DaCosta, Delicata Invited to NCAA Doubles Tournament

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. -- For the second straight season, the University of Michigan women's tennis team's No. 1 doubles pairing of senior Michelle DaCosta (Huber Heights, Ohio/Wayne HS) and sophomore Kara Delicata (LaSalle, Ontario/Sandwich Secondary) will represent the Wolverines at the NCAA Doubles Championships, to be held May 24-28 in Athens, Ga. DaCosta and Delicata join Sarah Cyganiak (1994-97) and Sora Moon (1995-98) as the only doubles tandem in U-M history to qualify for national tournament twice in their career. Cyganiak and Moon made consecutive appearances in 1996-97.

	DaCosta		Delicata

DaCosta and Delicata received the Midwest Region's lone at-large bid Thursday evening (May 5) based on factors such as win-loss record, strength of schedule, significant wins and late-season play. The NCAA Doubles Championship, held at Georgia's Dan Magill Tennis Complex, will feature a 32-team draw played in a single-elimination format. The final bracket for the doubles competition will be announced Sunday, May 22, following the official coaches meeting.

DaCosta is also listed as the sixth alternate for the 64-player NCAA Singles Championship (May 23-28). Last year, DaCosta advanced to the second round during her career debut at the national singles tournament.

DaCosta and Delicata, ranked 20th in this week's ITA national rankings, enter next weekend's NCAA Regional Championship with a team-best 24-10 overall doubles record. The pair holds an 18-6 record in dual match action, including an 8-2 mark in league play. DaCosta and Delicata upset two top-ranked doubles teams in 2004-05, defeating Arizona's Maja Mlakar and Dianne Hollands in the first round of the 2004 ITA National Indoor Championships (Nov. 4) and Northwestern's Audra Cohen and Cristelle Grier in last weekend's Big Ten Championship final (May 1).

DaCosta and Delicata are just the fourth U-M tandem selected for the tournament and the second since 1998. Last season, the pair defeated Kentucky's Sarah Foster and Aibika Kalsarieva (6-3, 6-1) in the first round before falling to Marshall's Jessica Johnson and Ashley Kroh (6-1, 4-6, 6-4) in the round of 16. It was the furthest any U-M women's doubles team has advanced at the national championship.

The Wolverines will head to Chapel Hill, N.C., to compete in the NCAA Regional Championship next Friday and Saturday (May 13-14) at the University of North Carolina's Cone-Kenfield Tennis Center. Michigan will face No. 15 Duke in the first round on Friday at 2 p.m. and, should it advance, would meet the winner of the 13th-ranked Tar Heels and Richmond on Saturday at 11 a.m.

Contact: Marc Ressler (734) 763-4423

University of Michigan Athletics

Players Mentioned

Michelle DaCosta

Kara Delicata

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