DaCosta, Delicata Victorious in NCAA Doubles Opener

Tuesday, May 25

Athens, Ga.

10:30 AM

Michigan

NCAA Individual Championships

5/25/2004 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis

ATHENS, Ga. -- The University of Michigan doubles pairing of junior Michelle DaCosta (Huber Heights, Ohio/Wayne HS) and freshman Kara Delicata (LaSalle, Ontario/Sandwich Secondary) picked up a first-round victory Tuesday (May 25) at the NCAA Women's Tennis Individual Championships, downing Kentucky's Sarah Foster and Aibika Kalsarieva 6-3, 6-1 at Georgia's Dan Magill Tennis Complex.

Delicata (left) and DaCosta are the first U-M doubles pairing to earn a victory at the NCAA Championships.

DaCosta and Delicata, ranked 41st by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association, used strong serving and receiving while limiting unforced errors to upset the No. 14-ranked Kentucky pair. After the Wolverines built a 5-1 lead in the first frame, Foster and Kalsarieva were able to fight off set point in back-to-back games before the U-M pair put it away. Michigan carried the momentum into the second set, dropping just one game to advance.

DaCosta and Delicata will face Marshall's Jessica Johnson and Ashley Kroh in the round of 16 at 3 p.m. Wednesday. The Marshall pair scored a 6-4, 6-3 upset of the No. 2-seeded duo, Cal's Raquel Kops-Jones and Jieun Jacobs, in first-round action.

Earlier in the day, DaCosta was eliminated from the singles portion of the tournament after suffering a 6-3, 7-5 second-round loss to Cal's Kops-Jones. DaCosta held her ground against the top-ranked Golden Bear, breaking her serve twice in the second set to build a late 5-4 advantage. Kops-Jones rebounded, however, winning the final three games to seal the victory and advance to the round of 16.

Contact: Leah Howard (734) 763-4423