Wolverines Continue Dominance of Western Michigan

Wednesday, March 19

Ann Arbor, Mich.

6:00 PM

Michigan

Western Michigan

3/19/2008 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis

Site: Ann Arbor, Mich. (Varsity Tennis Center)
Score: Michigan 7, Western Michigan 0
Records: U-M (7-4), Western Michigan(6-7)
Next U-M Match: Thursday, March 27 -- vs. Washington (Varsity Tennis Center), 3 p.m.

ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The No. 28-ranked University of Michigan women's tennis team posted a commanding 7-0 victory over No. 74-ranked Western Michigan Wednesday evening (March 19) at the Varsity Tennis Center. The Wolverines (7-4) securedtheir sixth straight doubles point before blowing away the Broncos (6-7) on all six singles courts to clinch their sixth straight team win. It also marked the Maize and Blue's 21st straight victory in the series.

Teaming together for the first time in dual-match play, junior Lindsey Howard(Richmond, Va./Mills E. Godwin HS) and freshman Rika Tatsuno(Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif./Palos Verdes Peninsula HS) posted a dominating 8-2 victory over Emily Dudzik and Yumi Matsuto at No. 3 to give U-M the early momentum in doubles. Howard and Tatsuno have won four of five together in 2007-08.

Michigan's top doubles tandem of junior Chisako Sugiyama(Parsippany, N.J./The Montclair Kimberley Academy) and sophomore Tania Mahtani(Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif./Palos Verdes Peninsula HS) extended its winning streak to three matches with an 8-5 triumph over Kerstin Pahl and Priyanka Parekh at No. 1, which clinched the first team point for the Wolverines. Sugiyama and Mahtani, ranked 46th nationally, have won seven of 11 at the top slot this season.

Moments later, the freshman duo of Denise Muresan(Lincolnshire, Ill./Adlai E. Stevenson HS) and Whitney Taney(Edina, Minn./Edina HS) provided U-M with its third doubles sweep thanks to an 8-2 triumph over Ashley Moccia and Noriko Saruta at No. 2. Muresan and Taney have won four straight matches since they were inserted into the lineup on Feb. 28.

Tatsuno continued to steamroll through her competition at No. 5 singles, overpowering Dudzik by a 6-0, 6-1 score to give Michigan a 2-0 advantage. Tatsuno has won five straight since starting out the dual-match season at 1-5. Mahtani, ranked 106th nationally, put the Wolverines in position for the team victory with a commanding 6-0, 6-2 decision over Ashley Moccia at No. 4. It marked Mahtani's 40th career singles win at U-M (40-25).

Taney slammed the door on Western Michigan with a resounding 6-1, 6-0 victory over Parekh at No. 2. Taney has been stellar at the second position in her first season, claiming wins in five of six matches. Muresan followed suit with a 6-0, 6-2 triumph over Saruta at No. 3, which gave the Wolverines a 5-0 lead. Muresan has been victorious in her last six outings.

Howard pushed her winning streak to five matches, as she handily defeated Amanda Moccia by a 6-3, 6-0 count at No. 6 to give Michigan its sixth team point. Howard is off to the best start of her dual-match career at 7-3 and has not surrendered a set since Feb. 17.

Sugiyama, who was named the Big Ten Conference Athlete of the Week earlier today, capped off the overall sweep with a 6-2, 6-4 victory over Pahl at No. 1. Sugiyama rebounded from a 4-0 deficit in the second set to clinch her sixth straight win. She has won seven of 10 at the top spot this season.

The Wolverines return to action next Thursday (March 27) when they close out their non-conference schedule against Washington. The match is scheduled for a 3 p.m. start at the Varsity Tennis Center.

Following are match-by-match results:

Singles
No. 1 -- #66 Chisako Sugiyama (U-M) d. Kerstin Pahl, 6-2, 6-4
No. 2 -- Whitney Taney (U-M) d. Priyanka Parekh, 6-1, 6-0
No. 3 -- Denise Muresan (U-M) d. Noriko Saruta, 6-0, 6-2
No. 4 -- #106 Tania Mahtani (U-M) d. Ashley Moccia, 6-2, 6-0
No. 5 -- Rika Tatsuno (U-M) d. Emily Dudzik, 6-0, 6-1
No. 6 -- Lindsey Howard (U-M) d. Amanda Moccia, 6-3, 6-0

Doubles
No. 1 -- #46 Mahtani/Sugiyama (U-M) d. Pahl/Parekh, 8-5
No. 2 -- Muresan/Taney (U-M) d. Ashley Moccia/Saruta, 8-2
No. 3 -- Howard/Tatsuno (U-M) d. Dudzik/Matsuto, 8-2

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

Contact: Marc Ressler (734) 763-4423