Michigan
Riviera/ITA All-American Qualifying
DaCosta, Exon Fall in ITA All-American Singles Qualifier
10/6/2004 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
PACIFIC PALISADES, Calif. -- Two members of the University of Michigan women's tennis team competed in qualifying Tuesday (Oct. 5) at the 2004 Riviera/ITA All-American Championships at the Riviera Tennis Club, but neither was able to advance to the main draw bracket. Senior Michelle DaCosta (Huber Heights, Ohio/Wayne HS) was defeated in the second round of play, while sophomore Elizabeth Exon (Irvine, Calif./Woodridge HS) suffered a first-round setback.
DaCosta, who is listed No. 34 in the preseason ITA national singles rankings, moved on to the second round after securing a comeback victory over No. 61 Natalie Frazier of Georgia in opening-round action. After dropping the first set 2-6, DaCosta evened the match by a decisive 6-2 score in the second frame. In the third and deciding set, DaCosta and Frazier battled through six points before DaCosta sealed the win with a 10-3 decision in the tiebreaker.
DaCosta, the seventh seed in the 64-player qualifying bracket, had a tougher time with her second-round opponent, No. 85 Nancy Kockott of Tulane. Kockett prevented DaCosta from moving forward to the qualifying round, winning in straight sets, 6-2, 6-1.
The No. 57-ranked Exon was ousted from the tournament with a 6-3, 6-3 loss to UNLV's Elena Gantcheva in the first round. Exon split a pair of matches in the consolation bracket, defeating Tulane's Erika Valdes, 6-3, 6-0, before falling to Georgia Tech's Kristi Miller, 6-3, 7-5.
The U-M tandem of DaCosta and sophomore Kara Delicata (LaSalle, Ontario/Sandwich Secondary), who debuted at No. 8 in the preseason ITA national doubles poll, begin main draw competition Thursday (Oct. 7).
Contact: Marc Ressler (734) 763-4423
