April 9, 2008

Results

EAST LANSING, Mich. - The No. 59 Michigan State women's tennis team fell to No. 26 Michigan, 6-1, on Wednesday night at the MSU Indoor Tennis Facility. The Wolverines controlled the match from the start, sweeping the doubles matches, then claimed five of six in singles. Stephanie Kebler picked up the only win for the Spartans at No. 2 singles, coming back from a first-set loss to defeat Michigan's Whitney Taney, 3-6, 6-3, 1-0 (10-1). The Spartans are now 12-9 on the season, and 3-4 in Big Ten play.

Michigan kept the pressure on entering singles play, as it took five of six matches. MSU's No. 1 Christine Bader fell to No. 46 Chisako Sugiyama, 6-1, 6-1, while Lindsey Lonergan lost to No. 105 Tania Mahtani, 6-1, 6-3. At No. 5, Ana Milosavljevic was dropped by Michigan's Rika Tatsuno, 6-2, 6-3, and MSU's No. 6 Whitney Wilson was defeated by Lindsey Howard, 6-3, 6-1.

In the last match of the night, Manon Noe fought hard at No. 3, but Michigan's Denise Muresan finished her comeback bid, edging the Spartan freshman in the super tiebreaker, 2-6, 6-2, 1-0 (11-9).

"Michigan was the better team tonight," MSU head coach Erica Perkins said. "Across the board they competed with better energy and put more balls on the court; which was a little disappointing. I thought we had opportunities at both No. 1 and No. 2 doubles, but did not go after it, and when you hang back in doubles it is tough to win. Michigan came after us in singles and dominated the energy on most courts. Manon Noe and Stephanie Kebler both played gutsy tennis, and I was very pleased with Stephanie's comeback win at No. 2. But to upset a top ranked team we will need more consistent effort on each court."

Michigan State continues play on Sunday, April 13 as it entertains Penn State at 11 a.m. in East Lansing.