Michigan
Indiana
U-M Suffers Heartbreaking Loss on the Road at Indiana
4/22/2005 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- The No. 41 University of Michigan women's tennis team dropped a close 4-3 decision to No. 40 Indiana Friday afternoon (April 22) at the IU Varsity Tennis Center. The Wolverines (10-10, 5-4 Big Ten) surrendered a tight doubles point and the first singles match to go down 2-0, but they rebounded quickly with back-to-back victories to even the team score. The Hoosiers (13-10, 7-2 Big Ten) then put the match away with wins on two of the three remaining courts to halt a U-M comeback and remain near the top of the conference standings.
The Wolverines took the early lead in doubles after junior Debra Streifler (Highland Park, Ill./Highland Park HS) and Elizabeth Exon (Irvine, Calif./Woodridge HS) prevailed in their match against Cecile Perton and Dora Vastag at No. 3, 8-6. The U-M pair improves to an impressive 9-2 against dual match opposition in 2005. Michigan's slight advantage was short-lived, as Laura MaGaffigan and Brianna Williams upended senior Leanne Rutherford (Calgary, Alberta/National Sports School) and freshman Allie Shafner (Englewood, Colo./Cherry Creek HS) 8-5 at No. 2 to knot the doubles competition at one apiece.
In the decisive match at No. 1, Michigan's 26th-ranked tandem of senior Michelle DaCosta (Huber Heights, Ohio/Wayne HS) and sophomore Kara Delicata (LaSalle, Ontario/Sandwich Secondary) lost for just the second time in nine Big Ten outings, falling 8-4 to Sarah Batty and Dominika Walterova. DaCosta and Delicata drop to 14-5 in dual match play.
The match was delayed 45 minutes after inclement weather forced the match to be moved indoors. The Hoosiers picked up where they left off in doubles, as Perton defeated junior Nina Yaftali (Westlake Village, Calif./Westlake HS) 6-4, 7-5 at No. 6 to give IU a 2-0 advantage on the scoreboard.
Rutherford earned her 10th dual match victory of the season and claimed sole possession of 12th place on U-M's all-time singles wins list (71) by outlasting Walterova 7-5, 7-5 at No. 4. Fellow co-captain DaCosta, who is ranked 64th in the nation, drew Michigan even with a 6-2, 6-4 triumph over No. 122 Vastag at the No. 1 slot.
The Hoosiers then pulled ahead for good, claiming a pair of three-set matches to clinch the team victory. McGaffigan outlasted Delicata 6-3, 6-7(2), 6-4 at No. 3, and No. 120 Batty preserved the win with a 4-6, 6-3, 6-1 decision over Exon at No. 2.
With the team outcome decided, Streifler was able to close out Williams 5-7, 7-6(4), 7-5 at No. 5 to improve her dual match record to a team-best 12-4, including a 7-2 mark in league play.
The Wolverines close out the regular season this Sunday (April 24) at Penn State. The match is scheduled for a 10 a.m. start at the Sarni Tennis Center in State College, Pa.
Following are match-by-match results:
Singles
No. 1 -- #64 Michelle DaCosta (U-M) d. #122 Dora Vastag, 6-2, 6-4
No. 2 -- #120 Sarah Batty (IU) d. Elizabeth Exon, 4-6, 6-3, 6-1
No. 3 -- Laura McGaffigan (IU) d. Kara Delicata, 6-3, 6-7(2), 6-4
No. 4 -- Leanne Rutherford (U-M) d. Dominika Walterova, 7-5, 7-5
No. 5 -- Debra Streifler (U-M) d. Brianna Williams, 5-7, 7-6(4), 7-5
No. 6 -- Cecile Perton (IU) d. Nina Yaftali, 6-4, 7-5
Doubles
No. 1 -- Batty/Walterova (IU) d. DaCosta/Delicata, 8-4
No. 2 -- McGaffigan/Williams (IU) d. Allie Shafner/Rutherford, 8-5
No. 3 -- Exon/Streifler (U-M) d. Perton/Vastag, 8-6
Order of Completion: Doubles 3-2-1, Singles 6-4-1-3-2-5
Contact: Marc Ressler (734) 763-4423
Players Mentioned
