Michigan
Michigan State
Michigan Wins at Michigan State to Open Big Ten Play
3/22/2006 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
EAST LANSING, Mich. -- The No. 27 University of Michigan women's tennis team opened its Big Ten Conference schedule with a 5-2 victory over intrastate rival Michigan State Wednesday evening (March 22) at the MSU Indoor Tennis Facility. The Wolverines (7-4, 1-0 Big Ten), winners in five of their last six matches, earned a doubles sweep and victories at the bottom four singles positions en route to their fifth straight triumph over the Spartans (9-4, 0-1 Big Ten).
Michigan's win, coupled with the U-M men's tennis team's 7-0 victory over MSU last Friday (March 17), gives the Wolverines a 1-0 lead in the Challenge Cup spring standings.
The No. 1 doubles team of senior Debra Streifler (Highland Park, Ill./Highland Park HS) and junior Kara Delicata (LaSalle, Ontario/Sandwich Secondary School) won for the fourth time in its last five tries, defeating Sarah Andrews and Christine Bader by an 8-2 score to give the Wolverines the early leg up. Streifler and Delicata hold a 4-2 record at the top position. It was Streifler's 80th career doubles victory (80-31) and her 50th win in dual match play (50-21).
Senior Nina Yaftali (Westlake Village, Calif./Westlake HS) and freshman Lindsey Howard (Richmond, Va./Mills E. Godwin HS) continued to steamroll through their competition at No. 3, as they posted an 8-5 victory over Marianne Eelens and Pascale Schnitzer to clinch the doubles point for Michigan. Yaftali and Howard have won five straight matches and carry a team-best 7-3 dual match record.
Sophomore Allie Shafner (Englewood, Colo./Cherry Creek HS) and freshman Chisako Sugiyama (Parsippany, N.J./The Montclair Kimberley Academy) completed the doubles sweep with an 8-6 decision over Jessica Baron and Stephanie Kebler at No. 2. With the victory, Shafner and Sugiyama broke a two-match losing skid and improved to 6-2 overall in 2005-06.
The Spartans evened the match with a straight-set win at No. 1 singles, but Sugiyama put the Wolverines in the lead once again with a victory over Andrews at No. 5. After jumping ahead with a 6-3 win in the first set, Sugiyama found herself in a 5-2 hole in the second set. She then reeled off five straight games to seal up her third straight victory and give Michigan a 2-1 lead.
Another Michigan State win at No. 2 tied the team score at 2-2, but junior Elizabeth Exon (Irvine, Calif./Woodbridge HS) handed Barton a 6-3, 6-2 loss at No. 3 to put the Wolverines within one match of clinching the victory. Exon has won four of her last five matches and improves to 6-4 in dual match action.
For the second time in one week, Streifler provided the match-clinching victory at No. 4 singles. Her 6-4, 3-6, 6-2 win over Kebler put Michigan in front 4-2 and moved her winning streak to eight matches. Streifler's triumph also put her in sole possession of seventh place on Michigan's all-time singles wins list (77).
Shafner closed out the match with a super-tiebreaker victory over Eelens at No. 6, 6-7(5), 7-5, 1-0(5). With the win, Shafner evens her overall (13-13) and dual match (5-5) records.
The Wolverines return home to the Varsity Tennis Center to host Wisconsin on Saturday (March 25) and No. 4 Northwestern on Sunday (March 26). Both matches are scheduled for an 11 a.m. start.
Following are match-by-match results:
Singles
No. 1 -- Christine Bader (MSU) d. #97 Kara Delicata, 6-3, 6-4
No. 2 -- Pascale Schnitzer (MSU) d. Nina Yaftali, 6-1, 6-4
No. 3 -- Elizabeth Exon (U-M) d. Jessica Baron, 6-3, 6-2
No. 4 -- Debra Streifler (U-M) d. Stephanie Kebler, 6-4, 3-6, 6-2
No. 5 -- Chisako Sugiyama (U-M) d. Sarah Andrews, 6-3, 7-5
No. 6 -- Allie Shafner (U-M) d. Marianne Eelens, 6-7(5), 7-5, 1-0(5)
Doubles
No. 1 -- Delicata/Streifler (U-M) d. Andrews/Bader, 8-2
No. 2 -- Shafner/Sugiyama (U-M) d. Baron/Kebler, 8-6
No. 3 -- Lindsey Howard/Yaftali (U-M) d. Eelens/Schnitzer, 8-5
Order of Completion: Doubles 1-3-2, Singles 1-5-2-3-4-6
Q U O T E S
Michigan Head Coach Bitsy Ritt
On Michigan's performance tonight ... "I thought we got off to a good start in doubles. Michigan State raised its level of play later on in doubles and we weren't able to close out as convincingly as we started at Nos. 2 and 3. We regained our composure and did a nice job of finishing those matches. We got off to some slow starts in singles and in certain situations we were down a bit. We really had to work hard to turn the momentum of those matches around. Michigan State played well, but we were able to turn it around and prevail in the end. We're going to have to find a way to get off to some better starts."
On the recent success of Michigan's No. 3 doubles team ... "That's really a solid combination at No. 3 doubles. They (Nina Yaftali and Lindsey Howard) really complement each other well on the court. They're both really intense and high-energy, they communicate well and they're so solid as a serving and receiving team. They don't give their opponents a lot; their opponents really have to earn every point. As the season progresses, they're becoming even more aggressive at the net and I just think they compete well together. They've really formed a nice combination."
On the play of Debra Streifler ... "Debra is such a great competitor and she's hard to beat. After she dropped that second set, she got off to a great start in the third and was able to keep the momentum. She played smart. It wasn't her best tennis, but she's a competitor and she knows what she needs to do even when her 'A' game isn't on. To her credit, she really stepped up in that third set and was up 5-0. I was proud of the way she competed tonight."
On Michigan's upcoming matches against Wisconsin and Northwestern ... "We're going to focus on playing to our strengths a little bit more. We need to concentrate on trusting ourselves and focusing on each point. If you're focusing on past points or concerned about what's going to happen in the future, the match can get away from you. We just have focus on our strengths and enjoy competing."
Contact: Marc Ressler (734) 763-4423
Players Mentioned
