Michigan Opens Dual Season with Victory Over DePaul

Saturday, January 17

Ann Arbor, Mich.

2:00 PM

Michigan

DePaul

1/17/2004 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis

ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The No. 34-ranked University of Michigan women's tennis team kicked off its dual meet season with a 6-1 victory over DePaul on Saturday (Jan. 17) at the Varsity Tennis Center. The Wolverines posted victories in all three doubles matches and won five of six matches in the singles competition.

Juniors Michelle DaCosta (Huber Heights, Ohio/Wayne HS) and Leanne Rutherford (Calgary, Alberta/National Sports School) kept their singles winning streaks alive with victories against their Blue Demon opponents. DaCosta made it three in a row, dominating Marina Parashevova at the No. 1 position with a 6-2, 6-1 victory. Rutherford collected her fourth consecutive victory with a 6-2, 6-1 decision over Stephanie Matko at No. 5 singles.

Seniors Kavitha Tipirneni (Galloway, Ohio/Hilliard Darby HS) and Chrissie Nolan (Glenview, Ill./Glendale South HS) also claimed straight-set victories, defeating Petra Rehusova 7-6(3), 6-4 and Karen Falduto 6-2, 6-1, respectively.

Freshman Kara Delicata (LaSalle, Ontario/Sandwich Secondary) posted the fifth singles win for the Wolverines at the No. 6 spot. After winning the first set 6-4 and dropping the second 6-7 in the tiebreaker, the Delicata posted a 8-6 desicison in the third-set tiebreaker to earn the win.

The Wolverines notched a pair of wins in the doubles competition earn the doubles point and take the early advantage. DaCosta and Rutherford lost a close 9-7 match against Parashkevova and Ganeva at the No. 1 position. The pairings of Delicata and Tipirneni and Kim Plaushines (Oconomowoc, Wis./Kettle Moraine HS) and Debra Streifler (Highland Park, Ill./Highland Park HS) both earned descisive victories, defeating Leung and Rehusova 8-3 and Matko and Falduto 8-5, respectively.

Following are match-by-match results:

Singles
No. 1 -- Michelle DaCosta (U-M) d. Marina Parashkevova, 6-2, 6-1
No. 2 -- Gergana Ganeva (DePaul) d. Elizabeth Exon, 6-4, 4-6, 1-0(9)
No. 3 -- Kavitha Tipirneni (U-M) d. Petra Rehusova, 7-6(3), 6-4
No. 4 -- Chrissie Nolan (U-M) d. Karen Falduto, 6-2, 6-1
No. 5 -- Leanne Rutherford (U-M) d. Stephanie Matko, 6-2, 6-1
No. 6 -- Kara Delicata (U-M) d. Brenda Leung, 6-4, 6-7(5), 1-0(6)

Doubles
No. 1 -- Parashkevova/Ganeva (DePaul) d. DaCosta/Rutherford, 9-7
No. 2 -- Delicata/Tiperneni (U-M) d. Leung/Rehusova, 8-3
No. 3 -- Kim Plaushines/Debra Streifler (U-M) d. Matko/Falduto, 8-5

Contact: Leah Howard (734) 763-4423