Doubles Shines as Womens Tennis Splits Friday Doubleheader

EAST LANSING, Mich. Michigan State women’s tennis dominated doubles and split singles Friday at the MSU Indoor Tennis Center, dropping a 4-3 decision to the two-time Big East champion Xavier Musketeers before defeating the Chicago State Cougars in 5 points. 2 result.

After Friday’s home game, the Spartans move to 5-3 overall with two weeks remaining in the non-conference. The Spartans have won four of their last five games, reaching double figures in three of those wins. With the loss, Chicago State falls to 6-8, while the victorious Musketeers improve to 5-4 overall in a neutral test against the Illinois State Redbirds on Saturday, February 25 at the MSU Indoor Tennis Center.

The Spartans opened their first match of the day with a decisive double-point victory as MSU took the top two courts to secure the opening point. Ayshe can and Liisa Vehvilainen continued their dominance in doubles with a 6-0 win over Xavier’s Kat Lyman and Abby Nugent on court one. The Musketeers battled back to even doubles play as Emily Flowers and Paulina Franco fell Juliette Nask and Issey Purser with a score of 6-2. All eyes fixed on field two, Nicole Conard and Marley Lambert locked in a clutch 7-6(5) victory over Imani Graham and Blessing Nwaozuzu to give Michigan State a 1-0 lead.

After a short break, both teams battled back and forth for control in the early stages of singles play as each team picked up a trio of first sets. Purser got to MSU first by dismantling Nwaozuzu in a 6-2, 6-0 run that put the Spartans up 2-0 in short order. Xavier grabbed back on court four as Nugent defeated Nask 6-4, 6-4 to make the score 2-1 in favor of MSU.

The remaining four singles courts split sets, with Xavier taking the next two courts to go up 3-2. Flowers on Tia Mukherjee, 6-3, 4-6, 6-4, on six courts, while Graham defeated Vehvilainen 6-3, 4-6, 6-3. Michigan State’s situation came when Lambert beat Siminski 7-6(4), 1-6, 6-3, but the Musketeers won the match on two courts after Lyman’s 3-6, 6-1, 7-. 6(4) match against Conard. Xavier escaped its first matchup of the weekend at Mid Michigan with a 4-3 victory.

After a short break between matches, the Spartans went back to work in doubles against Chicago State and took the doubleheader with wins on the bottom two courts. Charlotte Gisclon and Dagmar Zdrubecka started things off on the second court with a 6-2 win over Cali Fuller and Sofiya Sedovich. The Spartans grabbed the opening point of the match for the second time on Friday with a 6-3 victory over Mukherjee and Monique Karoub over Ethel Li and Katerina Dukic. Lambert and Vehvilainen led Manuella Eloundou Nga and Kristina Pukhaeva by 5-4, but their match was abandoned when the doubles point was secured.

For the second consecutive match, neither team was able to build a decisive advantage through the first sets of the singles contest, with both teams taking the first three sets. Chicago State managed to tie the game at 1 after Li won Makenna Martinez in straight sets 6-4, 6-3, six on the field. MSU responded with two more wins to go up 3-1, with Zdrubecka taking a straight 6-3, 6-4 win against Sedovich on court four just before Vehvilainen closed out a strong 6-0, 6-4 match against Fuller. the top line.

The Cougars made things interesting on court three as a sizzling straight match went Chicago State’s way following Dukic’s 6-3, 7-6(1) win over MSU’s Purser. Leading the match 3-2, Green & White invited the freshmen Sarah Fazlagic, who picked up a team win in his first career dual meet. Fazlagic narrowly defeated Eloundou Nga 6-2, 1-6, 6-4 on court five to take a 4-2 lead in the match. Lambert finished the night with a 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 victory on court two against Pukhaeva to complete MSU’s 5-2 win.

Vehvilainen became the first person on Michigan State’s roster to break the 10-win mark in singles play and eventually improved to 10-5 after splitting their matches on Friday. Turku, Finland, leads the team in double match wins with six and maintains the lead at 4-1. Lambert led the singles lineup in both matches Friday as she went 8-7 individually and 4-3 in singles. In doubles, the pair of Cani and Vehvilainen became the first Spartan tandem to break the 10-win mark this season. He won his fifth straight match together against Xavier en route to a 10-4 overall record and a 6-1 start in duals. match campaign.

NEXT

Michigan State women’s tennis will remain at home in East Lansing on Sunday, February 26, when the Spartans welcome the Illinois State Redbirds to the MSU Indoor Tennis Center for an 11:00 a.m. matinee.

TENNIS MATCH RESULTS

Michigan State 3, Xavier 4
MSU Indoor Tennis Center East Lansing, Mich.
DOUBLE

1. Ayshe can / Liisa Vehvilainen (MSU) def. Kat Lyman / Abby Nugent (XU) 6-0
2. Nicole Conard / Marley Lambert (MSU) def. Imani Graham / Blessing Nwaozuzu (XU) 7-6(5)
3. Emily Flowers / Paulina Franco (XU) def. Juliette Nask / Issey Purser (MSU) 6-2

Singles

1. Imani Graham (XU) def. Liisa Vehvilainen (MSU) 6-3, 4-6, 6-3
2. Kat Lyman (XU) def. Nicole Conard (MSU) 3-6, 6-1, 7-6(4)
3. Abby Nugent (XU) def. Juliette Nask (MSU) 6-4, 6-4
4. Marley Lambert (MSU) def. Abigail Siminski (XU) 7-6 (4), 1-6, 6-3
5. Issey Purser (MSU) def. Blessing for Nwaozuzu (XU) 6-2, 6-0
6. Emily Flowers (XU) def. Tia Mukherjee (MSU) 6-3, 4-6, 6-4

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

Michigan State 5, Chicago State 2
MSU Indoor Tennis Center East Lansing, Mich.
DOUBLE

1. Marley Lambert / Liisa Vehvilainen (MSU) vs. Manuella Eloundou Nga / Kristina Pukhaeva (CHST) 5-4, unfinished
2. Charlottee Gisclon / Dagmar Zdrubecka (MSU) def. Cali Fuller / Sofiya Sedovich (CHST) 6-2
3. Monique Karoub / Tia Mukherjee (MSU) def. Ethel Li / Katerina Dukic (CHST) 6-3

Singles

1. Liisa Vehvilainen (MSU) def. Cali Fuller (CHST) 6-0, 6-4
2. Marley Lambert (MSU) def. Kristina Pukhaeva (CHST) 4-6, 6-4, 6-4
3. Katarina Dukic (CHST) def. Issey Purser (MSU) 6-3, 7-6 (1)
4. Dagmar Zdrubecka (MSU) def. Sofiya Sedovich (CHST) 6-3, 6-4
5. Sarah Fazlagic (MSU) def. Manuella Eloundou Nga (CHST) 6-2, 1-6, 6-4
6. Ethel Li (CHST) def. Makenna Martinez (MSU) 6-4, 6-3

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

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