Michigan
Marquette
Michigan Shuts Out Marquette in Dual-Match Opener
1/23/2009 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
Site: Ann Arbor, Mich. (Varsity Tennis Center)
Score: #19 Michigan 7, Marquette 0
Records: U-M (1-0), Marquette (2-1)
Next U-M Match: Sunday, Jan. 25 -- vs. South Carolina (Varsity Tennis Center), 11 a.m.
Photo Gallery
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The No. 19-ranked University of Michigan women's tennis team opened the 2009 dual-match season with a dominating 7-0 sweep of Marquette on Friday afternoon (Jan. 23) at the Varsity Tennis Center. The Wolverines (1-0) won two out of three in doubles to claim the first team point and followed with straight-set victories on all six singles courts. U-M has won all but one of 15 all-time meetings with the Golden Eagles (2-1), including 10 straight.
Senior Chisako Sugiyama(Parsippany, N.J./The Montclair Kimberley Academy) and sophomore Whitney Taney(Edina, Minn./Edina HS) captured Michigan's first dual-match doubles win of the season as the pair cruised to an 8-1 triumph over Paola Calderon and Kylie Moore at No. 1. Sugiyama and Taney have won seven of eight career matches as a doubles tandem.
Marquette answered with an 8-3 victory at No. 2 doubles, but senior Lindsey Howard(Richmond, Va./Mills E. Godwin HS) and freshman Michelle Sulahian(Valley Glen, Calif./Campbell Hall HS) stepped up and delivered an 8-3 win over Gillian and Rachael Hush at No. 3 to secure the first team point for the Maize and Blue.
U-M then steamrolled through singles action, allowing no more than two games in 11 of the 12 sets contested. Sulahian was victorious in her dual-match singles debut thanks to a convincing 6-2, 6-0 decision over Robin Metzler at No. 5, while sophomore Rika Tatsuno(Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif./Palos Verdes Peninsula HS) extended her winning streak to six matches with a 6-1, 6-1 triumph over Christina Ruiz at No. 2.
The Wolverines return to the Varsity Tennis Center on Sunday (Jan. 25) for an 11 a.m. match against South Carolina.
Following are match-by-match results:
Singles
No. 1 -- Chisako Sugiyama (U-M) d. Paola Calderon, 6-0, 6-1
No. 2 -- Rika Tatsuno (U-M) d. Christina Ruiz, 6-1, 6-1
No. 3 -- Tania Mahtani (U-M) d. Rachael Hush, 6-1, 6-1
No. 4 -- Whitney Taney (U-M) d. Olga Fischer, 6-1, 6-0
No. 5 -- Michelle Sulahian (U-M) d. Robin Metzler, 6-2, 6-0
No. 6 -- Lindsey Howard (U-M) d. Kylie Moore, 6-4, 6-0
Doubles
No. 1 -- Sugiyama/Taney (U-M) d. Calderon/Moore, 8-1
No. 2 -- Metzler/Ruiz (Marquette) d. Mahtani/Tatsuno, 8-3
No. 3 -- Howard/Sulahian (U-M) d. Gillian Hush/Rachel Hush, 8-4
Order of Completion: Doubles 1-2-3, Singles 5-4-1-3-2-6
Contact: Marc Ressler (734) 645-0045
Players Mentioned
