Huskies Fall to Missouri-St. Louis Friday in Hilton Head
HILTON HEAD, S.C. – The Michigan Tech women's tennis team suffered a 6-1 non-conference loss Friday to the University of Missouri-St. Louis on the final day of competition at the Spring Tennis Fest held in Hilton Head, South Carolina. The Huskies opened the spring break trip with a 7-0 victory over Kutztown Sunday and competed hard against solid opponents in Illinois-Springfield and Missouri-St. Louis in the other two matches this week.
"Our effort was great again today as it has been all season," Michigan Tech Head Coach Kevin Kalinec said. "We battled some sickness and injuries this week and overall I thought we played well through that adversity. Our seniors Allenca Rolim and Vicky Quinde showed great leadership this week and during the season. They have been an integral part of our program throughout their careers here at Tech."
Michigan Tech (10-7) nearly won two of the doubles matches Friday, coming up just short in the No. 1 and No. 2 spots in the lineup. Sophomore Ivona Gorgioski and freshman Jessica Brown competed for the Huskies in No. 1 doubles against Marina Prediger and Leticia Lunge of Missouri-St. Louis. The two sides exchange point for point until a late charge by Prediger and Lunge secured a 6-4 decision for the Tritons.
The No. 2 doubles contest played out in similar fashion with freshman Samantha Johnson and senior Vicky Quinde pairing up against Salome Bleuler and Odette Beagrie of Missouri-St. Louis. The Triton duo escaped with a 6-3 win on the strength of some late points down the stretch of the match. The No. 3 doubles win also went to Missouri-St. Louis by default.
Quinde earned Tech's point with her 12th overall singles win of the year and third in the No. 3 spot this season. Quinde outlasted Odette Beagrie of Missouri-St. Louis in three sets to win 2-6, 6-2, and 13-8. Quinde regrouped after a tough first set to even the match and then held off Beagrie to clinch the point in the third.
Brown played well in No. 1 singles, but fell just shy against Bleuler of the Tritons 6-4, 7-6. Brown had to play catchup from the loss in set one and nearly forced a third set with a back and forth battle in the second. In No. 2 singles, Johnson lost to Prediger 6-0, 6-0 and junior Annabella Neri fell to Clara Lopez Bueno 6-1, 6-2 in No. 4 singles. Default victories went to the Tritons in the No. 5 and No. 6 singles positions.
The Huskies have had a great 2018-19 season, boasting an overall record of 10-7 and 7-2 in the GLIAC. Four players earned All-GLIAC Honors and Head Coach Kevin Kalinec was the GLIAC Coach of the Year. Six different players notched 10 or more singles wins throughout the course of the 2018-19 campaign.