Weekly Release #16
4/26/2005 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
Upcoming Schedule
Thu-Sun., April 28-May 1 -- at Big Ten Championship (East Lansing, Mich.)
April 28 -- First Round vs. #10 seed Michigan State, 2 p.m.
April 29 -- Quarterfinals vs. #2 seed Indiana, 2 p.m.
April 30 -- Semifinals, noon
May 1 -- Championship Final, noon
Michigan Heads to Big Ten Championship
The No. 40 University of Michigan women's tennis team (11-10, 6-4 Big Ten) will travel to East Lansing, Mich., this week for the 2005 Big Ten Conference Championship hosted by Michigan State University. The four-day team tournament held at the MSU Tennis Center begins Thursday (April 28) and concludes with the championship match on Sunday (May 1).
Championship Information
All tournament information, including schedules, results, driving directions, hotel and parking information, etc., can be found at Michigan State's official athletic website.
Wolverines Enter as No. 7 Seed
U-M enters the 2005 Big Ten Championship as the No. 7 seed after finishing the Big Ten dual match season in a four-way tie for fourth place with a record of 6-4. The Wolverines will meet host and No. 10 seed Michigan State in the first round on Thursday (April 28, 2 p.m.). Should Michigan advance, it will face No. 2 seed Indiana in the quarterfinals on Friday (April 29, 2 p.m). The semifinal round is scheduled for Saturday (April 30, noon), while the championship match will take place on Sunday (May 1, noon).
Final Big Ten Standings
PLACE, TEAM BIG TEN 1. Northwestern 10-0 2. Indiana 8-2 3. Iowa 7-3 4. MICHIGAN 6-4 Wisconsin 6-4 Illinois 6-4 Purdue 6-4 8. Penn State 2-8 Ohio State 2-8 10. Michigan State 1-9 Minnesota 1-9
Scouting the Opponents
Michigan State -- The host and No. 10 seed Spartans (11-11, 1-9 Big Ten), who have dropped nine of their last 10 matches, suffered a 6-1 loss to Michigan on March 23, 2005, in East Lansing, Mich. The Spartans return six letterwinners from last year's team, which finished last season at 8-14 overall and 3-7 in Big Ten action. Head coach Tim Bauer is in his sixth season at MSU and has collected a career record of 46-82 at the school. The Wolverines hold a 33-16 advantage in the all-time series against Michigan State. U-M has won 17 of the last 18 meetings dating back to the 1999 season. Michigan State on the Internet: www.msuspartans.com.
Indiana -- The No. 34-ranked Hoosiers and No. 2 seed Hoosiers (14-10, 8-2 Big Ten) slipped by Michigan 4-3 last Friday (April 22) in Bloomington, Ind. Indiana is led by junior Sarah Batty, who is ranked No. 100 in the ITA national singles rankings and holds a dual match singles record of 16-8 at No. 2. The Hoosiers return six letterwinners from last year's team, which finished at 17-8 overall (9-1 Big Ten). Head coach Lin Loring is in his 28th season at Indiana and has compiled a career record of 618-213 at the school. Indiana leads the all-time series with Michigan 22-10. Indiana on the Internet: www.iuhoosiers.com.
Wolverines' Big Ten Championship History
Michigan looks to collect its second conference championship and first since the 1997 tournament. Indiana has earned a league-best 13 team titles, including nine straight from 1987-1995. Northwestern has dominated the Big Ten as of late, as the Wildcats have claimed the last six crowns (1999-2004).
Big Ten Conference Women's Tennis Team Titles
| School | Titles |
| Indiana | 13 |
| Northwestern | 8 |
| Michigan | 1 |
| Wisconsin | 1 |
2004 Big Ten Championship Recap
Michigan posted a 1-1 record at the 2004 Big Ten Championship held April 29-May 2 at the Northwestern University's Vandy Christie Tennis Center in Evanston, Ill. The fourth-seeded Wolverines defeated Wisconsin by a 4-3 score in the first round, winning four singles matches after losing the doubles point to the Badgers. U-M lost 4-2 in the quarterfinals to No. 1 seed and No. 11-ranked Northwestern, the eventual Big Ten champion for the sixth straight year.
U-M Goes 1-1 in Last Week's Action
Michigan closed out the regular season with a weekend road split, defeating Penn State 5-2 after dropping a close 4-3 decision at Indiana. On Friday (April 22), the Wolverines 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 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. On Sunday (April 24), Michigan swept the doubles competition and took four of six singles matches in straight sets from the Nittany Lions to complete the Big Ten season with a 6-4 record.
DaCosta, Rutherford Climbing Singles Chart
Michelle DaCosta and Leanne Rutherford look to finish their Michigan careers ranked in the top 10 in career singles wins. With her 6-2, 6-4 win over Indiana's Dora Vastag (April 22), DaCosta improved her career total to 73 and moved within into a tie for eighth place with Sora Moon (1995-98) and Brooke Hart (1997-2000) on Michigan's all-time singles wins list. Rutherford, moved into sole possession of 11th place (72) after defeating Penn State's Andreea Niculescu 6-1, 6-1 on Sunday (April 24).
DaCosta Notches 50th Career Dual Match Victory
Michelle DaCosta closed out her home career in style, as she came back to defeat Ohio State's Emily DeCamilla 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 at No. 1 to give U-M its sixth and final point of the day (April 16). 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).
Exon Continues to Excel
Sophomore Elizabeth Exon (Irvine, Calif./Woodridge HS) played a key role in Michigan's 5-2 victory at Penn State last Sunday (April 24), defeating Sasha Abraham 6-3, 6-3 at No. 2 for the Wolverines' second team point. Exon has won nine of her last 12 matches to improve to 17-15 overall and 10-11 against dual match opponents. She also played a huge part in U-M's doubles success last weekend, teaming with junior Debra Streifler (Highland Park, Ill./Highland Park HS) for a pair of victories at No. 3, which improved the pair's dual match record to an impressive 10-2.
Rutherford Set to Join 70/70 Club
Leanne Rutherford's 6-2, 6-2 victory at No. 4 over Ohio State's Kristin Messmer (April 16), put her at 70 wins for her U-M career. She holds a career mark of 72-47 (49-34 dual) and is just the 13th player in Michigan history to achieve at least 70 career singles victories. Rutherford is one win shy of 70 for her doubles career (69-55).
One of the Best in the Midwest
Junior Nina Yaftali (Westlake Village, Calif./Westlake HS) continues to tear through regional opposition during her first season at Michigan, compiling a team-best 16-4 record in the Midwest since her arrival to Ann Arbor this past fall. Yaftali, who clinched Michigan's 5-2 win over Penn State in the regular-season finale with a 6-1, 6-2 decision over Katelyn BeVard at No. 6, has won eight of her last 10 matches and holds team-best records in overall singles wins (21-11), dual match victories (12-6) and Big Ten wins (8-2).
Michigan No. 40 in ITA National Rankings
After splitting a pair of conference road matches last weekend (April 22-24), the Wolverines moved up one spot to No. 40 in the most recent Intercollegiate Tennis Association national team rankings, released Tuesday, April 26. In addition to the team ranking, the Wolverines have two student-athletes ranked nationally in singles and doubles. Michelle DaCosta is listed No. 65 in the singles rankings and teams with sophomore Kara Delicata (LaSalle, Ontario/Sandwich Secondary HS) for a No. 21 ranking in doubles.
DaCosta, Exon Among Top 10 in Regional Singles Rankings
Michelle DaCosta and Elizabeth Exon entered the dual match season ranked among the elite singles players in the Midwest Region. DaCosta collected a 5-4 record during the fall season, including a trip to the round of 16 at the ITA Midwest Regional Championships between first-round victories at the ITA National Indoor and ITA All-American Championships. Exon, who finished the fall at 7-4, also reached the round of 16 at the ITA Midwest Regional Championships. DaCosta and Exon were listed No. 34 and No. 57, respectively, in the ITA preseason national singles rankings (Sept. 10).
U-M Doubles Pair Listed No. 3 in Regional Doubles Poll
Michigan's top doubles tandem of Michelle DaCosta and Kara Delicata entered the dual match season listed No. 3 in the Midwest Region. The pair posted a 6-4 record during the fall season, including an 8-1 upset over Arizona's No. 1-ranked team of Maja Mlakar and Dianne Hollands in the first round of the ITA National Indoor Championships. DaCosta and Delicata, who also advanced to the quarterfinals at the ITA Midwest Regional Championships, listed No. 8 in the ITA preseason national doubles rankings (Sept. 10).
Seniors Named Captains for 2005
Head coach Bitsy Ritt announced that Michelle DaCosta and Leanne Rutherford will serve as co-captains for the 2005 dual match season. It marks the first nomination for both athletes.
The Leader of the Wolverines
Head coach Bitsy Ritt is in her 21st season at the helm of the U-M women's tennis program, having compiled a career record of 268-230 (.538) since her appointment in 1984. Ritt has guided the Wolverines to the NCAA Championship seven times in the last 10 seasons, including the NCAA Southeast Championship in 1997. She has instructed 12 NCAA individual qualifiers, three Big Ten Conference Players of the Year and 10 All-Big Ten honorees. Ritt has been named the Big Ten Coach of the Year three times during her career and the ITA Midwest Regional Coach of the Year twice. Her athletes have also succeeded in the classroom, with a total of 27 players having earned 49 Academic All-Big Ten citations during their careers and four student-athletes having received ITA Scholar-Athlete honors.
Michigan Hosts 2004 ITA National Indoors
The University of Michigan and the Varsity Tennis Center played host to the ITA National Indoor Championships for the second consecutive year (Nov. 4-7). In the 32-player singles bracket, wild-card entry Michelle DaCosta won a pair of tiebreakers to upset No. 7-ranked Diane Hollands of Arizona 7-6(2), 7-6(5) in opening round action, but eventually lost to Nebraska's Gitte Osterman (6-4, 6-4) in the round of 16. DaCosta and Kara Delicata advanced to the doubles quarterfinals by upsetting Arizona's No. 4-seeded Maja Mlakar and Hollands (8-1) in the opening round of the 16-team field. The U-M tandem then dropped an 8-6 decision to UCLA's No. 17-ranked duo of Daniela Bercek and Riza Zalameda in the quarterfinals. It was Michigan's first-ever appearance in the tournament's women's singles and doubles quarterfinals.
On the Horizon ...
The Wolverines will head home to Ann Arbor after the Big Ten Championship and await the selection of the tournament field for the 2005 NCAA Championships (May 13-28). Team selections for the 64-team field will be announced Wednesday (May 2), with participants in the singles and doubles championships revealed the following day.
Contact: Marc Ressler (734) 763-4423
Players Mentioned
