Despite the victory, Head Coach Jody Bronson was not pleased with the team's performance.
"I thought we came out a little bit flat today," Bronson said.,”To close out a seven-game homestand, the Marquette women's tennis team defeated Illinois State today 4-3, improving their overall record to 8-3.
Despite the victory, Head Coach Jody Bronson was not pleased with the team's performance.
"I thought we came out a little bit flat today," Bronson said. "I don't think the energy was there. I don't think the thought process was as good as it could have been."
Marquette opened the match by taking the doubles point from the visiting Red Birds. Sophomore Rachael Hush her freshman sister Gillian notched their 4th straight win at No. 3 doubles in an 8-1 decision. Senior Robin Metzler and Sophomore Christina Ruiz sealed the point with an 8-5 win at No. 2 doubles.
For the first time this season, Freshmen Paola Calderon and Olga Fischer teamed up in doubles play in the No. 1 slot, dropping the tight match 8-7 after a 10-8 tiebreak.
The Golden Eagles sported a slightly tweaked singles lineup against the Red Birds. With junior Kylie Moore resting with a sore leg, Gillian Hush took over No. 6 singles duties and notched a 6-3, 6-1 victory. Also, Ruiz and Rachael Hush swapped positions, with Ruiz moving to No. 4 singles and Hush rising to No. 3.
"Rachael has won some matches and we gave her the opportunity to play a little higher up," Bronson said. "I just wanted to see how they would perform, so that was really the reason behind doing it."
At No. 3 singles, Hush took the first match and was up 2-1 in the second when she defaulted the match with a injury rotator cuff. She said a change in her serving form may be to blame for the injury.
"By the end of the first match I knew something wasn't right," Hush said.
Bronson said Hush would have continued to play in the team needed the match for the overall victory.
"Since the match hadn't been decided until Olga got done, she was going to play until we knew we could win one of these matches," Bronson said "Once we had the team's score secure, we were going to default her because we need her for Wednesday."
Senior Robin Metzler notched the team's third singles win at the No. 5 position. It was her second straight victory in the slot after being moved up from No. 6 against Toledo on Friday, a move she says has not phased her
"It hasn't affected how I play," Metzler said. "I focus on playing my game no matter what position I'm in."
The Golden Eagles embark on a three-game road stint Wednesday against the No. 68 University of Wisconsin- Madison.
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