Michigan
ITA Midwest Regional Main Draw
Exon Leads Wolverines at ITA Midwest Championships
10/27/2003 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
Exon, unseeded in the tournament, rallied from a first-set loss (5-7) in the first round to dominate 6-0, 6-2 in the final two frames and earn the early win over Indiana's Cecile Perton. The Wolverine freshman collected back-to-back victories over seeded opponents in subsequent rounds to advance into the quarterfinals. Exon battled to a 7-5, 6-4 straight-set victory over Illinois' Tiffany Eklov, who was seeded 9-16, to move forward in the draw, where she was matched against Western Michigan's Frederika Girsang, seeded 5-8. After quickly taking the first set 6-2, Exon clinced the upset by winning the second set 7-6 with a 10-5 advantage in the tiebreaker. Exon, however, was eliminated in the quarterfinals, falling 6-1, 6-2 to second-seeded Alicia Salas from Notre Dame.
Senior Kavitha Tipirneni (Galloway, Ohio/Hilliard Darby HS) collected a pair of victories in the singles competition, defeating Notre Dame's Kristina Stastny 7-6, 6-4 in the first round and earning an 6-2, 6-7, 6-1 upset over Northwestern's Jamie Peisel, who was seeded 9-16. Senior Chrissie Nolan (Glenview, Ill./Glenbrook South HS) and junior Leanne Rutherford (Calgary, Alberta/National Sports School) each earned first-round victories.
In doubles competition, the tandem of senior Kim Plaushines (Oconomowoc, Wis./Kettle Moraine HS) and sophomore Debra Streifler (Highland Park, Ill./Highland Park HS), who were unseeded in the tournament, led the Wolverines with three victories, including two wins over seeded opponents. The Michigan pair won convincingly over Indiana's Martina Grimm and Sarah Batty, seeded 5-8, by an 8-2 advantage and posted an 8-5 victory over Wisconsin's Lindsay Martin and Katie McGaffigan to move into the quarterfinal round. Plaushines and Streifler battled in the quarterfinals, but were eliminated after dropping a 8-5 decision to Northwestern's top-seeded pair of Cristelle Grier and Jessica Rush, the eventual champions.
Freshman Kara Delicata (LaSalle, Ontario/Sandwich Secondary) and Tipirneni, seeded 9-16, earned two victories in the doubles competition, edging out Northwestern's Ruth Barnes and AndreaYoung 9-8 and defeating Ball State's Melissa Roach and Katie Owens by a 8-5 advantage.
The University of Michigan will host the ITA National Indoor Championships on Thursday through Sunday, Nov. 6-9, at the Varsity Tennis Center. The prestigious tournament will feature the top individual collegiate tennis players from across the country.
Following are match-by-match results:
SINGLES
#5-8 Michelle DaCosta
First Round -- l. to Jackie Leskovar (Ohio State), 6-4, 7-5
Consolation -- l. to Karie Schlukebir (Indiana), 7-6, 3-0 (ret.)
Leanne Rutherford
First Round -- d. Veronica Briseno (Marquette), 6-4, 4-6, 7-5
Second Round -- l. to #9-16 Victoria Domina (Eastern Michigan), 6-3, 6-3
Kavitha Tipirneni
First Round -- d. Kristina Stastny (Notre Dame), 4-6, 6-4
Second Round -- #9-16 Jamie Peisel (Northwestern), 6-2, 6-7, 6-1
Third Round -- l. to Linda Tran (Indiana), 2-6, 7-5, 6-1
Kara Delicata
First Round -- l. to #5-8 Liina Suuvarik (Illinois State), 6-4, 6-2
Consolation -- d. Cassie Drake (Northern Illinois), 7-5, 7-5
Chrissie Nolan
First Round -- d. Martina Grimm (Indiana), 6-3, 3-6, 6-1
Second Round -- l. to #4 Jessica Rush (Northwestern), 6-2, 6-3
Elizabeth Exon
First Round -- d. Ceclie Perton (Indiana), 5-7, 6-2, 6-2
Second Round -- d. #9-16 Tiffany Eklov (Illinois), 7-5, 6-4
Third Round -- d. #5-8 Frederika Girsang (Western Michigan), 6-2, 7-6 (5)
Quarterfinals -- l. to #2 Alicia Salas (Notre Dame), 6-1, 6-2
DOUBLES
Plaushines/Streifler
First Round -- d. #9-16 Gumascu/Jaklin (Illinois-Chicago), 8-1
Second Round -- #5-8 Grimm/Batty (Indiana), 8-2
Third Round -- d. #9-16 Martin/McGaffigan (Wisconsin), 8-5
Quarterfinals -- l. to #1 Grier/Rush (Northwestern), 8-5
Delicata/Tipirneni
First Round -- d. Barnes/Young (Northwestern), 9-8
Second Round -- d. Roach/Owens (Ball State), 8-5
Third Round -- l. to #4 Burgis/Reddy (Minnesota), 9-8
Exon/Nolan
First Round -- l. to #9-16 Thompson/Thompson (Notre Dame), 8-4
Consolation -- d. Wolffer/Kokx (Northwestern), 8-3
#9-16 DaCosta/Rutherford
First Round -- d. Jetton/Peyton (Evansville), 8-2
Second Round -- l. to Domina/Clark (Eastern Michigan), 8-4
Contact: Leah Howard (734) 763-4423
Players Mentioned
