Michigan
Furman
Michigan Dominates Furman in NCAA First Round
5/9/2008 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
Site: Clemson, S.C. (Hoke Sloan Tennis Center)
Event: NCAA Championship (First Round)
Score: #19 Michigan 4, Furman 0
Records: U-M (19-5), Furman (19-6)
Next U-M Match: Saturday, May 10 -- at #13 Clemson in NCAA Regional Championship (Clemson, S.C.), 11 a.m.
CLEMSON, S.C. -- The No. 19-ranked University of Michigan women's tennis team earned a 4-0 victory over No. 69-ranked Furman in the first round of the 2008 NCAA Championship Friday afternoon (May 9) at Clemson University's Hoke Sloan Tennis Center. The Wolverines (19-5) claimed the doubles point for the 18th time this season and followed with three straight-set singles wins to advance to the second round of the national tournament for the third straight season.
U-M's No. 40-ranked 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) provided the Maize and Blue with the early momentum thanks to an 8-4 win at No. 1. Sugiyama and Mahtani, who have been victorious in 17 of their last 20 outings, carry a team-best 22-8 overall record.
The freshman duo of Whitney Taney(Edina, Minn./Edina HS) and Rika Tatsuno(Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif./Palos Verdes Peninsula HS) clinched the first team point for the Wolverines with their 8-3 triumph over Monica Arguello and Lauren Osborne at No. 2. Junior Lindsey Howard(Richmond, Va./Mills E. Godwin HS) and freshman Denise Muresan(Lincolnshire, Ill./Adlai E. Stevenson HS) held a 6-4 lead over Jessica Preeg and Lauren Tomory at No. 3 when the doubles point was decided.
Howard set the tone in singles, running away with a 6-4, 6-1 victory over Manojlovic at No. 6 to give Michigan a 2-0 advantage. Howard has won 15 of 21 at the sixth position this season. Mahtani, ranked 112th nationally, secured a 6-2, 6-4 decision over Preeg at No. 4 to bring the Wolverines within one win of advancing to the second round. Mahtani has won all but two of 12 matches since moving to the fourth slot.
Taney delivered the clincher in her NCAA debut, closing out Arguello by a commanding 6-3, 6-1 score at No. 2. Taney has been victorious in 21 of 29 matches in 2007-08.
Two Wolverines were on the verge of tasting a win at the time the match was clinched, with Muresan leading at No. 3 (6-3, 5-4) and Tatsuno leading at No. 5 (6-4, 5-2).
Michigan will face No. 13-ranked Clemson, a 4-0 first-round winner over Winthrop, in the NCAA Championship second round on Saturday (May 10) at 11 a.m. U-M will be looking for its first bid to the NCAA Sweet Sixteen since 1997.
Following are match-by-match results:
Singles
No. 1 -- #50 Chisako Sugiyama (U-M) vs. #86 Laura Gioia, 3-6, 4-3 (unfinished)
No. 2 -- Whitney Taney (U-M) d. Monica Arguello, 6-3, 6-1
No. 3 -- Denise Muresan (U-M) vs. Lauren Osborne, 6-3, 5-4 (unfinished)
No. 4 -- #112 Tania Mahtani (U-M) d. Jessica Preeg, 6-2, 6-4
No. 5 -- Rika Tatsuno (U-M) vs. Lauren Tomory, 6-4, 5-2 (unfinished)
No. 6 -- Lindsey Howard (U-M) d. Natasa Manojlovic, 6-4, 6-1
Doubles
No. 1 -- #40 Mahtani/Sugiyama (U-M) d. Gioia/Manojlovic, 8-4
No. 2 -- Taney/Tatsuno (U-M) d. Arguello/Osborne, 8-3
No. 3 -- Howard/Muresan (U-M) vs. Preeg/Tomory, 6-4 (unfinished)
Order of Completion: Doubles 1-2, Singles 6-4-2
QUOT E S
U-M Head Coach Ronni Bernstein
On her general thoughts of the match... "It was a good match. Furman came out strong today and really made us play. They made us earn it."
On her team's prospects for tomorrow... "We have to treat it just like another match. Of course we're playing for Tulsa, but we have to approach it the same way. I'm sure Clemson will be a tough match for us. We'll have to be focused and swing away."
Contact: Marc Ressler (734) 763-4423
Players Mentioned
