March 30, 2008

Results

COLUMBUS, Ohio - The Michigan State women's tennis team lost to No. 31 Ohio State, 6-1, on Sunday afternoon in Columbus, Ohio. Christine Bader picked up the only win for the Spartans on the day, defeating Angela Dipastina, 7-5, 2-6, 1-0 (10-6), at No. 1 singles. The Spartans are now 10-8 in dual-match play (1-3 Big Ten), while Ohio State improves to 16-3, and 3-1 in conference play.

Ohio State took control of the match early, sweeping all three doubles flights and taking the 1-0 lead. At No. 1, Bader and Whitney Wilson fell to Dipastina and Christina Keesey, 8-2, while MSU's Ana Milosavljevic and Manon Noe lost at No. 2 to Julie Blackmore and Cami Hubbs, 8-4. At No. 3, Ohio State's Paloma Escobedo and Caitlin O'Keefe defeated Lindsey Lonergan and Stephanie Kebler, 8-4.

Things didn't get any easier for the Spartans in singles play, as the Buckeyes came out on fire and swept the first five matches. Ohio State's Escobedo downed Kebler, 6-2, 6-4, while Noe fell at No. 3 to Blackmore, 6-2, 6-2. MSU's Lonergan lost a close first set at No. 4, 6-4, but stumbled in the second frame, losing 6-2 to Keesey. At No. 5, Ohio State's Hubbs defeated Wilson, 6-0, 7-6, while O'Keefe beat MSU's Michelle Murphy, 6-2, 6-0, at No. 6.

"We really didn't have a good performance today," said MSU head coach Erica Perkins. "I knew we would need to play a great match to have a chance at the upset. Ohio State is a tough team and we gave them too many free points and they thrived on it. We cannot compete like that and expect to win. We will regroup next week and set a higher standard for ourselves in preparation for Minnesota and Iowa."

Michigan State continues play next weekend as it plays host to No. 57 Minnesota on Saturday, April 5, then entertain No. 45 Iowa on Sunday, April 6. Both matches are scheduled to begin at 11 a.m. at the MSU Indoor Tennis Facility in East Lansing.