Michigan
Tennessee
Michigan Upsets Tennessee Behind Taney's Three-Set Singles Win
2/15/2008 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
Site: Ann Arbor, Mich. (Varsity Tennis Center)
Score: #25 Michigan 4, #21 Tennessee 3
Records: U-M (2-3), Tennessee (4-2)
Next U-M Match: Sunday, Feb. 17 -- at #2 Northwestern (Evanston, Ill.), Noon CST
Postmatch Quotes | Photo Gallery
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The No. 25-ranked University of Michigan women's tennis team pulled out a 4-3 victory over No. 21-ranked Tennessee Friday (Feb. 15)at the Varsity Tennis Center. The Wolverines (2-3) earned a doubles sweep and wins in the first two singles matches completed to go up 3-0, and freshman Whitney Taney(Edina, Minn./Edina HS) closed the door on the Lady Vols (4-2) with a three-set triumph in the deciding match at No. 2. Both of U-M's wins this season have come against top-25 opponents.
Taney got off to a blazing start against Ghizela Schutte, claiming a 6-0 win in the first set. Taney was up 5-4 in the second set, but Schutte withstood one match point and eventually won in a tiebreaker, 7-6(5), to send the match into a third set. Taney built a 5-1 lead in the final set, but Schutte withstood three more match points and went on to tie the score at 5-5. Taney then stepped up and broke Schutte before taking care of her own service game to win 7-5 and clinch the team victory.
Junior Chisako Sugiyama(Parsippany, N.J./The Montclair Kimberley Academy) and sophomore Tania Mahtani(Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif./Palos Verdes Peninsula HS) were broken in the first game of their No. 1 doubles match against Tennessee's No. 26-ranked tandem of Schutte and Rosalia Alda, but the Wolverine pair rebounded to win eight of the next 10 games and wrap up an impressive 8-3 victory.
Junior Lindsey Howard(Richmond, Va./Mills E. Godwin HS) and freshman Denise Muresan(Lincolnshire, Ill./Adlai E. Stevenson HS) secured the first team point for the Maize and Blue with a commanding 8-2 triumph over Samantha Orlin and Connor Vogel at No. 3. Howard and Muresan broke Orlin and Vogel twice to establish an early 4-0 lead, and the U-M duo went on to claim four of the six remaining games to clinch the doubles point for Michigan.
Taney and freshman Rika Tatsuno(Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif./Palos Verdes Peninsula HS) provided the Wolverines with their first doubles sweep of the season thanks to an 8-6 win over Jennifer Meredith and Caitlin Whoriskey at No. 2. Taney and Tatsuno pulled away late in the match, holding serve to go up 7-6 before breaking Meredith and Whoriskey in the final game to seal the sweep.
Howard picked up her second straight singles victory, claiming a dominating 6-2, 6-2 decision over Vogel at No. 6 to put Michigan in front 2-0. Tatsuno followed suit, closing out Alda by a 6-2, 7-5 count at No. 5 to give U-M a 3-0 advantage. It was Tatsuno's first career dual-match singles win.
The Lady Vols stayed in contention with victories at Nos. 1, 3 and 4, setting the stage for Taney's match-clinching triumph at No. 2.
The Wolverines return to action Sunday (Feb. 17) when they travel to Evanston, Ill., to face No. 2-ranked Northwestern. The match is scheduled for a noon CST start at the Combe Indoor Tennis Center.
Following are match-by-match results:
Singles
No. 1 -- Caitlin Whoriskey (Tennessee) d. Chisako Sugiyama, 6-1, 6-7(4), 6-3
No. 2 -- Whitney Taney (U-M) d. Ghizela Schutte, 6-0, 6-7(5), 7-5
No. 3 -- Samantha Orlin (Tennessee) d. Tania Mahtani, 6-3, 4-6, 6-2
No. 4 -- Jennifer Meredith (Tennessee) d. Denise Muresan, 6-4, 6-4
No. 5 -- Rika Tatsuno (U-M) d. Rosalia Alda, 6-2, 7-5
No. 6 -- Lindsey Howard (U-M) d. Connor Vogel, 6-2, 6-2
Doubles
No. 1 -- Mahtani/Sugiyama (U-M) d. #26 Alda/Schutte, 8-3
No. 2 -- Taney/Tatsuno (U-M) d. Meredith/Whoriskey, 8-6
No. 3 -- Howard/Muresan (U-M) d. Orlin/Vogel, 8-2
Order of Completion: Doubles 1-3-2, Singles 6-5-4-3-1-2
Contact: Marc Ressler (734) 763-4423
Players Mentioned
