Michigan
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Western Michigan
Wolverines Breeze Past Broncos in Dual Season Opener
1/19/2002 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The University of Michigan women's tennis team won its eighth consecutive season opener, netting a commanding 6-1 victory over Western Michigan Saturday afternoon (Jan. 19) at the Varsity Tennis Center. The Wolverines (1-0) won the doubles point and claimed wins in five of the six singles matches to remain undefeated in home openers at the six-year-old Varsity Tennis Center.
The teams split the first two doubles matches at the No. 2 and No. 3 spots to set up a the deciding contest at the top spot. The Wolverines clinched the doubles point as freshmen Michelle DaCosta (Huber Heights, Ohio/Wayne HS) and Leanne Rutherford (Calgary, Alberta/National Sports School) won by an 8-5 score at No. 1. Sophomores Kim Plaushines (Oconomowoc, Wis./Kettle Moraine HS) and Lisa So (Midland, Mich./H.H. Dow HS) got things started for Michigan with an 8-3 victory at No. 3. Western Michigan received an 8-3 win from Nikki Douglass and Val Stoilova at No. 2, beating junior Jen Duprez (Westhampton, N.Y./West Hampton Beach HS) and sophomore Kavitha Tipirneni (Galloway, Ohio/Hilliard Darby HS).
The Wolverines dominated singles play, winning five of the six matches to secure the team victory. Tipirneni, DaCosta, Rutherford and Duprez all claimed straight-set wins at the top four singles spots for Michigan. The Broncos earned their only point as Stoilova claimed a 6-4, 6-4 win over Plaushines at No. 5. Junior Joanne Musgrove (LaSalle, Ontario/Sandwich HS) gained the final U-M point with a 6-2, 6-1 victory over Stephanie Mueller at No. 6.
Michigan completes the weekend action tomorrow against DePaul. The Sunday afternoon (Jan. 20) match at the Varsity Tennis Center begins immediately following the men's tennis team's match with California-Irvine (approximately 1 p.m.).
Following are match-by-match results:
Singles
No. 1 -- Kavitha Tipirneni (U-M) d. Frederika Girsang, 6-4, 6-3
No. 2 -- Michelle DaCosta (U-M) d. Melanie Remynse, 6-3, 6-3
No. 3 -- Leanne Rutherford (U-M) d. Nikki Douglass, 6-3, 6-0
No. 4 -- Jen Duprez (U-M) d. Brookley Crews, 6-3, 6-1
No. 5 -- Val Stoilova (WMU) d. Kim Plaushines, 6-4, 6-4
No. 6 -- Joanne Musgrove (U-M) d. Stephanie Mueller, 6-2, 6-1
Doubles
No. 1 -- DaCosta/Rutherford (U-M) d. Girsang/Remynse, 8-5
No. 2 -- Douglass/Stoilova (WMU) d. Duprez/Tipirneni, 8-3
No. 3 -- Plaushines/Lisa So (U-M) d. Crews/Mueller, 8-3
Contact: David Ablauf (734) 763-4423
Players Mentioned
