Peyton Skiver
The Michigan State women’s tennis team hosted Xavier on Sunday for its fifth home match in a row.
The Spartans were looking to bounce back after a hard-fought 6-1 loss against No. 17 Southern California on Friday, and they did just that, defeating Xavier 5-2 in an intense matchup.
“When we’re down, we’re not out. We keep finding ways to win. These girls have shown it over and over again and I’m really proud of them,” head coach Kim Bruno said.
Doubles play came down to the final match after MSU and Xavier split the first two wins on courts one and two. Partners Liisa Vehvilainen and Matilde Morais were the last two on the court for the Spartans as they fought hard against the Musketeers’ Emily Flowers and Sofia Mazzucato. However, it would not be enough and they would fall 7-5, allowing Xavier to earn the doubles point.
The Musketeers also took the first singles point, as Mazzucato swept sophomore Issey Purser 7-5, 6-3.
The Spartans did not let that stop them, however, as senior Ayshe Can took MSU’s first singles point of the match, defeating her opponent 6-2, 7-5. Right behind her was freshman Ria Bhakta, who also won in two sets 6-4, 6-3 to tie the match up 2-2.
Michigan State did not look back after tying it up, as Vehvilainen, Morias, and freshman Natalie Stasny would secure the 5-2 victory by beating their opponents in extremely close sets.
“The fuel deflated after the doubles point, and we can get wrapped up in that, but we didn’t. We put our emotions in check and got tough,” Bruno said.
After this big win, the Spartans are 6-3 on the season and have won five of their last six dual matches. MSU will host Columbia on Sunday, Feb. 25 for the final match of the six-match homestand.