Michigan
Illinois
Michigan Drops Big Ten Road Match to Fighting Illini
2/24/2002 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- The University of Michigan women's tennis squad suffered its fourth consecutive loss Sunday afternoon (Feb. 24), losing 5-2 against No. 34-ranked Illinois at the Atkins Tennis Center. The Wolverines (3-5, 0-2 Big Ten) won the doubles point but could manage only one singles victory in the setback to the Illini (7-3, 2-0 Big Ten).
The Wolverines swept the doubles matches against Illinois in impressive fashion to claim a 1-0 advantage in the match. Freshmen Michelle DaCosta (Huber Heights, Ohio/Wayne HS) and Leanne Rutherford (Calgary, Alberta/National Sports School) posted an 8-5 victory over Cynthya Goulet and Jennifer McGaffigan at No. 1. Junior Jen Duprez (Westhampton, N.Y./Westhampton Beach HS) and sophomore Kim Plaushines (Oconomowoc, Wis./Kettle Moraine HS) held on for an 8-6 win against Eva Choe and Kate Boomershine at No. 2. Sophomores Chrissie Nolan (Glenview, Ill./Glenbrook South HS) and Kavitha Tipirneni (Galloway, Ohio/Hilliard Darby HS) dominated Liz Fraker and Michelle Webb at No. 3, tallying an 8-3 victory.
U-M was unable to continue the magic in singles, losing five of the six matches including two three-setters. Illinois evened the match as Boomershine won a 6-2, 6-1 match over Duprez at No. 5. The Fighting Illini proceeded to win straight-set matches to increase the lead to 3-1, with Goulet winning 6-4, 6-2 over Nolan at No. 2 and Eldina Fazlic tallying a 6-4, 7-6(3) victory against junior Joanne Musgrove (LaSalle, Ontario/Sandwich HS) at No. 6. Michigan's DaCosta posted a 7-5, 6-3 win over Tiffany Eklov at No. 3 to trim the match score to 3-2. Illinois sealed the victory as No. 38-ranked McGaffigan won a 6-3, 2-6, 6-0 match against Tipirneni at No. 1 and Choe collected a 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 contest over Rutherford at No. 4.
Michigan travels to Tampa, Fla., during the university's spring break to face South Florida Saturday (March 2, 1 p.m.) at the USF Varsity Tennis Courts.
Following are match-by-match results:
Singles
No. 1 -- #38 Jennifer McGaffigan (IL) d. Kavitha Tipirneni, 6-3, 2-6, 6-0
No. 2 -- Cynthya Guolet (IL) d. Chrissie Nolan, 6-4, 6-2
No. 3 -- Michelle DaCosta (U-M) d. Tiffany Eklov (IL), 7-5, 6-3
No. 4 -- Eva Choe (IL) d. Leanne Rutherford, 6-4, 3-6, 6-3
No. 5 -- Kate Boomershine (IL) d. Jen Duprez, 6-2, 6-1
No. 6 -- Eldina Fazlic (IL) d. Joanne Musgrove, 6-4, 7-6(3)
Doubles
No. 1 -- DaCosta/Rutherford (U-M) d. Goulet/McGaffigan, 8-5
No. 2 -- Duprez/Kim Plaushines (U-M) d. Choe/Boomershine, 8-6
No. 3 -- Nolan/Tipirneni (U-M) d. Liz Fraker/Michelle Webb, 8-3
Contact: David Ablauf (734) 763-4423
Players Mentioned
