ALLENDALE, Mich. — The Michigan Tech women’s tennis season concluded today with an NCAA Regional first round match loss to No. 25 Drury. The Huskies lost, 5-0, to the Panthers on host Grand Valley State’s campus.
Drury gained a 3-0 advantage after sweeping the doubles. Mouna Sabri and Khrystsina Tryboi defeated Silvia Oliveros and Nathalia Rondelli, 8-3, at number one. Eva Hankova and Laure Piquemal knocked off Amy Palmgren and Danielle Stoll, 8-2, at number two. The closest doubles score came at number three, where Samantha Jang-Stewart and Asel Otunchieva lost to Lindsey Castrodale and Thu Mai, 8-5.
The match was decided after the first two concluded singles flights. Tryboi upended Jang-Stewart, 6-0, 6-1, at number three and Hankova defeated Otunchieva, 6-0, 6-2, at number five.
Tech’s Palmgren and Oliveros were both involved in tight matches that were not completed at number one and two singles, respectively.
“Drury deserved to win the match,” said head coach Mike Axford, who was named Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Coach of the Year last fall. “They are a top team, and we needed to play at a very high level and consistently to beat them. I think we put a little too much pressure on ourselves.
“I’m very happy that we got to the NCAA Tournament. We’ll look forward to coming back next year. We only lose one senior from this team.”
The lone senior is Palmgren, a four-time All-GLIAC performer who wrapped up her career with 46 singles wins.
Michigan Tech closed out the 2007-08 season with a 16-7 record. The Huskies are now 1-3 all-time in NCAA Tournament matches.
Photo Credit: Michigan Tech
