Michigan
Iowa
Wolverines Use Exon Speedpass to Edge Hawkeyes
4/29/2006 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- The No. 31 University of Michigan women's tennis team will make an appearance in the Big Ten Conference Championship final for the second straight season after earning a thrilling 4-3 victory over No. 30 Iowa Saturday afternoon (April 29) at the Atkins Tennis Center. The No. 3 seed Wolverines (16-6) denied the No. 2 seed Hawkeyes (18-5) a berth in the championship match for the second year in a row and avenged their 5-2 loss to Iowa earlier in the dual match season.
The Wolverines will face 11th-ranked and top-seeded Northwestern, a 4-0 semifinal winner over No. 5 seed Purdue, in the championship final tomorrow (Sunday, April 30). The match is scheduled for a noon CDT start at the Atkins Tennis Center. Michigan dropped a 4-1 decision to the Wildcats in last year's Big Ten Championship title match (May 1, 2005).
Junior Elizabeth Exon (Irvine, Calif./Woodbridge HS) found herself in the exact same pressure situation as last season, as her singles match against Hillary Mintz at No. 2 would decide if Michigan would advance to the Big Ten Championship final. Just as she did last year, Exon came up in the clutch and provided a three-set victory over Mintz to send the Wolverines into the championship round.
Mintz got the better of Exon early in the match, claiming the first set by a score of 6-4. It looked as if the Hawkeyes would be moving on to the championship match, with Mintz holding a 5-4 lead in the second set. Exon never gave up, as she withstood three match points before winning by a 7-6(3) margin to send the match into a third set. Exon left no doubt in the decisive set, as she battled through cramping and earned a 6-3 win to give the Wolverines their seventh straight victory and a return trip to the conference final.
Senior Debra Streifler (Highland Park, Ill./Highland Park HS) had a chance to put away the match herself, as she held a 5-4 advantage in the third set over Jacqueline Lee at No. 4. Streifler could not break serve, however, and Lee eventually won the set by a score of 7-5 to give Iowa its third point and set the stage for the Exon-Mintz showdown at No. 2.
The Wolverines and the Hawkeyes exchanged back-to-back wins to begin the singles competition. Freshman Lindsey Howard (Richmond, Va./Mills E. Godwin HS) notched her seventh victory in the last nine outings, as she quickly defeated Kayla Berry by a score of 6-1, 6-1 at No. 6 to give Michigan the early momentum. Fellow freshman Chisako Sugiyama (Parsippany, N.J./The Montclair Kimberley Academy) continued her spectacular play at the fifth position, as her 6-1, 6-2 win over Merel Beelen put U-M ahead 3-0. Sugiyama has won 12 of her last 13 matches at No. 5.
Iowa stayed in contention thanks to straight-set victories at Nos. 1 and 3. The 37th-ranked Meg Racette earned a 6-2, 6-3 decision over junior Kara Delicata (LaSalle, Ontario/Sandwich Secondary School), while Milica Veselinovic dealt senior Nina Yaftali (Westlake Village, Calif./Westlake HS) a 6-4, 6-4 loss.
Yaftali fared much better on the doubles court, teaming with Howard for an impressive 8-1 triumph over Veselinovic and Krissy Dowlin at No. 3. The win would prove to be critical for the Wolverines, as Streifler and Delicata suffered their first defeat in 11 matches at the top spot. It was then time for Sugiyama and sophomore Allie Shafner (Englewood, Colo./Cherry Creek HS) to show their grit, as the duo collected an 8-4 victory over Berry and Mintz at No. 2 to clinch the doubles point for a 1-0 Michigan lead.
Following are match-by-match results:
Singles
No. 1 -- #37 Meg Racette (Iowa) d. Kara Delicata, 6-2, 6-3
No. 2 -- Elizabeth Exon (U-M) d. Hillary Mintz, 4-6, 7-6(3), 6-3
No. 3 -- Milica Veselinovic (Iowa) d. Nina Yaftali, 6-4, 6-4
No. 4 -- Jacqueline Lee (Iowa) d. Debra Streifler, 5-7, 6-4, 7-5
No. 5 -- Chisako Sugiyama (U-M) d. Merel Beelen, 6-1, 6-2
No. 6 -- Lindsey Howard (U-M) d. Kayla Berry, 6-1, 6-1
Doubles
No. 1 -- Lee/Racette (Iowa) d. #30 Delicata/Streifler, 8-6
No. 2 -- Allie Shafner/Sugiyama (U-M) d. Berry/Mintz, 8-4
No. 3 -- Howard/Yaftali (U-M) d. Krissy Dowlin/Veselinovic, 8-1
Order of Completion: Doubles 3-1-2, Singles 6-1-5-3-4-2
Contact: Marc Ressler (734) 763-4423
Players Mentioned
