CHARLESTON, S.C. - Charleston Southern took the final five singles matches to rally from a 2-0 deficit to top visiting Michigan State, 5-2, on Friday afternoon at the Buccaneer Tennis Complex.
After CSU (7-0) lost the doubles point and the first singles decision on court no. 4, the Bucs rallied back with Brianna Thompson, Valeria Koussenkova, Nicolin Luecke, Kimberley Koerner and Sophie Cloessner all recording straight set wins. The Bucs' home winning streak reaches 21 matches with the victory over the Spartans (8-4) with CSU's last loss coming at the end of the 2013 regular season to Winthrop.
Michigan State took the doubles point with wins on courts 2 and 3. The Spartans duo of Emily Metcalf and Emily Meyers topped Koerner and Thompson, 6-3, on court no. 2, while Athena Trouillot and Davina Nguyen topped Sophie Cloessner and Gabriela Srodowski on court no. 3, 6-4.
The doubles match on court no. 1 between CSU's Luecke and Koussenkova and MSU's Erin Faulkner and Allie Baer was halted with the score tied at 4-4.
In singles action, Trouillot put the Spartans up 2-0 with the 6-2, 6-1 win over Srodowksi, before CSU took over in a dominant fashion on the court.
Thompson topped Aslina Chua on court no. 3, 6-0, 6-2, to put the Bucs on the scoreboard. Koussenkova finished shortly afterward with the 6-1, 6-1 win over Baer on court no. 6 to even the match at 2-2.
Luecke put the Bucs ahead for good with a 6-4, 6-0 straight set win over MSU's Nguyen. The victory improves the reigning Big South Player of the Week's record to 6-1 overall in the 2016 season.
Koerner added a 6-2, 6-2 win over Meyers on court no. 5, while Cloessner finished out the Bucs win with the 6-3, 6-3 victory over Metcalf on court no. 2.
Charleston Southern remains at home next week as the Buccaneers host Tulsa on Monday afternoon in the final match of the home stand. First serve in doubles play is set for 2 p.m.
Charleston Southern 5, Michigan St. 2
Mar 11, 2016 at Charleston, S.C. (Buccaneer Tennis Complex)
Singles competition
1. LUECKE, Nicolin (CSU) def. NGUYEN, Davina (MSU) 6-4, 6-0
2. CLOESSNER, Sophie (CSU) def. METCALF, Emily (MSU) 6-3, 6-3
3. THOMPSON, Brianna (CSU) def. CHUA, Aslina (MSU) 6-0, 6-2
4. TROUILLOT, Athena (MSU) def. SRODOWSKI, Gabriela (CSU) 6-2, 6-1
5. KOERNER, Kimberley (CSU) def. MEYERS, Emily (MSU) 6-2, 6-2
6. KOUSSENKOVA, Valeria (CSU) def. BAER, Allie (MSU) 6-1, 6-1
Doubles competition
1. LUECKE, Nicolin/KOUSSENKOVA, Valeria (CSU) vs. FAULKER, Erin/BAER, Allie (MSU) 4-4, unfinished
2. METCALF, Emily/MEYERS, Emily (MSU) def. KOERNER, Kimberley/THOMPSON, Brianna (CSU) 6-3
3. NGUYEN, Davina/TROUILLOT, Athena (MSU) def. CLOESSNER, Sophie/SRODOWSKI, Gabriela (CSU) 6-4
Match Notes
Michigan St. 8-4
Charleston Southern 7-0
Order of finish: Doubles (2,3); Singles (4,3,6,1,5,2)
