Lansing Sun

Michigan State University's women's tennis team concluded their participation in the ITA Midwest Regional Championship with a series of noteworthy performances. The event, held in Columbus, Ohio, saw the Spartans achieving several victories while facing challenging opponents.

The competition began on Thursday with redshirt-sophomore Oriana Parkins-Godwin participating in singles-qualifying matches. She faced Margaux Guibal Britt from Southern Illinois and was defeated 6-3, 6-3.

On Friday, the main draw of singles matches commenced. Michigan State's Matilde Morais, Ellie Blackford, and Liisa Vehvilainen were selected for this stage. Junior Matilde Morais secured a win with a score of 6-0, 6-2 against her opponent. Freshman Ellie Blackford could not complete her match due to an injury. Liisa Vehvilainen had a close match against Reese Miller from Michigan but lost 6-4, 6-4.

In doubles play on Friday, Parkins-Godwin paired with Vehvilainen for a competitive match that ended in a tiebreaker loss at 7-8 (4-7). The duo of Morais and Blackford could not participate due to Blackford's injury.

Morais advanced to the round of 32 on Saturday where she competed against Alessia Cau from Ohio State and won the match in two sets with scores of 6-4, 7-6 (7-3). However, in the round of 16, she was defeated by Emily Sartz-Lunde from Michigan with scores of 6-1, 6-1.

The tournament concluded over the weekend with consolation matches where Vehvilainen represented Michigan State. She triumphed over her Bowling Green opponent with scores of 6-1, 6-3 in the main draw of consolation matches.

The overall performance at this tournament suggests potential for success in the upcoming season. The women's tennis team will have a break next week before hosting the Michigan State Classic sponsored by Auto Owners Insurance from October 25 to October 27.