Cats Swoop by Fighting Hawks; Remain Undefeated in Big Sky Conference Play

Friday, April 7

Grand Forks, ND

12 p.m.

Montana State University

North Dakota

Junior Angelina Philippova

Photo by: Adrian Sanchez-Gonzalez

Cats Swoop by Fighting Hawks; Remain Undefeated in Big Sky Conference Play

4/7/2017 2:59:00 PM | Women's Tennis

“It was a trying match and I am proud of our team's response to the adversity,” said MSU head coach Jon Reeves. “UND competed hard and pushed us in a number of matches. After our time off, this was a perfect scenario to get our attention and force us to the edges of our comfort zones. There are so many opportunities to learn within a tough two or three set match.”

By: Tom Schulz

The Montana State women's tennis team remained undefeated in Big Sky Conference action with a convincing 6-1 victory over North Dakota, Friday morning at the Choice Health and Fitness Center. The win was MSU's fifth straight and the Cats have captured eight of its last nine matches.

"It was a trying match and I am proud of our team's response to the adversity," said MSU head coach Jon Reeves. "UND competed hard and pushed us in a number of matches. After our time off, this was a perfect scenario to get our attention and force us to the edges of our comfort zones. There are so many opportunities to learn within a tough two or three set match."

Montana State (10-3, 6-0) opened the match taking Nos. 1 and 3 doubles to earn the first point. MSU's top tandem of Chloe Goyette and Laura Middel set the tone with a 6-4 win over North Dakota's (7-15, 4-7) Faith Lee and Preethi Kasilingam. The Bobcat duo upped its record to 7-1 on the season.

"We got off to a shaky start, but realized that the girls weren't hurting us in any way, so Wanda (Holopainen) and I focused on consistency and being active at the net," said Angelina Philippova, who along with Holopainen clinched the first point at No. 3 doubles.

Senior Naomi Holopainen gave MSU a 2-0 advantage to open singles play with a straight set 6-1, 6-1 win over Lee at No. 3 on the ladder. Philippova followed quickly with a straight set win at No. 4, before senior Jessica Brycki clinched the match for the Cats with a 6-3, 3-6, 6-4 victory over Alex Revenig at the No. 5 spot.

"It was great to get back into Big Sky play after having a few weeks off," said Naomi Holopainen. "Throughout the match we found ourselves in some tough situations, but were able to fight back and come out on top."

MSU closed out the match as Goyette posted a 4-6, 6-3, 7-5 come-from-behind win over Mimi Yunker at the top spot, while Shelby Cerkovnik recorded a 6-2, 5-7, 7-6(4) decision at No. 6 singles.

"North Dakota played solid across the line," Cerkovnik stated. "My match was insanely close and it came down to legs. When we'd get in these long baseline rallies, the extra effort to get to the ball and maintain fast racquet speed made the difference."

Montana State will host Weber State in the Bobcat-Anderson Tennis Center on Sunday, April 9 at 9 a.m.

Montana State 6, North Dakota 1

Singles:
1. GOYETTE, Chloe (MSU) def. Yunker, Mimi (UND) 3-6, 6-2, 7-5
2. Kasilingam, Preethi (UND) def. MIDDEL, Laura (MSU) 6-1, 5-7, 7-5
3. HOLOPAINEN, Naomi (MSU) def. Lee, Faith (UND) 6-1, 6-0
4. PHILIPPOVA, Angelina (MSU) def. Allen-Fisher, Sophie (UND) 6-3, 6-2
5. BRYCKI, Jessica (MSU) def. Revenig, Alex (UND) 6-3, 3-6, 6-4
6. CERKOVNIK, Shelby (MSU) def. Nakasato, Alysse (UND) 6-2, 5-7, 7-6 (7-4)

Doubles:
1. MIDDEL, Laura/GOYETTE, Chloe (MSU) def. Lee, Faith/Kasilingam, Preethi (UND) 6-4
2. Yunker, Mimi/Allen-Fisher, Sophie (UND) def. HOLOPAINEN, Naomi/BRYCKI, Jessica (MSU) 7-5
3. PHILIPPOVA, Angelina/HOLOPAINEN, Wanda (MSU) def. Revenig, Alex/Nakasato, Alysse (UND) 6-3