Michigan
Indiana
Michigan Closes Regular Season With Big Win Over Indiana
4/20/2008 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
Site: Ann Arbor, Mich. (Varsity Tennis Center)
Score: #23 Michigan 7, Indiana 0
Records: U-M (16-4, 9-1 Big Ten), Indiana (19-6, 8-2 Big Ten)
Next U-M Match:Friday, April 25-- vs. Iowa or Penn State at Big Ten Championship (West Lafayette, Ind.), 2 p.m.
Photo Gallery
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The No. 23-ranked University of Michigan women's tennis team sent senior Allie Shafner(Englewood, Colo./Cherry Creek HS) out on a winning note in her final regular-season home match with a big 7-0 victory over No. 29-ranked Indiana Sunday afternoon (April 20) at the Varsity Tennis Center. The Wolverines (16-4, 9-1 Big Ten) won all nine matches contested for the sixth time this season, which allowed U-M to lock up sole possession of second place in the final Big Ten Conference standings and secure the No. 2 seed in next weekend'sleague tournament. Michigan posted 10 shutouts and allowed its opponents just five team points during its 14-match winning streak to close out the regular season.
Junior Lindsey Howard(Richmond, Va./Mills E. Godwin HS) and freshman Denise Muresan(Lincolnshire, Ill./Adlai E. Stevenson HS) extended their winning streak to six matches, claiming a commanding 8-2 victory over Sigrid Fischer and Myriam Sopel at No. 3 doubles to give Michigan the early leg up. Howard and Muresan have been victorious in 12 of 16 matches, including six straight.
Shafner and freshman Whitney Taney(Edina, Minn./Edina HS) kept their perfect record intact (4-0), as the pair handed Alba Berdala and Lindsey Stuckey an 8-5 loss at No. 2 to clinch the Wolverines' 14th straight doubles point.
For the second time in three seasons, U-M's No. 1 doubles team finished the year with an undefeated record of 10-0 in the Big Ten. Junior Chisako Sugiyama(Parsippany, N.J./The Montclair Kimberley Academy) and sophomore Tania Mahtani(Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif./Palos Verdes Peninsula HS) outlasted Brianna Williams and Ekaterina Zapadalova by a 9-7 score to complete a perfect conference season at the top spot. Debra Streifler (2003-06) and Kara Delicata (2004-07) also accomplished the feat in 2006. Sugiyama and Mahtani hold a team-best 20-6 overall record and carry a 12-match winning streak into the postseason.
Mahtani proved to be no match for Fischer at No. 4 singles, as she cruised to a 6-0, 6-0 win to put Michigan on top 2-0. Mahtani has won eight of 10 since moving to the fourth position.
Sugiyama, ranked 49th nationally, completed an undefeated Big Tenseason at No. 1 singles as well. Her 7-5, 6-0 triumph over Berdala, which gave the Wolverines a 3-0 lead, was her 16th win in 19 tries at the top spot. Sugiyama leads the team in overall singles victories (24) and rides a 16-match winning streak into the Big Ten Championship. She has dropped just one of 30 career Big Ten matches.
Taney clinched an undefeated home season for U-M (11-0) with a convincing 6-1, 6-1 decision over Zapadalova at No. 2. Taney, who has won 13 of 15 at the second slot, became the third Michigan freshman to reach 20 overall victories this year (20-7). Howard achieved her first career 20-win campaign (20-8) thanks to a 6-2, 6-3 victory over Williams at No. 6. Howard finished her third conference season with a career-best 8-2 record. She has won 15 of 19 in dual-match play this year.
Muresan's 15th straight win -- a 6-3, 6-2 decision over Charlotte Martin at No. 3 -- gave her a perfect season in the Big Ten at 10-0. Freshman Rika Tatsuno(Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif./Palos Verdes Peninsula HS) completed Michigan's 10th singles sweep of the year with her 6-7(4), 6-3, 1-0(4) comeback victory over Stuckey at No. 5. Tatsuno has won 14 straight matches.
The Wolverines will enter the 2008 Big Ten Championship as the No. 2 seed and will play the winner of No. 7 seed Iowa and No. 10 seed Penn State in the quarterfinals on Friday (April 25) at 2 p.m. The team tournament will be played April 24-27 at Purdue University's Schwartz Tennis Center in West Lafayette, Ind.
Following are match-by-match results:
Singles
No. 1 -- #49 Chisako Sugiyama (U-M) d. Alba Berdala, 7-5, 6-0
No. 2 -- Whitney Taney (U-M) d. Ekaterina Zapadalova, 6-1, 6-1
No. 3 -- Denise Muresan (U-M) d. Charlotte Martin, 6-3, 6-2
No. 4 -- #116 Tania Mahtani (U-M) d. Sigrid Fischer, 6-0, 6-0
No. 5 -- Rika Tatsuno (U-M) d. Lindsey Stuckey, 6-7(4), 6-3, 1-0(4)
No. 6 -- Lindsey Howard (U-M) d. Brianna Williams, 6-2, 6-3
Doubles
No. 1 -- #44 Mahtani/Sugiyama (U-M) d. Williams/Zapadalova, 9-7
No. 2 -- Allie Shafner/Taney (U-M) d. Berdala/Stuckey, 8-5
No. 3 -- Howard/Muresan (U-M) d. Fischer/Myriam Sopel, 8-2
Order of Completion: Doubles 3-2-1, Singles 4-1-2-6-3-5
Contact: Marc Ressler (734) 763-4423
Players Mentioned
