Michigan
Tennessee
Singles Success Powers U-M Past No. 22 Tennessee
2/19/2006 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The No. 30 University of Michigan women's tennis team earned a hard-fought 5-2 victory over No. 22 Tennessee Sunday afternoon (Feb. 19) at the Varsity Tennis Center. The Wolverines (3-3) were resilient after dropping the doubles point, winning five of the six matches in the singles competition. Michigan won the final three singles matches in three sets to secure its first upset against a Top 25 opponent since Feb. 21, 2004, when the Wolverines knocked off the then No. 23-ranked Lady Volunteers, 4-3, in Ann Arbor.
Michigan's No. 3 doubles team of senior Nina Yaftali (Westlake Village, Calif./Westlake HS) and freshman Lindsey Howard (Richmond, Va./Mills E. Godwin HS) got the Wolverines off to a quick start with a dominating 8-1 triumph over Stephanie Harris and Samantha Orlin. With the win, Yaftali and Howard improve their dual match record to a team-best 3-3.
The Lady Vols answered with victories at Nos. 1 and 2, respectively, to steal the doubles point and take a 1-0 lead in the match. Teaming together for the first time in their careers, senior Debra Streifler (Highland Park, Ill./Highland Park HS) and junior Kara Delicata (LaSalle, Ontario/Sandwich Secondary School) dropped an 8-5 decision to Melissa Schaub and Ghizela Schutte at No. 1. It was Streifler's first doubles match at the top spot in her four-year collegiate career.
Tennessee clinched the first team point thanks to Blakeley Griffifth and Victoria Jones, who outlasted junior Elizabeth Exon (Irvine, Calif./Woodbridge HS) and freshman Chisako Sugiyama (Parsippany, N.J./The Montclair Kimberley Academy) at No. 2. Exon and Sugiyama battled back from a 4-1 deficit before Griffith and Jones pulled away and secured an 8-6 victory. It was Exon and Sugiyama's first career dual match as a doubles tandem.
The Wolverines got off to a solid start in singles, claiming the first set in five of the six matches. Yaftali snapped a seven-match losing skid and earned her first dual match win of 2006, defeating Griffifth by a 6-2, 6-4 margin at No. 2 to tie the team score at 1-1. Howard picked a perfect time for her first career dual match victory, as she posted a 6-3, 6-4 decision over Harris at No. 6 to pull Michigan ahead 2-1 on the scoreboard.
Orlin provided the Lady Vols with their only singles win of the afternoon and knotted the score at 2-2, as she moved past Sugiyama by a 7-6(6), 6-3 score at No. 5. It was just Sugiyama's eighth loss in 21 matches dating back to the fall season.
Delicata, Streifler and Exon won the first set in their respective singles matches only to see their opponent fight back to force a third set. The 76th-ranked Streifler persevered at No. 3, defeating Schutte by a 6-4, 5-7, 6-3 score to put the Wolverines ahead 3-2. It was Streifler's team-high fourth dual match win of the season.
Delicata snapped a four-match losing streak and recorded her first career victory at the No. 1 singles position, earning a 6-4, 3-6, 7-5 triumph over Jones to clinch the match for Michigan. It was Delicata's first dual match win in four tries this year.
With the outcome decided, Exon completed Michigan's third straight three-set win with a 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 victory over Schaub at No. 3 to give the Wolverines their fifth team point. With the win, Exon improves to 3-3 on the dual match sesaon.
The Wolverines will return to action on Friday, March 3, when they take on UNLV during their Spring Break trip to Las Vegas, Nev. The match is scheduled for a 1 p.m. PST start at the Darling Tennis Center.
Following are match-by-match results:
Singles
No. 1 -- Kara Delicata (U-M) d. Victoria Jones, 6-4, 3-6, 7-5
No. 2 -- #48 Nina Yaftali (U-M) d. Blakeley Griffifth, 6-2, 6-4
No. 3 -- Elizabeth Exon (U-M) d. Melissa Schaub, 6-4, 4-6, 6-4
No. 4 -- #76 Debra Streifler (U-M) d. Ghizela Schutte, 6-4, 5-7, 6-3
No. 5 -- Samantha Orlin (TENN) d. Chisako Sugiyama, 7-6(6), 6-3
No. 6 -- Lindsey Howard (U-M) d. Stephanie Harris, 6-3, 6-4
Doubles
No. 1 -- Schaub/Schutte (TENN) d. Delicata/Streifler, 8-5
No. 2 -- Griffifth/Jones (TENN) d. Exon/Sugiyama, 8-6
No. 3 -- Howard/Yaftali (U-M) d. Harris/Orlin, 8-1
Order of Completion: Doubles 3-1-2, Singles 2-6-5-4-1-3
Contact: Marc Ressler (734) 763-4423
Players Mentioned
