Michigan
Penn State
Michigan Blanks Penn State for 12th Straight Victory
4/12/2008 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
Site: Ann Arbor, Mich. (Varsity Tennis Center)
Score: Michigan 7, Penn State 0
Records: U-M (14-4, 7-1 Big Ten), Penn State(7-11, 1-6 Big Ten)
Next U-M Match: Friday, April 18 -- vs. Ohio State (Varsity Tennis Center), 4 p.m.
Photo Gallery
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The No. 26-ranked University of Michigan women's tennis team continued to steamroll through its dual-match competition, claiming a 7-0 shutout victory over Penn State Saturday (April 12) at the Varsity Tennis Center. The Wolverines (14-4, 7-1 Big Ten) won all nine matches contested to clinch their seventh straight win over the Nittany Lions (7-11, 1-6 Big Ten) and extend their winning streak to 12 matches. U-M has earned a team sweep over nine of its last 12 opponents.
Freshmen Whitney Taney(Edina, Minn./Edina HS) and Rika Tatsuno(Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif./Palos Verdes Peninsula HS) found their rhythm early and often during their No. 2 doubles match, as the duo needed just 34 minutes to complete an 8-1 victory over Katelyn BeVard and Leyla Morzan.
Junior Lindsey Howard(Richmond, Va./Mills E. Godwin HS) and freshman Denise Muresan(Lincolnshire, Ill./Adlai E. Stevenson HS) also put forth a strong performance, posting an 8-2 win over Dorothy Dohanics and Lauren McCarthy at No. 3 to provide Michigan with a 1-0 lead. Howard and Muresan have won four straight matches together.
U-M's No. 56-ranked tandem of junior Chisako Sugiyama(Parsippany, N.J./The Montclair Kimberley Academy) and sophomore Tania Mahtani(Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif./Palos Verdes Peninsula HS) used a late charge and won the final three games during their 8-5 triumph over Sarah Lotto and Jenny Shular at No. 1, completing the doubles sweep for the Wolverines. Sugiyama and Mahtani have won 10 straight and hold a perfect 8-0 record in the Big Ten heading into the final weekend of the regular season.
Taney was just as dominant on the singles court, using just 49 minutes to wrap up a 6-0, 6-1 victory over Lauren Holzberg at No. 2. Taney has won 11 of 13 at the second position this season. Tatsuno followed suit, closing out Morzan by a 6-2, 6-2 score just nine minutes after Taney's win to give the Wolverines a 3-0 advantage. Tatsuno, who has won 12 straight matches, became the second U-M player to reach 20 wins in 2007-08 (20-10).
Sugiyama, ranked 46th nationally, clinched the team win for U-M with a commanding 6-2, 6-0 decision over BeVard at No. 1. Sugiyama has won 13 in a row and carries a 14-3 mark at the top spot this year. Muresan also extended her winning streak to 13 matches with a solid 0-6, 6-3, 1-0(7) comeback victory over Shular at No. 3. Muresan, who also secured her first career 20-win campaign (20-11), won seven of the first nine points in the super-tiebreaker set.
Mahtani gave Michigan a 6-0 lead with her 6-2, 6-2 triumph over McCarthy at No. 4. Mahtani has won all but one of her eight matches at the fourth slot this season. Howard capped off the overall sweep by outlasting Denisa Zobeideh in a super-tiebreaker at No. 6, 6-2, 1-6, 1-0(7). Howard holds a career-best 18-8 overall record in 2007-08.
The Wolverines close out the regular season next weekend at the Varsity Tennis Center, hosting Ohio State on Friday (April 18, 4 p.m.) and Indiana on Sunday (April 20, 11 a.m.).
Following are match-by-match results:
Singles
No. 1 -- #46 Chisako Sugiyama (U-M) d. Katelyn BeVard, 6-2, 6-0
No. 2 -- Whitney Taney (U-M) d. Lauren Holzberg, 6-0, 6-1
No. 3 -- Denise Muresan (U-M) d. Jenny Shular, 0-6, 6-3, 1-0(7)
No. 4 -- #105 Tania Mahtani (U-M) d. Lauren McCarthy, 6-2, 6-2
No. 5 -- Rika Tatsuno (U-M) d. Leyla Morzan, 6-2, 6-2
No. 6 -- Lindsey Howard (U-M) d. Denisa Zobeideh, 6-2, 1-6, 1-0(7)
Doubles
No. 1 -- #56 Mahtani/Sugiyama (U-M) d. Sarah Lotto/Shular, 8-5
No. 2 -- Taney/Tatsuno (U-M) d. BeVard/Morzan, 8-1
No. 3 -- Howard/Muresan (U-M) d. Dorothy Dohanics/McCarthy, 8-2
Order of Completion: Doubles 2-3-1, Singles 2-5-1-3-4-6
Contact: Marc Ressler (734) 763-4423
Players Mentioned
