Michigan
Thunderbird Invitational
Seniors Lead Wolverines at Arizona State Tournament
11/6/2005 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
TEMPE, Ariz. -- Seniors Debra Streifler (Highland Park, Ill./Highland Park HS) and Nina Yaftali (Westlake Village, Calif./Westlake HS) led a contingent of eight University of Michigan womens tennis players at the 2005 Thunderbird Invitational, held Friday through Sunday (Nov. 4-6) at Arizona States Whiteman Tennis Center. Yaftali advanced the furthest in the 32-player main singles draw, winning three straight matches before bowing out in the semifinals. Streifler won her first two matches before falling to the eventual flight champion in the third round. Both Yaftali and Streifler went 3-0 in their respective doubles matches during the weekend.
Yaftali posted a pair of dominating wins on Friday (Nov. 4), cruising past Northern Arizonas Katie Schurr, 6-3, 6-0, in the first round before knocking off top seed and No. 25-ranked Whitney Deason of Stanford, 6-2, 6-2. Yaftali outlasted Arizona States Kady Pooler in two tiebreaker sets during third-round action on Saturday (Nov. 5), 7-6(5), 7-6(5), but then fell to Poolers teammate, Rebecca Rankin, 3-6, 6-3, 6-2, in the semifinals.
Streifler got off to a quick start by defeating Kansas States Tereza Prochazkova, 6-4, 6-1, in first-round play, and then advanced to the quarterfinals with a 6-3, 6-2 triumph over ASUs No. 87-ranked Jessica Leitch. Streiflers run ended with a 6-2, 6-3 loss to eventual champion Jessica Shu of California.
Three other Wolverines collected first-round victories in the main draw. Junior Kara Delicata (LaSalle, Ontario/Sandwich Secondary School) easily defeated Arizona States Vana Thomas (6-1, 6-3), junior Elizabeth Exon (Irvine, Calif./Woodbridge HS) overtook NAUs Susan McClelland (6-2, 6-0), and freshman Lindsey Howard (Richmond, Va./Mills E. Godwin HS) moved past Californias Bojana Bobusic (4-2, ret.). Delicata later added an impressive 6-3, 6-3 upset over Deason during Sunday's (Nov. 6) consolation matches.
Two Michigan doubles tandems tallied unblemished records during the tournament. Streifler and freshman Chisako Sugiyama (Parsippany, N.J./The Montclair Kimberley Academy), and Yaftali and sophomore Monica Sly (Belleair, Fla./Shorecrest Preparatory School) finished the weekend with perfect 3-0 records. It marked the first time each pair has played together in their careers.
Six other schools participated in the three-day event, including the host Sun Devils, California, Kansas State, Northern Arizona, Purdue and Stanford. The tournament featured a 32-player singles main draw, three consolation brackets and a round-robin doubles draw.
The Thunderbird Invitational marked the final event of the fall season for U-M. The Wolverines will open 2006 by hosting the Michigan Invitational, Jan. 13-15, at the Varsity Tennis Center.
Following are match-by-match results:
Singles
Kara Delicata
Friday (Main Draw First Round) - d. Vana Tomas (Arizona State), 6-1, 6-3
Friday (Main Draw Second Round) - l. Jessica Shu (California), 2-6, 6-2, 6-1
Saturday (Consolation) - l. Jessica Leitch (Arizona State), 3-6, 7-5, 6-3
Sunday (Consolation) -d. #25 Whitney Deason (Stanford), 6-3, 6-3
Finished with a 2-2 record
Elizabeth Exon
Friday (Main Draw First Round) - d. Susan McClelland (Northern Arizona), 6-2, 6-0
Friday (Main Draw Second Round) - l. Roxanne Clarke (Arizona State), 6-4, 6-1
Saturday (Consolation) - l. Sabrina Capannolo (Arizona State), 6-3, 7-5
Sunday (Consolation) - l. Jessica Leitch (Arizona State), 5-7, 6-2, 6-4
Finished with a 1-3 record
Lindsey Howard
Friday (Main Draw First Round) - d. Bojana Bobusic (California), 4-2, ret.
Friday (Main Draw Second Round) - l. Kady Pooler (Arizona State), 6-2, 6-3
Saturday (Consolation) - l. #25 Whitney Deason (Stanford), 6-2, 6-0
Saturday (Consolation) - d. Jessica Simosa (Kansas State), 7-6(4), 7-5
Sunday (Consolation) - d. Ferdinanda Da Valle (Kansas State), 6-3, 6-3
Finished with a 3-2 record
Allie Shafner
Friday (Main Draw First Round) - l. Rebecca Rankin (Arizona State), 6-0, 6-3
Friday (Consolation) - l. Olga Klimova (Kansas State), 6-3, 6-3
Saturday (Consolation) - d. Tereza Prochazkova (Kansas State), 6-4, 2-6, 6-2
Sunday (Consolation) - l. Maria Perevoschitova (Kansas State), 6-3, 6-2
Finished with a 1-3 record
Monica Sly
Friday (Main Draw First Round) - l. #37 Sabrina Capannolo (Arizona State), 6-3, 6-2
Friday (Consolation) - l. Jessica Simosa (Kansas State), 6-3, 6-0
Saturday (Consolation) - d. Susan McClelland (Northern Arizona), 6-2, 6-0
Sunday (Consolation) - d. Regan Newman (Northern Arizona), 6-1, 6-4
Finished with a 2-2 record
Debra Streifler
Friday (Main Draw First Round) - d. Tereza Prochazkova (Kansas State), 6-4, 6-1
Friday (Main Draw Second Round) - d. #87 Jessica Leitch (Arizona State), 6-3, 6-2
Saturday (Main Draw Third Round) - l. Jessica Shu (California), 6-2, 6-3
Sunday (Consolation) - d. Katie Schurr (Northern Arizona), 6-1, 6-4
Finished with a 3-1 record
Chisako Sugiyama
Friday (Main Draw First Round) - l. Katka Kudlackova (Kansas State), 7-6(7), 6-4
Friday (Consolation) - d. Erika Schweyer (Arizona State), 6-1, 6-1
Saturday (Consolation) - d. Olga Klimova (Kansas State), 6-4, 6-4
Saturday (Consolation) - l. Ferdinanda Da Valle (Kansas State), 7-6(2), 4-6, 6-0
Sunday (Consolation) - l. Kady Pooler (Arizona State), 6-2, 6-4
Finished with a 2-3 record
Nina Yaftali
Friday (Main Draw First Round) - d. Katie Schurr (Northern Arizona), 6-3, 6-0
Friday (Main Draw Second Round) - d. #25 Whitney Deason (Stanford), 6-2, 6-2
Saturday (Main Draw Third Round) - d. Kady Pooler (Arizona State), 7-6(5), 7-6(5)
Saturday (Main Draw Semifinals) - l. Rebecca Rankin (Arizona State), 3-6, 6-3, 6-2
Sunday (Consolation) - l. Roxanne Clarke (Arizona State), 6-2, 6-2
Finished with a 3-2 record (fourth place)
Doubles
Kara Delicata/Elizabeth Exon
Friday - d. Laila Abdala/Sabrina Capannolo (Arizona State), 8-4
Saturday - l. Whitney Deason/Celia Durkin (Stanford), 9-7
Sunday - l. Claire Ilcinkas/Marion Ravelojaona (California), 8-2
Finished with a 1-2 record
Lindsey Howard/Allie Shafner
Friday - d. Susan McClelland/Katie Schurr (Northern Arizona), 8-2
Saturday - l. Ferdinanda Da Valle/Tereza Prochazkova (Kansas State), 8-4
Sunday - l. Laila Abdala/Sabrina Capannolo (Arizona State), 8-3
Finished with a 1-2 record
Monica Sly/Nina Yaftali
Friday - d. Katka Kudlackova/Maria Perevoschitova (Kansas State), 9-8(6)
Saturday - d. Susan McClelland/Katie Schurr (Northern Arizona), 8-2
Sunday - d. Erika Schweyer/Vana Thomas (Arizona State), 8-4
Finished with a 3-0 record
Debra Streifler/Sugiyama
Friday - d. Ferdinanda Da Valle/Tereza Prochazkova (Kansas State), 8-6
Saturday - d. Erika Schweyer/Vana Thomas (Arizona State), 8-3
Sunday - d. Jessica Leitch/Rebecca Rankin (Arizona State), 8-4
Finished with a 3-0 record
Contact: Marc Ressler (734) 763-4423
Players Mentioned
