University of Minnesota Athletics
University of Minnesota
Michigan State
Minnesota Eliminates MSU in First Round
4/23/2015 12:00:00 AM | Tennis
EVANSTON, Ill. - The 54th-ranked University of Minnesota women's tennis team moved on in the Big Ten Tournament Thursday in Evanston, Ill., defeating No. 63 Michigan State, 4-1. The victory avenged a 4-3 road loss at the hands of the Spartans in March.
The eighth-seeded Gophers will face top-seeded Michigan Friday at 10 a.m. in the quarterfinal round.
As it did in the teams' first meeting, Minnesota gained a 1-0 lead by claiming the doubles point. Tereza Brichacova and Paula Rincon-Otero got things started with an 8-5 win at No. 1 and Julia Courter and Jessika Mozia secured the point by staving off a comeback attempt by Athena Trouillot and Allie Baer at No. 2 to win, 8-7 (4).
In singles, Courter downed Trouillot in straight sets to make it 2-0 and Rincon-Otero made it 3-0 by overcoming an early first-set deficit to dispatch Emily Meyer, 6-4, 6-2.
MSU got on the board with a 6-4, 6-1 win at the top spot, but Mozia thwarted a potential Spartan rally by downing Aslina Chua, 6-3, 6-4 at No. 3 to end the match. Chua defeated Mozia in the players' first meeting this season, but Mozia started fast and never looked back in her 11th win of the spring.
The Gophers are now 17-9 on the season, matching their highest win total since 2003 and have taken down four ranked opponents.
No. 54 Minnesota 4, No. 63 Michigan State 1
Evanston, Ill. (Combe Tennis Center)
Singles competition
1. Erin Faulkner (MSU) def. Tereza Brichacova (MINN) 6-4, 6-1
2. Caroline Ryba (MINN) vs. Lexi Baylis (MSU) 2-6, 5-6, unfinished
3. Jessika Mozia (MINN) def. Aslina Chua (MSU) 6-3, 6-4
4. Aria Lambert (MINN) vs. Catherine Parenteau (MSU) 7-5, 5-1, unfinished
5. Julia Courter (MINN) def. Athena Trouillot (MSU) 6-4, 6-1
6. Paula Rincon-Otero (MINN) def. Emily Meyers (MSU) 6-4, 6-2
Doubles competition
1. Tereza Brichacova/Paula Rincon-Otero (MINN) def. Erin Faulkner/Catherine Parenteau (MSU) 8-5
2. Julia Courter/Jessika Mozia (MINN) def. Athena Trouillot/Allie Baer (MSU) 8-7 (4)
3. Lexi Baylis/Emily Meyers (MSU) vs. Caroline Ryba/Mehvish Safdar (MINN) 7-6, unfinished
Match Notes
Michigan State 16-9, 5-6
Minnesota 17-9, 6-5
Order of finish: Doubles (1,2); Singles (5,6,1,3)
Big Ten Tournament First Round
Players Mentioned
