Michigan
Michigan Invitational
Michigan Cruises Past Eastern Michigan, Georgia Tech
1/11/2004 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The University of Michigan women's tennis team wrapped up play at its Michigan Invitational on Sunday (Nov. 11) with five singles wins over Eastern Michigan and two doubles victories against Georgia Tech at the Varsity Tennis Center.
Freshman Elizabeth Exon (Irvine, Calif./Woodbridge HS) battled through three sets against EMU's Victoria Domina at the No. 1 singles position, pulling out a 7-6(2), 4-6, 6-2 match victory. Exon held the 5-2 advantage in the first set before Domina won four consecutive games to send the set into the tiebreaker. After the Eagle player clinched the second-set victory, Exon dominated in the third, breaking serve three times to claim the match victory.
Senior Chrissie Nolan (Glenview, Ill./Glenbrook South HS) battled back from a 1-4 deficit early in the first set to win 7-4 in the tiebreaker. With the first set in tow, Nolan cruised to a 6-3 victory in the second to win the match. Junior Leanne Rutherford (Calgary, Alberta/National Sports School) earned a 6-3, 6-4 straight-set victory over Kendra Clark at the No. 3 position. Rutherford broke Clark's serve four times in the first set and once more in the second to clinch the match in the 10th game.
At the No. 4 position, freshman Kara Delicata (LaSalle, Ontario/Sandwich Secondary) earned a 6-1, 5-7, 7-5 victory over Ying Kansuthi. After winning the final five games to dominate the first set, Delicata gave up a 5-1 advantage to lose the second frame 7-5. In the deciding set, Delicata broke serve in the 11th game to snap a 5-5 tie and won five consecutive points to seal the 7-5 win.
At the No. 5 and 6 positions, Michigan split matches with the Eagles, with senior Kim Plaushines (Oconomowoc, Wis./Kettle Moraine HS) losing to Jessica Loose 7-6(4), 6-4 and sophomore Debra Streifler (Highland Park, Ill./Highland Park HS) defeating Marijana Adzic 6-2, 6-1.
On the doubles side, freshman Delicata and senior Kavitha Tipirneni (Galloway, Ohio/Hilliard Darby HS) could not overcome an early deficit and fell to the Yellow Jackets' Kelly Anderson and Sekita Grant 8-3 at the No. 1 position. Georgia Tech broke the Wolverines' serve three times in the match and took the final four games to claim the win. At No. 2, juniors Michelle DaCosta (Huber Heights, Ohio/Wayne HS) and Rutherford cruised to an 8-2 victory against Lyndsay Shosho and Maria Nieto. After each team held serve for the first four games, the U-M pair won the final six games to clinch the victory.
Down 7-3 late in the match, Plaushines and Streifler staged an incredible comeback to pull out a 9-8 tiebreaker victory over Lindsey Stauss and Alison Silverio at the No. 3 position. The Yellow Jackets twice broke Michigan's serve early in the match to win the first four games and jump to a sizable 4-0 advantage. Each team held serve until the 12th game when the Wolverine pair won five consecutive games to hold off elimination and gain the 8-7 lead. Georgia Tech held serve in the 16th game to knot the game score at 8-8 and send the match into the tiebreaker. In the deciding frame, neither team could win two consecutive points until U-M won twice on the Yellow Jackets' serve to pull ahead by one point, and with Streifler serving for match point sealed the 7-5 tiebreaker victory.
The Wolverines were nearly perfect in the doubles competition throughout the Michigan Invitational, dropping only one match out of nine during the three-day event.
Following are Michigan's results from Sunday:
Singles vs. Eastern Michigan
No. 1 -- Elizabeth Exon (U-M) d. Victoria Domina, 7-6(2), 4-6, 6-2
No. 2 -- Chrissie Nolan (U-M) d. Amalia Lincaru, 7-6(4), 6-3
No. 3 -- Leanne Rutherford (U-M) d. Kendra Clark, 6-3, 6-4
No. 4 -- Kara Delicata (U-M) d. Ying Kansuthi, 6-1, 5-7, 7-5
No. 5 -- Jessica Loose (EMU) d. Kim Plaushines, 7-6(4), 6-4
No. 6 -- Debra Streifler (U-M) d. Marijana Adzic, 6-2, 6-1
Doubles vs. Georgia Tech
No. 1 -- Anderson/Grant (GT) d. Delicata/Kavitha Tipirneni, 8-3
No. 2 -- Michelle DaCosta/Rutherford (U-M) d. Shosho/Nieto, 8-2
No. 3 -- Plaushies/Streifler (U-M) d. Stauss/Silverio, 9-8(5)
Contact: Leah Howard (734) 763-4423
Players Mentioned
