Michigan
Purdue
Singles Play Sends Wolverines Past Purdue on Road
4/18/2004 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -- The No. 27-ranked University of Michigan women's tennis team rallied after giving up the doubles points to win four singles matches and record a 4-3 win at Purdue on Sunday (April 18) at the Lafayette Sports Center.
Junior Michelle DaCosta (Huber Heights, Ohio/Wayne HS) clinched the victory for the Wolverines (14-4, 5-3 Big Ten), rallying from a first-set loss to pull out a 3-6, 6-4, 7-5 victory over Purdue's Hala Sufi in a marathon third set. Freshman Elizabeth Exon (Irvine, Calif./Woodbridge HS) also collected her second win of the week, registering a 6-1, 6-3 decision over Gretchen Haynor at the No. 2 spot.
Also collecting singles wins for the Wolverines were senior Kavitha Tipirneni (Galloway, Ohio/Kettle Moraine HS) and sophomore Debra Streifler (Highland Park, Ill./Highland Park HS), who each rebounded after their winning streaks were halted by Illinois yesterday (April 17). Tipirneni defeated the Boilermakers' Amy Walgenbach 6-0, 1-6, 6-0 at the No. 3 position, while Streifler recorded a 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 victory over Melissa Woods at the No. 6 spot.
DaCosta and freshman Kara Delicata (LaSalle, Ontario/Sandwich Secondary) collected the lone doubles victory for the Wolverines, handily defeating Gretchen Haynor and Melissa Woods 8-1 at the No. 1 position.
The Wolverines will return home next Saturday and Sunday (April 24-25) to wrap up the regular season with a pair of Big Ten dual meets against Northwestern and Wisconsin. Both duals are slated to start at 11 a.m. at the Varsity Tennis Center.
Following are match-by-match results:
Singles
No. 1 -- Michelle DaCosta (U-M) d. Hala Sufi, 3-6, 6-4, 7-5
No. 2 -- #72 Elizabeth Exon (U-M) d. Gretchen Haynor, 6-1, 6-3
No. 3 -- Kavitha Tipirneni (U-M) d. Amy Walgenbach, 6-0, 1-6, 6-0
No. 4 -- Alyssa Rodriguez (PU) d. Chrissie Nolan, 7-5, 6-2
No. 5 -- Shawna Zuccarini (PU) d. Leanne Rutherford, 6-4, 6-7, 6-3
No. 6 -- Debra Streifler (U-M) d. Melissa Woods, 6-2, 3-6, 6-3
Doubles
No. 1 -- DaCosta/Delicata (U-M) d. Haynor/Woods, 8-1
No. 2 -- Zuccarini/Sufi (PU) d. #46 Kim Plaushines/Streifler, 8-5
No. 3 -- Lara Burgarello/Rodriguez (PU) d. Exon/Tipirneni, 8-5
Contact: Leah Howard (734) 763-4423
Players Mentioned
