Michigan
NCAA Individual Championships
DaCosta Rolls in First Round of NCAA Singles Tourney
5/24/2004 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
ATHENS, Ga. -- University of Michigan junior Michelle DaCosta (Huber Heights, Ohio/Wayne HS) advanced to the round of 32 at the NCAA Women's Tennis Individual Championships by defeating Tennessee's Sabita Maharaj 6-3, 6-1 in the first round on Monday (April 24) at Georgia's Dan Magill Tennis Complex.
DaCosta set the tone early, serving three aces in the first game to hold serve and take the first advantage of the match. After dropping the next three games to fall behind 3-1, DaCosta rallied with 10 consecutive games, closing out the first set 6-3 and building a 5-0 lead in the second. Maharaj broke serve in the sixth game of the second frame to fight off elimination, but the Wolverine junior followed suit to clinch the match victory.
DaCosta is the fourth Wolverine to earn a first-round victory at the NCAA Women's Tennis Championships and the first since Sarah Cyganiak made the round of 32 in 1995.
The Wolverine junior will return to the hardcourt tomorrow (Tuesday, April 25) at 10:30 a.m. to face California's top-seeded Raquel Kops-Jones, a 6-1, 6-3 first-round winner over Illinois' Jennifer McGaffigan. DaCosta will turn around at 12:30 p.m. and team with freshman Kara Delicata (LaSalle, Ontario/Woodbridge HS) to face Kentucky's Sarah Foster and Aibika Kalsarieva in the first round of doubles.
Contact: Leah Howard (734) 763-4423
Players Mentioned
