Huskies Rally at Ferris State
BIG RAPIDS, Mich. – The Michigan Tech women's tennis team bounced back with a 5-2 Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference victory at Ferris State University Sunday afternoon. The Huskies won five of the six singles contests to secure a key conference win.
"This was a really good win for us today and one that was much needed," Michigan Tech Head Coach Kevin Kalinec said. "Our players really stepped up big in singles and played extremely well at every spot in the lineup. I felt like it was one of our best overall singles performances in a match this season. The other key today is that our players kept their focus in a tough place to play. We have a little more work to do in doubles, but we are excited to be back home next weekend to close out the GLIAC schedule against Purdue Northwest and Davenport."
Michigan Tech (5-2, 5-2 GLIAC) opened the day in doubles competition and nearly secured the point. Freshmen Dominika Bobik and Lauren Opalewski outlasted Silvia Verebes and Brittany Lavenant of Ferris State (5-2, 5-2 GLIAC) 6-4 in No. 2 doubles to give the Huskies a win.
Unfortunately, the Bulldogs were able to pull out wins in the No. 1 and No. 3 spots in the lineup. Junior Ivona Gorgioski and sophomore Jessica Brown traded point for point with Isabela Paixao and Agata Klak of Ferris State, but ended up falling late in the contest 6-4 in No. 1 doubles. Morgan Waller and Sam Stephenson then locked down a 6-0 decision for Ferris State over sophomore's Mirna Golac and Samantha Johnson in the No. 3 spot.
Trailing 1-0 going into singles, the Huskies needed to rally and that's exactly what they were able to do. Gorgioski powered by Paixao at the No. 1 spot 6-3, 6-2 while Bobik logged an identical score of 6-3, 6-2 against Klak in No. 2 singles. Tech ended up getting victories in the top four spots of the singles lineup Sunday. Brown held on for a 7-6 (7-4) win in set one against Verebes before dominating set two 6-1 in No. 3 singles. Opalewski matched up with Lavenant in No. 4 singles and recorded an impressive 6-2, 6-2 victory.
Golac provided the other singles point in the No. 6 spot Sunday, topping Johanna Frye 6-3, 6-4. Waller had the only singles win for Ferris State in the No. 5 spot in the lineup. Freshman Neva Manas made it difficult though going three sets against Waller. After a 6-0 win by Manas in set one, Waller took the final two by slim margins 6-4 and 10-7.
The Huskies return to Houghton next weekend for the final two GLIAC matches of the season. Tech will host Purdue Northwest on Saturday at 11 a.m. followed by a Sunday contest against Davenport University starting at 10 a.m. The Huskies are currently tied for third in the GLIAC standings with Ferris State going into the final conference weekend.