Cary, N.C. – It was a hard-fought battle for Michigan State women’s tennis in the Spartans’ season-opening action at the pre-qualifiers of the ITA Women’s All-American Championships in Cary, N.C.
The matches began on Saturday, with junior Matilde Morias taking the court first for the Spartans, taking on Zuzanna Kubacha from Baylor. The match was back-and-forth between the two, with each player taking a set. In the final match set, Kubacha took the point, knocking Morias out of the competition, 6-2, 5-7, 2-6.
The action coincided with freshman Ellie Blackford making her first appearance in the Green & White, with a late addition to the ITA Championships. Blackford faced off against Sonya Macavei from Vanderbilt, finishing the match in straight-sets., 7-6 (1), 6-3.
With the win, Blackford advanced to the second round of pre-qualifiers.
Liisa Vehviläinen finished out the day against Big Ten foe Kallista Liu from Maryland. Vehviläinen’s action came to a close with Liu taking the match in just two sets, 4-6, 1-6.
Blackford returned to the court on Sunday morning, facing Salakthip Ounmang from the Oklahoma in a match-up of a pair of first-round winners. Blackford fought hard, but was unable to secure a win to push her to the next round of the championships, dropping a 4-6, 6-7 (4) final score.
The Green & White return to action as a team next week, returning to the court in Toledo, Ohio for the Toledo Rocket Invitational.
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