Weekly Release #12
4/15/2003 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
Upcoming Schedule
Saturday, April 19 -- at Wisconsin (Madison, Wis.), 11 a.m. CDT
Sunday, April 20 -- at Northwestern (Evanston, Ill.), 11 a.m. CDT
Thu-Sun., April 24-27 -- at Big Ten Championship (Champaign, Ill.), TBA
Regular Season Ends on the Road
The University of Michigan women's tennis team (12-6, 5-3 Big Ten) ends the regular season with a pair of conference road matches. The Wolverines travel to Madison, Wis., for a Saturday (April 19, 11 a.m. CDT) matchup with the Wisconsin Badgers at the Nielsen Tennis Center and finish the dual match slate against the Northwestern Wildcats Sunday (April 20, 11 a.m. CDT) at the Combe Tennis Center in Evanston, Ill.
Michigan vs. Wisconsin
The Wolverines and Badgers will face each other for the 34th time Saturday (April 19). The Badgers hold a 20-13 all-time advantage including wins in both matches played last season. Wisconsin defeated Michigan by a 6-1 score during the regular season and held on for a 4-3 win in the semifinals of the Big Ten Championship. Michigan has an 8-20 record against the Badgers under head coach Bitsy Ritt, who is a 1983 graduate of Wisconsin.
Wolverines vs. Wildcats
This will be the 36th meeting all-time between the Wildcats and Wolverines. In a series that Northwestern leads 28-7, Michigan will be look to snap a five-match losing streak. Last year Michigan suffered a 7-0 loss to No. 13-ranked Northwestern in Evanston, Ill. The Wolverines are 3-2 against the Wildcats under head coach Bitsy Ritt, with one win coming during the 1993-94 season and the other two coming during the 1997 Big Ten title season (4-3 during regular season and 4-2 in the Big Ten Championship semifinal match).
U-M Splits Big Ten Matches
The Wolverines completed their home schedule by splitting a pair of conference matches at the Varsity Tennis Center. Michigan upset No. 22 Illinois Saturday (April 12) by a 5-2 score after winning the doubles point and four of the six singles matches. Purdue edged U-M 4-3 in the final home match of the regular season, rallying with four singles victories after losing the doubles point to the Wolverines.
Michigan Completes Strong Home Slate
The Wolverines completed the 2003 dual match season at the Varsity Tennis Center with an 8-2 overall record. The eight wins fell one victory shy of the school-record total of nine home wins set last season (9-4). Michigan has compiled a 40-26 all-time record at the facility, not including a 1-1 mark when hosting the 2002 Big Ten Championship.
DaCosta Downing Opponents
Sophomore Michelle DaCosta (Huber Heights, Ohio/Wayne HS) is heading down the stretch playing her best tennis of the season. DaCosta has won four straight matches and seven of her last eight contests at No. 1 singles, including straight-set victories against Illinois' 69th-ranked Jennifer McGaffigan (6-4, 6-1) and Purdue's Gretchen Haynor (6-3, 6-2) last week. DaCosta has a 16-13 overall singles record, a 10-8 dual match mark at No. 1 and a 6-2 Big Ten record. She has a 34-28 singles record and a 24-19 dual match mark at No. 1 during her career.
Sophomore Sensations
The dynamic doubles pairing of sophomores Michelle DaCosta and Leanne Rutherford (Calgary, Alberta/National Sports School) has kicked their game into high gear. The duo has won seven of their last eight matches, including victories against Illinois' 20th-ranked Jennifer McGaffigan and Michelle Webb and Purdue's Missy Wright and Lara Burgarello by 8-3 scores last weekend. DaCosta and Rutherford have a 17-12 overall doubles record and a 10-8 dual match mark at No. 1 this season. They have played together exclusively during their first two years, posting a 36-27 overall mark and 22-20 dual match record at the top spot.
Streifler Nears 20 Wins
Debra Streifler (Highland Park, Ill./Highland Park HS) looks to become the first U-M freshman to reach 20 singles wins in a season since junior Chrissie Nolan (Glenbrook, Ill./Glenbrook South HS) achieved the feat during the 2000-01 season. Streifler has an 18-5 overall singles record and leads the team in overall winning percentage (.783) while posting an 8-2 dual match record and 5-0 mark in Big Ten duals. She has won four straight matches and seven of her last eight contests, including a pair of straight-set wins last week against Illinois' Michelle Webb [7-6(1), 6-2] and Purdue's Missy Wright [6-0, 6-4].
Michigan's Top Freshman Win Totals
| | Name | Record | Season |
| 1. | Danielle Lund | 29-9 | 1996-97 |
| 2. | Erryn Weggenman | 27-13 | 1996-97 |
| 3. | Brooke Hart | 26-12 | 1996-97 |
| 4. | Sora Moon | 25-11 | 1994-95 |
| 5. | Jaimie Fielding | 24-12 | 1991-92 |
| | Stacy Berg | 24-5 | 1987-88 |
| 7. | Kalei Beamon | 23-9 | 1989-90 |
| 8. | Mary MacTaggart | 22-4 | 1980-81 |
| | Marion Kremer | 22-8 | 1980-81 |
| | Wendy Stross | 22-9 | 1987-88 |
| 11. | Chrissie Nolan | 20-11 | 2000-01 |
| | Angie Popek | 20-18 | 1992-93 |
Streifler and Nolan Form Tough Pairing
Debra Streifler and Chrissie Nolan have teamed in doubles to form a solid pairing at No. 2 or No. 3. The tandem has compiled a 10-2 overall record and boasts an impressive 9-2 mark in dual matches. Streifler and Nolan have won four straight conference matches and have a 6-1 Big Ten mark, with wins coming against Illinois' Brianna Knue and Leila Cehajic (8-5) and Purdue's Shawna Zuccarini and Melissa Woods (9-7) last weekend. Streifler has compiled a 14-4 overall doubles record, while Nolan leads the squad with a 21-10 overall mark.
Plaushines Eyes 20th Singles Win
Junior Kim Plaushines (Oconomowoc, Wis./Kettle Moraine HS) reached a career milestone last weekend and looks to continue adding to her career-best wins total in singles this week. Plaushines gained her 40th career singles victory against Illinois' Eva Choe on April 12 and is two wins shy of her first career 20-win singles season. Plaushines has an 18-12 overall singles record, including a 12-4 dual match mark and 5-3 record in Big Ten dual matches. She leads the team with 14 victories against regional opponents.
Rutherford Continues Strong Singles Play
Leanne Rutherford enters the final weekend of the regular season leading the Wolverines in every major singles category. She leads the team in overall singles wins (21-7), dual match wins (15-3), dual match winning percentage (.833) and Big Ten dual match victories (7-1) while listing second in overall winning percentage (.750) and regional wins (13-3). She defeated Illinois' Eldina Fazlic (6-1, 6-1) last week but had her seven-match Big Ten winning streak snapped in three sets by Purdue's Melissa Iqbal (6-1, 3-6, 6-3). She has a 10-2 record in three-set matches this season.
Big Ten Championship Looms
Following the matches at Wisconsin and Northwestern, the Wolverines will prepare for the Big Ten Championship (April 24-27) held at the University of Illinois. Michigan reached the semifinals of last season's conference tournament before losing a close 4-3 match to runner-up Wisconsin.
Contact: David Ablauf (734) 763-4423
Players Mentioned
