No. 74 MTSU Knocks Off No. 50 MSU 7-0
May 25, 2016 | Women's Tennis
The Lady Raiders (6-7) took the early edge over State (4-5) and then claimed the first four singles matches to clinch the match.
Verena Preiss set the tempo for MTSU, as she knocked off Yumi Ueda 6-3, 6-2. Stacy Varnell quickly followed her teammate with a 6-3, 6-3 win over Justyna Switala.
Carole Soubis dropped the opening set of her match with 29th-ranked Manon Kruse, but she fought back to take a lead in the second set only to see Kruse prevail and clinch the match with a 6-3, 6-4 win. Carien Venter posted the only other straight-set victory for the Lady Raiers, knocking off Elaine Fagan 6-4, 6-4.
MTSU closed out the win with a pair of three-set victories. Sophomore Camila Sagae dropped the first set of her match with Jennifer Klaschka, but she rallied to take the second set before Klaschka took the third and held on for a 6-2, 4-6, 6-3 win.
Freshman Magdolna Rekasi cruised through the first set of her contest with Michaela Gridling, but the MTSU netter took the final two sets for a 2-6, 6-2, 6-4 win.
State's tandem of Rekasi and Sagae captured an 8-3 win over Preiss and Klaschka at the No. 2 doubles spot. The Lady Dogs couldn't avoid dropping the opening point for the second straight match, as the Lady Raiders took wins at No. 1 and No. 3 to claim the early 1-0 advantage.
Soubis and Fagan dropped an 8-2 decision to the 14th-ranked tandem of Kruse and Varnell. MTSU claimed the opening point when Gridling and Venter notched an 8-4 win over Switala and Ueda.
"We didn't lose this match because we were out-played. We lost because we lacked intensity, heart and desire," head coach Tracy Lane said. "We have to find a way as a team to get those things. We have to get more intensity. Middle Tennessee came to our place and rolled over us. They showed that they wanted it more."
The Lady Bulldogs' next action comes Mar. 1 as they host South Carolina in the 2002 conference opener. Match time at the A.J. Pitts Tennis Centre is scheduled for 2:30 p.m.
#74 MIDDLE TENNESSEE 7, #50 MISSISSIPPI STATE 0
February 23, 2002; Starkville, Miss.
Doubles -- #14 Manon Kruse/Stacy Varnell (MTSU) d. Elaine Fagan/Carole Soubis (MSU) 8-2; Magdolna Rekasi/Camila Sagae (MSU) d. Jennifer Klaschka/Verena Preiss (MTSU) 8-3; Michaela Gridling/Carien Venter (MTSU) d. Justyna Switala/Yumi Ueda (MSU) 8-4.
Singles -- Kruse (MTSU) d. Soubis (MSU) 6-3, 6-4; Klaschka (MTSU) d. Sagae (MSU) 6-2, 4-6, 6-3; Preiss (MTSU) d. Ueda (MSU) 6-3, 6-2; Gridling (MTSU) d. Rekasi (MSU) 2-6, 6-2, 6-4; Venter (MTSU) d. Fagan (MSU) 6-4, 6-4; Varnell (MTSU) d. Switala (MSU) 6-3, 6-3.
