Wolverines Pick Up Non-Conference Win Over Broncos

Thursday, March 16

Ann Arbor, Mich.

6:00 PM

Michigan

Western Michigan

3/16/2006 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis

ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The No. 22 University of Michigan women's tennis team earned its fourth straight victory, defeating No. 55 Western Michigan by a score of 5-2 Thursday evening (March 16) at the Varsity Tennis Center. The Wolverines (6-3) won their third straight doubles point before posting straight-set wins in three of the first four singles matches to improve their all-time record against the Broncos to 26-5.

Senior Debra Streifler (Highland Park, Ill./Highland Park HS) and junior Kara Delicata (LaSalle, Ontario/Sandwich Secondary School) had little trouble extending their winning streak to three matches at No. 1 doubles, as they claimed the first seven games en route to an 8-3 victory over Carrie Jeanmaire and Malena Remynse. Streifler and Delicata have suffered just one loss in their four dual matches at the top doubles position.

Senior Nina Yaftali (Westlake Village, Calif./Westlake HS) and freshman Lindsey Howard (Richmond, Va./Mills E. Godwin HS) faced a bit of a tougher test at No. 3, with Kerstin Pahl and Priyanka Parekh jumping out to an early 3-0 lead. Yaftali and Howard battled back and eventually knotted the score at 5-5 before capturing three of the final four games to wrap up an 8-6 triumph. The Wolverine tandem has now won three straight matches to improve its overall dual match record to 5-3.

Sophomore Allie Shafner (Englewood, Colo./Cherry Creek HS) and freshman Chisako Sugiyama (Parsippany, N.J./The Montclair Kimberley Academy) saw their five-match winning streak come to an end after Rattiya Hiranrat and Noriko Saruta earned a tight 8-6 decision at No. 2 to prevent a Michigan doubles sweep. It was Shafner and Sugiyama's first loss in three dual matches this season.

Sugiyama made quick work of Priyanka Parekh at No. 5 singles to give the Wolverines a 2-0 lead in the match. After dropping the first two games, Sugiyama won six straight to take the first set, 6-2. She sustained the momentum throughout the remainder of the match, earning a 6-3 decision in the second set to clinch the win. With the victory, Sugiyama snapped a three-match losing skid and improved to 4-4 in dual match play.

Delicata gave Michigan a commanding 3-0 advantage with a straight-set win at No. 1. After outlasting Remynse by a score of 7-5 in the first set, Delicata cruised to victory by a 6-1 margin in the second set. It was Delicata's second straight win at No. 1.

The Broncos received their first team point from Pahl, who handed Shafner her first loss in three matches, 6-3, 6-4, at No. 6.

Streifler secured the team victory for Michigan with a straight-set triumph at No. 4. Streifler, who gritted out a tough 7-6(8) win in the first set, sealed her victory over Hiranrat in convincing fashion with a 6-2 decision in the second set. It was Streifler's 75th career victory as a Wolverine, which puts her alone in eighth place on Michigan's all-time singles wins list. She has won six straight matches and holds a team-best 7-2 dual match mark in 2006.

Minutes after Streifler's clincher, Yaftali finished off her brilliant comeback effort against Jeanmaire at No. 2 to give Michigan its fifth and final team point. Yafali got off to a slow start with a 6-1 loss in the first set but stormed back to take the final two sets, 6-0, 6-2, to wrap up her second straight victory.

Western Michigan closed out the match with a win at No. 3, as Reedhina Parekh edged out junior Elizabeth Exon (Irvine, Calif./Woodbridge HS) in a super-tiebreaker. Exon fell behind 7-3 in the extra set before winning four straight points, but Parekh eventually came out on top by a 12-10 score to claim the victory.

The Wolverines close out their non-conference schedule on Sunday (March 19) when they travel to Tuscaloosa, Ala., to take on Alabama. The match is scheduled for an 11 a.m. CST start at the UA Tennis Complex.

Following are match-by-match results:

Singles
No. 1 -- Kara Delicata (U-M) d. Malena Remynse, 7-5, 6-1
No. 2 -- Nina Yaftali (U-M) d. Carrie Jeanmaire, 1-6, 6-0, 6-2
No. 3 -- Reedhina Parekh (WMU) d. Elizabeth Exon, 2-6, 7-5, 1-0(10)
No. 4 -- Debra Streifler (U-M) d. Rattiya Hiranrat, 7-6(8), 6-2
No. 5 -- Chisako Sugiyama (U-M) d. Priyanka Parekh, 6-2, 6-3
No. 6 -- Kerstin Pahl (WMU) d. Allie Shafner, 6-3, 6-4

Doubles
No. 1 -- Delicata/Streifler (U-M) d. Jeanmaire/Remynse, 8-3
No. 2 -- Hiranrat/Noriko Saruta (WMU) d. Shafner/Sugiyama, 8-6
No. 3 -- Howard/Yaftali (U-M) d. Pahl/R. Parekh, 8-6

Order of Completion: Doubles 1-3-2, Singles 5-1-6-4-2-3

Q U O T E S

U-M Senior Debra Streifler
On the team's performance tonight .. "I think the team played really well. We all came out and fought hard. Things weren't going our way early in each of our matches, but everyone did a good job of digging in and fighting their way back into it. I wasn't playing at the top of my game in the first set of my singles match, but I just kept chipping away and eventually got the set and kept on rolling."

On the team's current winning streak as the Big Ten season approaches ... "It's huge. Everyone is coming together and playing really well right now. We're all on the same page and this is exactly where we want to be. We had a couple of tough losses at the beginning of the year and we were able to learn from that and it made us that much better."

On earning her 75th career singles win and making a dent in the record book ... "It feels great. To leave a mark in a program like Michigan's and be a part of this athletic history is an indescribable feeling. It's never been about individual success, but it's nice to say that I've helped my team by having all of these wins. That's the most important thing to me."

Contact: Marc Ressler (734) 763-4423