Michigan
NCAA Individual Championships
Sugiyama Falls in Second Round of NCAA Singles Championship
5/22/2008 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
Site: Tulsa, Okla. (Michael D. Case Tennis Center)
Event: NCAA Singles Championship (Second Round)
Score: No Team Scoring
Next U-M Match: Season Completed
TULSA, Okla. -- Junior Chisako Sugiyama(Parsippany, N.J./The Montclair Kimberley Academy) of the No. 19-ranked University of Michigan women's tennis team dropped a 6-3, 6-2 decision to Northwestern's No. 5-ranked Maria Mosolova in the second round of the NCAA Singles Championship Thursday afternoon (May 22) at the University of Tulsa's Michael D. Case Tennis Center. Sugiyama, who opened the 64-player draw with a 6-3, 6-4 victory over Georgia Tech's No. 38-ranked Maya Johansson on Wednesday (May 21), finishes her third season with a team-best overall singles record of 27-12.
Sugiyama and Mosolova exchanged breaks in the opening two games of the first set, and Mosolova pulled ahead 2-1 with another break in the third game. Sugiyama was unable to strike back for the remainder of the set, as Mosolova earned her third break in the final game to wrap up the first frame.
It was a similar story in the second set, with both players trading breaks in the first two games before Mosolova broke again to go ahead 3-1. Mosolova took care of her two remaining service games and then closed out the match with a break in the last game.
Sugiyama, who was making her careerdebut at the national tournament,will enter her senior season 17 wins shy of breaking Michigan's career singles wins mark of 100 set by Sarah Cyganiak (1994-97). Sugiyama currently holds the program's top career singles winning percentage of .750 (84-28).
QUOT E S
U-M Head Coach Ronni Bernstein
On Chisako Sugiyama's first-round win on Wednesday... "She came out and played really well yesterday. Obviously she was pretty excited to be in the tournament. She really stepped up and played a good match. Maya Johansson had a really good fall and beat a lot of good players. Chisako played pretty solid and didn't make a lot of unforced errors. It got tight in the second set but she came through and closed it out."
On the experience of competing at the NCAA Singles Championship... "Chisako was very excited to be here. We got to watch a lot of quality tennis this week. She's happy that she won one round, but I think the goal for next year is to go even further. She has the game to reach that goal. She didn't play as well as she could have today, but hopefully she can have another good season and get back here next year."
On what Sugiyama has meant to the team this year... "She's had a great year. She struggled a bit in the fall but really stepped up during the dual-match season, especially when we got into the Big Ten schedule. When you have someone at the top of the lineup who is pretty much winning every match she's playing, it definitely helps everyone below her. Chisako came in and competed hard every day and really stepped up in singles and doubles when we needed her."
Contact: Marc Ressler (734) 763-4423
Players Mentioned
