Wolverines Shut Out Illinois on the Road

Sunday, April 8

Champaign, Ill.

Noon CT

Michigan

Illinois

4/8/2007 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- The No. 23-ranked University of Michigan women's tennis team extended its winning streak to nine matches thanks to a 7-0 sweep of Illinois Sunday afternoon (April 8) at the Atkins Tennis Center. The Wolverines (12-5, 6-1 Big Ten) surrendered just one set in the nine matches contested, allowing U-M to maintain second place in the Big Ten Conference standings heading into the final stretch of the dual match season.

Graduate senior Jenny Kuehn (Leipzig, Germany/Sportgymnasium Leipzig) and sophomore Chisako Sugiyama (Parsippany, N.J./The Montclair Kimberley Academy) were victorious for the eighth time in nine tries at the No. 1 doubles position, defeating Megan Fudge and Emily Wang by a convincing 8-1 margin. The U-M pair holds a team-best 13-3 overall record in 2006-07.

Junior Allie Shafner (Englewood, Colo./Cherry Creek HS) and sophomore Lindsey Howard (Richmond, Va./Mills E. Godwin HS) kept their perfect dual match record intact at 4-0 after handing Kristina Minor and Momei Qu an 8-2 defeat at No. 3 that clinched the doubles point for the Maize and Blue. Michigan has not given up the doubles point in six straight matches.

Senior Kara Delicata (LaSalle, Ontario/Sandwich Secondary School) and freshman Tania Mahtani (Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif./Palos Verdes Peninsula HS) completed the doubles sweep with an 8-4 decision over Shivani Dave and Alejandra Meza Cuadra at No.2. Delicata and Mahtani have won seven of their eight dual match outings, including six straight dating back to March 17.

Mahtani carried her strong play over into singles action, earning a 6-4, 6-2 victory over Minor at No. 4 to put the Wolverines on top 2-0. Mahtani has won all eight of her matches at the fourth position, and she holds a team-best 10-match winning streak dating back to March 4.

Shafner got back on track with a solid 6-3, 6-2 triumph over Wang at No. 6, which gave Michigan a 3-0 advantage. The 84th-ranked Kuehn clinched the team win for the second straight day, as her 6-3, 6-0 victory over Fudge at No. 1 put U-M ahead 4-0. Kuehn has won six straight matches and stands at 6-1 in the Big Ten.

The 84th-ranked Sugiyama tallied her ninth straight win, a 6-0, 7-6(4) decision over Qu at No. 2, which gave U-M its fifth team point. With the victory, Sugiyama pulls 20 wins above .500 in 2006-07 (26-6). She joins Mahtani as the only Wolverines with a perfect 7-0 record in Big Ten play.

Delicata kept things rolling by closing out Dave in a super-tiebreaker at No. 3, 6-3, 6-7(4), 1-0(6), which was her sixth straight win. She now has 18 overall victories in 2006-07, marking a new career high. Senior Elizabeth Exon (Irvine, Calif./Woodbridge HS) completed the overall sweep, defeating Meza Cuadra by a score of 6-2, 7-6(2) at No. 5.

The Wolverines close out their home schedule on Sunday (April 15) with a 1 p.m. match against intrastate rival Michigan State at the Varsity Tennis Center. Michigan will honor its 2007 Senior Class -- Delicata, Exon and Kuehn -- prior to the match against the Spartans.

Following are match-by-match results:

Singles
No. 1 -- #84 Jenny Kuehn (U-M) d. Megan Fudge, 6-3, 6-0
No. 2 -- #85 Chisako Sugiyama (U-M) d. Momei Qu, 6-0, 7-6(4)
No. 3 -- Kara Delicata (U-M) d. Shivani Dave, 6-3, 6-7(4), 1-0(6)
No. 4 -- Tania Mahtani (U-M) d. Kristina Minor, 6-4, 6-2
No. 5 -- Elizabeth Exon (U-M) d. Alejandra Meza Cuadra, 6-2, 7-6(2)
No. 6 -- Allie Shafner (U-M) d. Emily Wang, 6-3, 6-2

Doubles
No. 1 -- Kuehn/Sugiyama (U-M) d. Fudge/Wang, 8-1
No. 2 -- Delicata/Mahtani (U-M) d. Dave/Meza Cuadra, 8-4
No. 3 -- Lindsey Howard/Shafner (U-M) d. Minor/Qu, 8-2

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

Contact: Marc Ressler (734) 763-4423