubles competition, with Michigan snagging wins on the bottom two courts to take the opening point of the match. Kari Miller and Nicole Hammond opened things up with a 6-2 win on court two, defeating the Spartan pairing of Marley Lambert and Dagmar Zdrubecka. Michigan took the doubles point on court three moments later, as Andrea Cerdan and Merri Kelly toppled Nicole Conard and Issey Purser in a 6-4 outing. The 69th-ranked duo of Lily Jones and Julia Fliegner of Michigan led MSU's Ayshe Can and Liisa Vehvilainen by a 5-3 score, but the match was abandoned after the doubles point was clinched.

The transition to singles saw more success for the sixth-ranked Wolverines, as Michigan took five of the six available first sets. Michigan's lead ballooned to 2-0 after 118th-ranked Mesochoritou downed Conard din a 6-1, 6-1, straight-set victory on court five. The Wolverines tacked on another point at the No. 4 line, as Cerdan defeated Spartan freshman Juliette Nask by a 6-3, 6-0 tally. Michigan clinched the match and secured the Big Ten-opening sweep on court six, where Kelly logged a 6-2 win in the first set followed by a 7-6(4) battle in the second against MSU's Purser.

The Green & White battled closely on the top three singles courts, but were unable to secure any upset victories before the dual match was finished. On court one, the Turku, Finland, native Vehvilainen trailed No. 50 Miller in a 2-6, 4-5, match, but had won two straight games prior to the contest's suspension. The battle on court three pitted Can against No. 34 Fliegner, with the Spartan working for a 6-3 finish in the first set before dropping a 2-6 frame in the second. Fliegner got out to an early 2-1 lead in what would have been the deciding frame. Finally, Lambert and No. 54 Jones were locked in a back-and-forth affair, with the Spartan freshman leading 3-6, 6-4, 1-0, as the dual expired.

UP NEXT
Michigan State women's tennis remains on the road in Big Ten Conference competition next week, as the Spartans travel to take on the Iowa Hawkeyes in a 6 p.m. contest on Friday, March 17, inside the Hawkeye Tennis and Recreation Complex.

TENNIS MATCH RESULTS
#6 Michigan 4, Michigan State 0
Varsity Tennis Center – Ann Arbor, Mich.
DOUBLES
1. Ayshe Can / Liisa Vehvilainen (MSU) vs. #69 Lily Jones / Julia Fliegner (MICH) 3-5, unfinished
2. Kari Miller / Nicole Hammond (MICH) def. Marley Lambert / Dagmar Zdrubecka (MSU) 6-2
3. Andrea Cerdan / Merri Kelly (MICH) def. Nicole Conard / Issey Purser (MSU) 6-4

SINGLES
1. Liisa Vehvilainen (MSU) vs. #50 Kari Miller (MICH) 2-6, 4-5, unfinished
2. Ayshe Can (MSU) vs. #34 Julia Fliegner (MICH) 6-3, 2-6, 1-2, unfinished
3. Marley Lambert (MSU) vs. #54 Lily Jones (MICH) 3-6, 6-4, 1-0, unfinished
4. Andrea Cerdan (MICH) def. Juliette Nask (MSU) 6-3, 6-0
5. #118 Gala Mesochoritou (MICH) def. Nicole Conard (MSU) 6-1, 6-1
6. Merri Kelly (MICH) def. Issey Purser (MSU) 6-2, 7-6(4)

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

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