Feb. 7, 2004

EAST LANSING, Mich. - The Michigan State women's tennis team dropped its second straight close contest, falling to DePaul, 4-3, Saturday at the MSU Indoor Tennis Facility. MSU, which also lost 4-3 Friday to Eastern Michigan, slipped to 2-4 this season, while DePaul improved to 6-4.

"We had two very tough matches," said MSU assistant coach Brett Page. "A lot of our players fought hard and fought very well, but we're going to have to add something. We're going to have to practice a little harder and get the win next week."

For the second straight day, MSU won the doubles point to start play. The Spartans dropped an 8-2 decision at No. 1, but sophomore Shelley Brady (Grand Blanc, Mich.) and freshman Sarah Andrews (Darwin, Australia) earned an 8-6 win at No. 2, while freshmen Pascale Schnitzer (Santiago, Chile) and Jessica Baron (Miami, Fla.) recorded an 8-5 win at No. 3.

Unfortunately for MSU, the Spartans quickly fell behind in singles. Senior Caroline Lay (Brisbane, Australia) fell to Gergana Ganeva at No. 2, 6-1, 6-2, before junior Keri Thompson (Clark Lake, Mich.) dropped a 6-2, 6-3 decision at No. 1 to Marina Parashkevova to put MSU in a 2-1 hole. DePaul's Petra Rehusova then finished off Baron at No. 6, 6-2, 6-2, to make the team score 3-1 DePaul.

Andrews gave MSU hope with a 6-4, 6-4 victory at No. 4 over Brenda Leung, but DePaul's Karen Falduto clinched the team victory by rallying for a 4-6, 6-0, 6-2 win at No. 5 over Schnitzer. Finally, in the longest match of the day, Brady battled back from a set down for a hard-fought 6-7(7), 6-4, 6-2 win at No. 3 over DePaul's Natalie Matko to conclude the action.

Michigan State will hit the road for a pair of road matches next weekend, visiting Miami (Ohio) Saturday, Feb. 14, at 1 p.m., and Ball State Sunday, Feb. 15, at Noon.

Women's Tennis
DePaul 4, Michigan State 3
Feb. 7, 2004
MSU Indoor Tennis Facility - East Lansing, Mich.

Doubles
No. 1 - Parashkevova/Ganeva (DePaul) def. Lay/Thompson (MSU), 8-2
No. 2 - Brady/Andrews (MSU) def. Matko/Falduto (DePaul), 8-6
No. 3 - Schnitzer/Baron (MSU) def. Leung/Rehusova (DePaul), 8-5

Singles
No. 1 - Marina Parashkevova (DePaul) def. Keri Thompson (MSU), 6-2, 6-3
No. 2 - Gergana Ganeva (DePaul) def. Caroline Lay (MSU), 6-1, 6-2
No. 3 - Shelley Brady (MSU) def. Natalie Matko (DePaul), 6-7(7), 6-4, 6-2
No. 4 - Sarah Andrews (MSU) def. Brenda Leung (DePaul), 6-4, 6-4
No. 5 - Karen Falduto (DePaul) def. Pascale Schnitzer (MSU), 4-6, 6-0, 6-3
No. 6 - Petra Rehusova (DePaul) def. Jessica Baron (MSU), 6-2, 6-2