Sugiyama Earns Preseason National Singles Ranking
9/19/2007 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
SKILLMAN, N.J. -- Junior Chisako Sugiyama(Parsippany, N.J./The Montclair Kimberley Academy) of the University of Michigan women's tennis team will open the season as the No. 68-ranked singles player in the nation, as recently announced by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA). Sugiyama is the third-highest ranked player in the Big Ten Conference behind Northwestern's Georgia Rose (No. 8) and Samantha Murray (No. 35).
Sugiyama has appeared in every ITA poll since she made her debut on Feb. 21, 2007, with a career-best ranking of No. 49. She holds a career singles record of 57-16, and her winning percentage of .781 ranks first all-time at U-M. Sugiyama put together a banner year as a sophomore in 2006-07, finishing with a 30-6 record and an undefeated Big Ten mark of 10-0. She has won 35 of 43 dual matches, including 18 of 21 at the top two positions and 19 of 20 against conference opposition.
In addition to the release of the preseason national rankings, the ITA office announced that Sugiyama has been selected to the 64-player singles qualifying field for the 2007 Riviera/ITA All-American Championships. She will compete for one of eight spots into the 32-player main draw.
The Riviera/ITA All-American Championships, which will be held Tuesday through Sunday, Oct. 2-7, at the Riviera Tennis Club in Pacific Palisades, Calif., are the first of three national championships during the 2007-08 women's collegiate tennis season, with the other two being the ITA National Intercollegiate Indoor Championships (Nov. 1-4) and the NCAA Championships (May 9-24).
Michigan's fall campaign kicks off next Friday through Sunday (Sept. 28-30), when U-M hosts the ninth annual Wolverine Invitational at the Varsity Tennis Center.
Contact: Marc Ressler (734) 763-4423
Players Mentioned
