Sept. 28, 2008
Contact: Dana Ingraham
EAST LANSING, Mich. -- CSU wrapped up day two of the Spartan Invitational with improved performances in singles and doubles despite minor setbacks of injury and lineup rotation.
With Melissa Holzinger and Denisa Muntean out of competition due to injury, coach Brian Etzkin was forced to make some changes in the lineup. Jackie Tabb stepped in for Muntean at No. 2 doubles on Sunday morning, finishing 1-1 with partner Sanda Bjelan. As a team, the Vikings went a combined 3-3 in doubles play against Toledo and Detroit, taking two out of three from their conference foe.
"Our doubles looked a lot better today," said Etzkin. "When we are on top of our game, we look really good. After today's solid performance, I am excited about doubles play in the conference this year."
CSU only had enough players to field five singles matches against Michigan State but got impressive showings from Charlotte Gibbons and Catrine Bjerrehus at No. 1 and 2. Gibbons fought back and pushed her match to three sets against Stephanie Kebler, coming up just short of a victory. Bjerrehus was the only Viking to win in singles play on the weekend, bringing her overall record this fall to 8-1.
"Even though Charlotte lost she was able to fight back in the third set, showing she can be a real force at number one," Etzkin said. "Catrine also did a good job of following through on her game plan. She fixed some mistakes she made early on and proved that she is capable of playing higher in the lineup.
"As a team we raised our game and did a better job of stepping up and asserting ourselves. This weekend was another good checkpoint for us to see where we stand."
The women now have a break in the action until Oct. 23 when they return to East Lansing for the ITA Regional Tournament.
Michigan State Spartan Invitational
Final Day Results
Doubles
Gibbons/Bjerrehus (CSU) def. Moore/Minic (Detroit), 8-6
Bjelan/Tabb (CSU) def. Davis/Flankova (Detroit), 8-4
Maricevic/Weldon (Detroit) def. Pepino/Drake (CSU), 8-6
Wodzinski/Guirguis (Toledo) def. Gibbons/Bjerrehus (CSU), 8-5
Frey/Zoubareva (Toledo) def. Bjelan/Tabb (CSU), 8-3
Pepino/Drake (CSU) def. Azoulay/Reynolds (Toledo), 8-3
Singles
Stephanie Kebler (Michigan State) def. Charlotte Gibbons (CSU), 4-6, 6-0, 6-4
Catrine Bjerrehus (CSU) def. Manon Noe (Michigan State), 4-6, 6-2, 6-3
Lindsey Lonergan (Michigan State) def. Myra Pepino (CSU), 6-0, 6-0
Dana Guentert (Michigan State) def. Sanda Bjelan (CSU) 6-1, 6-1
Elena Ivanova (Michigan State) def. Molly Drake (CSU) 6-0, 6-0
