Butler Falls to Youngstown State, 4-2, in League Semifinals

April 24, 2005

Third-seeded Butler had its run in the Horizon League Championships end Sunday afternoon with a 4-2 loss to second-seeded Youngstown State in the tournament's semifinals. Due to bad weather, the match was moved indoors on the Butler campus in Indianapolis. The Penguins advance to Sunday evening's championship match against top-seeded UIC.

YSU recorded a 4-3 win over the Bulldogs one week ago in Ohio, but this match shaped up differently. The Penguins got wins at No. 1 and 3 doubles to take the doubles point, which Butler had won a week ago.

Junior Tayo Bailey was first off the court in singles, posting a 6-3, 6-2 win for Butler at the No. 2 singles spot. It was the 13th straight singles win for the "All-Horizon League" performer. Junior Alaina Griffin then battled back at the No. 1 singles spot for Butler, overcoming a slow start to post a 3-6, 6-2, 6-3 win and give the Bulldogs a 2-1 advantage.

Freshman Michelle Hawes (No. 3) and sophomore Shaden Dowiatt (No. 4) won their respective first sets and held leads in the second sets on both courts. However, YSU was able to win close second sets on both courts and take third-set victories to shift the momentum back to YSU with a 3-2 lead.

Freshman Kim Jenson held a slight lead in the second set of her No. 5 singles match, but dropped a 7-4 decision in a second-set tiebreaker after losing the first set, 6-1. The win for YSU's Nicole Muzechuk clinched the 4-2 victory for the Penguins.

Butler finishes the 2005 schedule with a record of 12-11. The entire Bulldog line-up will return for coach Jason Suscha next season.

Singles:
1) Alaina Griffin (BU) def. Karen Najbert, 3-6, 6-2, 6-3
2) Tayo Bailey (BU) def. Whitney Thomas, 6-3, 6-2
3) Heather Hagood (YSU) def. Michelle Hawes, 2-6, 7-6 (6), 6-2
4) Gina Peretti (YSU) def. Shaden Dowiatt, 2-6, 7-5, 6-0
5) Nicole Muzechuk (YSU) def. Kim Jenson, 6-1, 7-6 (4)
6) Kaitlin Elliott (BU) vs. Emily Thayer (YSU), Did Not Finish

Doubles:
1) Najbert/Peretti (YSU) def. Griffin/Jenson, 9-7
2) Bailey/Dowiatt (BU) def. Thomas/Fuleky, 8-5
3) Hagood/Thayer (YSU) def. Elliott/Hawes, 9-8 (7-5)