Michigan
Ohio State
Wolverines Handily Defeat Ohio State on Senior Day
4/16/2005 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The No. 36 University of Michigan women's tennis team sent its two seniors -- Michelle DaCosta (Huber Heights, Ohio/Wayne HS) and Leanne Rutherford (Calgary, Alberta/National Sports School) -- away from the Varsity Tennis Center with a victory, defeating Ohio State 6-1 in its 2005 home finale Saturday afternoon (April 16).
In their first outdoor action of the season at the VTC, the Wolverines (10-9, 5-3 Big Ten) claimed two of three in doubles before posting three straight singles wins to clinch the match. U-M's co-captains were instrumental in the victory, as DaCosta helped pick up an important win at No. 1 doubles and Rutherford provided Michigan with its third team point with a victory at No. 4 singles.
Junior Debra Streifler (Highland Park, Ill./Highland Park HS) and sophomore Elizabeth Exon (Irvine, Calif./Woodridge HS) continued their torrid pace through the dual match season, taking eight of the final nine games in an 8-3 victory over Lindsay Bryan and Caitlin O'Keefe at No. 3 doubles. The Wolverine duo holds an impressive 8-2 record in 2005, including a 6-2 mark in Big Ten play.
Michigan's 21st-ranked pair of DaCosta and sophomore Kara Delicata (LaSalle, Ontario/Sandwich Secondary) clinched the doubles point with a win at No. 1, claiming the final four games en route to an 8-4 victory over Emily DeCamilla and Meredith Vincent. DaCosta and Delicata boast a team-best 14-4 dual match record and have given up just one match in conference action (7-1).
The Wolverines had an opportunity to earn a doubles sweep, as Rutherford and junior Nina Yaftali (Westlake Village, Calif./Westlake HS) were leading Kristin Messmer and Sonia Ruzimovsky 5-3 at No. 2, but the Buckeye tandem stormed back to win five straight games and steal the match, 8-5.
Streifler put forth yet another dominating performance at No. 5 singles, cruising past Bryan to give U-M a 2-0 advantage on the scoreboard. After being blanked by Streifler in the first set, 6-0, Bryan retired due to injury after falling behind 3-0 in the second frame.
Rutherford had little trouble during her final singles match at the Varsity Tennis Center, as she posted a commanding 6-2, 6-2 victory over Messmer at No. 4 to bring Michigan within one point of sealing the team win. With the victory, Rutherford improves her career record to 70-47 and becomes just the 12th player in U-M history to accomplish at least 70 career wins.
Exon notched her eighth victory in the last nine matches, defeating Ruzimovsky 6-2, 6-1 to clinch the match for Michigan. Exon improves to 9-10 in dual match competition, including a 5-3 record in league play.
With the outcome decided, the Wolverine closed out the match within victories on two of the three remaining courts. Yaftali was able to finish strong at No. 6, battling back to defeat Nidhi Salah, 6-7(5), 6-2, 6-0, for her 20th win of 2004-05. Yaftali has won seven of eight Big Ten matches this season.
DaCosta closed out her home career in style, as she came back to defeat DeCamilla 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 at No. 1 to give U-M its sixth and final point of the day. It was DaCosta's 50th career dual match victory and moved her into sole possession of 10th place on the Wolverines' all-time singles wins chart (72).
Michigan closes out the regular season on the road next weekend. The Wolverines will travel to Bloomington, Ind., on Friday (April 22, 3 p.m. EST/CDT) to face Indiana, then finish up against Penn State on Sunday (April 24, 10 a.m.) in State College, Pa.
Following are match-by-match results:
Singles
No. 1 -- #53 Michelle DaCosta (U-M) d. Emily DeCamilla, 3-6, 6-4, 6-4
No. 2 -- Elizabeth Exon (U-M) d. Sonia Ruzimovsky, 6-2, 6-1
No. 3 -- Caitlin O'Keefe (OSU) d. Kara Delicata, 6-4, 3-6, 6-4
No. 4 -- Leanne Rutherford (U-M) d. Kristin Messmer, 6-2, 6-2
No. 5 -- Debra Streifler (U-M) d. Lindsay Bryan, 6-0, 3-0 ret.
No. 6 -- Nina Yaftali (U-M) d. Nidhi Shah, 6-7(5), 6-2, 6-0
Doubles
No. 1 -- #21 DaCosta/Delicata (U-M) d. Meredith Vincent/DeCamilla, 8-4
No. 2 -- Messmer/Ruzimovsky (OSU) d. Rutherford/Yaftali, 8-5
No. 3 -- Exon/Streifler (U-M) d. Bryan/O'Keefe, 8-3
Order of Completion: Doubles 3-1-2, Singles 5-4-2-3-6-1
Contact: Marc Ressler (734) 763-4423
Players Mentioned
