Michigan
Wolverine Invitational
Sugiyama Collects Singles Title at Wolverine Invitational
10/2/2005 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Freshman Chisako Sugiyama (Parsippany, N.J./The Montclair Kimberley Academy) captured the "Blue" singles flight championship in her collegiate debut to lead the University of Michigan women's tennis team at the seventh annual Wolverine Invitational, held Friday through Sunday (Sept. 30-Oct.2) at the Varsity Tennis Center. Sugiyama earned four straight-set victories to win the 16-player singles draw and collected an unblemished 5-0 mark in round-robin doubles play to complete a perfect 9-0 record on the weekend. Overall, Michigan's four participants went a combined 11-5 in singles and 8-2 in doubles.
Sugiyama put forth a dominating performance in her first-ever collegiate match, crushing Marquette's Erin Watkins 6-1, 6-1 in first-round play on Friday (Sept. 30). Sugiyama kept on rolling through Saturday (Oct. 1), defeating Michigan State's Sarah Andrews (6-4, 6-1) and Western Michigan's Malena Remynse (6-0, 6-0) to move into the finals. In Sunday's (Oct. 2) championship match, Sugiyama overpowered WMU's No. 109-ranked Rattiya Hiranrat 6-1, 6-3 to claim her first individual title as a Wolverine.
After a first-round loss on Friday, sophomore Allie Shafner (Englewood, Colo./Cherry Creek HS) reeled off three straight victories to win the consolation bracket in the "Blue" flight. Shafner defeated Watkins 7-6(3), 6-2 for her first win of the season on Saturday and followed with a pair of super-tiebreaker victories to finish the weekend at 3-1.
Junior Lindsey Goldstein (Highland Park, Ill./Highland Park HS) and sophomore Monica Sly (Belleair, Fla./Shorecrest Preparatory School) both finished with a 2-2 mark in singles play. Goldstein dropped a tough first-round decision in the "Blue" flight on Friday but rebounded for a pair of convincing victories in consolation play over Bowling Green's Andrea Volle (6-2, 6-2) and Michigan State's Pascale Schnitzer (6-4, 6-3) later in the weekend. Sly advanced to the quarterfinals in the "Maize" flight after defeating BGSU's Jenna Nussbaum 6-0, 6-1 in the first round on Friday. However, MSU's Stephanie Kebler was able to slip by with a 6-2, 5-6, 1-0(4) win in the semifinals to send Sly to the consolation bracket. Sly's second victory of the weekend came against Bowling Green's Heidi Romer (6-4, 6-2) on Saturday.
Michigan won all but two matches in doubles action, with the pairing of Shafner and Sugiyama leading the way with a perfect 3-0 record. Sugiyama also teamed with Goldstein and Sly for a pair of victories.
The Wolverines return to the court on Oct. 20-25 for the ITA Midwest Regional Championships, held at Michigan State's Indoor Tennis Facility in East Lansing, Mich.
Following are U-M's individual results:
Blue Singles Flight
Lindsey Goldstein
First Round -- 1. Malena Remynse (Western Michigan), 6-2, 4-6, 1-0(8)
Consolation -- d. Andrea Volle (Bowling Green), 6-2, 6-2
Consolation -- 1. Erin Watkins (Marquette), 6-1, 6-2
Consolation -- d. Pascale Schnitzer (Michigan State), 6-4, 6-3
Finished with a 2-2 record
Allie Shafner
First Round -- 1. Ashley Jakupcin (Bowling Green), 6-4, 6-1
Consolation -- d. Erin Watkins (Marquette), 7-6(3), 6-2
Consolation -- d. Pascale Schnitzer (Michigan State), 6-3, 4-6, 1-0(3)
Consolation -- d. Maria Calbeto (Marquette), 2-6, 6-3, 1-0(7)
Finished with a 3-1 record
Chisako Sugiyama
First Round -- d. Erin Watkins (Marquette), 6-1, 6-1
Quarterfinals -- d. Sarah Andrews (Michigan State), 6-4, 6-1
Semifinals -- d. Malena Remynse (Western Michigan), 6-0, 6-0
Finals -- d. #109 Rattiya Hiranrat (Western Michigan), 6-1, 6-3
Flight champion with a 4-0 record
Maize Singles Flight
Monica Sly
First Round -- d. Jenna Nussbaum (Bowling Green), 6-0, 6-1
Quarterfinals -- 1. Stephanie Kebler (Michigan State), 6-2, 5-7, 1-0(4)
Consolation -- d. Heidi Romer (Bowling Green), 6-4, 6-2
Consolation -- 1. Jessica Baron (Michigan State), 6-3, 6-2
Finished with a 2-2 record
Doubles Round Robin
Goldstein/Shafner
Saturday -- d. Brown/Rowen (Cincinnati), 9-8(5)
Finished with a 1-0 record
Goldstein/Sly
Friday -- d. Buckacek/Dabrowski (Marquette), 8-5
Saturday -- 1. Baron/Kebler (Michigan State), 8-6
Sunday -- 1. Jeanmaire/Moccia (Western Michigan), 8-4
Finished with a 1-2 record
Goldstein/Sugiyama
Friday -- d. K. Jakupcin/Romer (Bowling Green), 8-6
Finished with a 1-0 record
Shafner/Sly
Friday -- d. A. Jakupcin/Nussbaum (Bowling Green), 8-2
Finished with a 1-0 record
Shafner/Sugiyama
Friday -- d. Calbeto/Watkins (Marquette), 8-4
Saturday -- d. Andrews/Bader (Michigan State), 8-0
Sunday -- d. Remynse/Saruta (Western Michigan), 8-6
Finished with a 3-0 record
Sly/Sugiyama
Saturday -- d. Klauck/Young (Cincinnati), 8-2
Finished with a 1-0 record
Contact: Marc Ressler (734) 763-4423
Players Mentioned
