BRISTOL, Tenn. (February 24, 2008) - The ETSU women's tennis team fell in a hard-fought match to Big 10 foe Michigan State on Sunday at the Bristol Raquet Club. ETSU falls to 3-5 on the year while the Spartans improve to 7-4.

In doubles Michigan State claimed the point as the duo of Manon Noe and Ana Milosavljevic defeated Elena Volobueva (Barcelona, Spain) and Whitney Trotter (Guadlajara, Mexico) in the second position, 8-3, while Tara Byrne (Johnson City, Tenn.) and Tara Sheets (Gate City, Va.) fell to Lindsey Lonergran and Stephanie Kebler, 8-4. The 56th-ranked duo of Yevgeniya Stupak (Kyiva, Ukraine) and Olya Batsula (Minsk, Belarus) defeated Christine Bader and Whitney Wilson, 8-5.

The Lady Bucs evened the score at 1-1 when junior Tara Byrne dropped Stephanie Kebler, 6-3, 6-2 in the No. 3 position. However the Spartans would take a 2-1 advantage as Christine Bader defeated Yevgeniya Stupak, 7-6(3), 6-3 in the top position. ETSU would again even the score at 2-2 when senior Olya Batsula defeated Manon Noe, 7-5, 6-1.

ETSU continued to battle but fell short in the No. 4, 5 and 6 positions. Competing in the fourth position freshman Andra Voinea (Brasov, Romania) fell in a hard-fought three set match to Lindsey Lonergran, 6-3, 3-6, 7-5 while freshman Tara Sheets also fell in a hard-fought three set match, 1-6, 6-3, 6-3 to Ana Milosavljevic in the No. 5 slot. The Spartans would then finish the match as Whitney Trotter fell to Ally Wickman, 6-2, 6-1 in the sixth slot.

"I give a lot of credit to Michigan State because they never quit fighting. We were up in both the fourth and fifth matches but Michigan State kept battling and were able to close out. Hopefully this will be a learning lesson for the team that they can't let these matches slip away," said head coach Steve Brooks. "We will be back outside next week and we're looking forward to starting conference play."

The Lady Bucs will open Atlantic Sun play on February 29 as they host the Kennesaw State Owls. The match is set to begin at 3 p.m. Follow all ETSU women's tennis action at www.ETSUBucs.com.

Michigan State 5, ETSU 2

Singles

No. 1- Christine Bader (MSU) def. #89 Yevgeniya Stupak (ETSU) 7-6(6), 6-3

No. 2- Olya Batsula (ETSU) def. Manon Noe (MSU) 7-5, 6-1

No. 3- Tara Byrne (ETSU) def. Stephanie Kebler (MSU) 6-3, 6-2

No. 4- Lindsey Lonergran (MSU) def. Andra Voinea (ETSU) 6-3, 3-6, 7-5

No. 5- Ana Milosavljevic (MSU) def. Tara Sheets (ETSU) 1-6, 6-2, 6-3

No. 6- Ally Wickman (MSU) def. Whitney Trotter (ETSU) 6-2, 6-2

Doubles

No. 1- #56 Batsula/Stupak (ETSU) def. Bader/Wilson (MSU) 8-5

No. 2- Noe/Milosavljevic (MSU) def. Trotter/Volobueva (ETSU) 8-3

No. 3- Kebler/Lonergran (MSU) def. Byrne/Sheets (ETSU) 8-4