Michigan
Kentucky Invitational
Fournier Wins Singles Flight at Kentucky Invitational
10/9/2009 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
Site: Lexington, Ky.
Event: Kentucky Invitational (Day 3 of 3)
Scoring: No team scoring
Next U-M event: Thursday, Oct. 22 - at ITA Regionals (Evantston, Ill.) - All Day
LEXINGTON, Ky. - Freshman Taylor Fournier (Leawood, Kan./Blue Valley North) of the University of Michigan women's tennis team captured the Singles Flight D championship at the Kentucky Invitational today (Sunday, Oct. 11) with a straight-set 6-3, 6-0 win over Dina Pavlin of Abilene Christian University.
Fournier did not drop a set all weekend en route to her first collegiate title. Her toughest test came Saturday morning against Vanderbilt's Erica Robertson in the second round, but the freshman came away with a pair of 7-5 set wins to advance to the semifinals of Flight D.
On the doubles front, the Wolverines had a solid 5-2 mark on the weekend. The pairing of junior Denise Muresan (Lincolnshire, Ill./Adlai E. Stevenson) and Michelle Sulahian (Valley Glen, Calif./Campbell Hall School) made it to the semifinal round of Flight A before falling to the Vanderbilt duo of Jackie Wu and Chelsea Preag, 8-4. Fournier and junior Kari Wig (Cochrane, Alberta/Cochrane) went 2-1, with both victories coming in dominating fashion (8-2 and 8-1).
The Wolverines take a short break before hitting the road again, heading to the ITA Regionals in Evanston, Ill. Qualifying begins Thursday, Oct. 22.
Singles
Taylor Fournier (4-0)
Flight D first round (Friday): def. Christine Stromberg, Illinois - 6-1, 6-4
Flight D second round (Saturday): def. Erica Roberston, Vanderbilt - 7-5, 7-5
Flight D third round (Saturday): def. Michaela Stracar, Penn State - 7-5, 6-2
Flight D championship (Sunday): def. Dina Pavlin, Abilene Christian - 6-3, 6-0
Denise Muresan (2-2)
Flight A first round (Friday): l, No. 38 Jackie Wu, Vanderbilt -- 6-2, 7-5
Flight A consolation first round (Saturday): def. Lauren McCarthy, Penn State - 6-1, 6-1
Flight A consolation second round (Saturday): l, Chelsea Preeg, Vanderbilt - 4-6, 6-1, 1-0 (8)
Pick-up match (Sunday): def. Erin Vierra, Virginia, 3-6, 6-4, 1-0
Michelle Sulahian (3-1)
Flight B first round (Friday): def. Karina Kedzo, East Tennessee State - 6-1, 6-1
Flight B second round (Saturday): l, Alida Mueller-Wehlau, Armstrong Atlantic State -6-3, 6-2
Pick-up match (Saturday): def. Paula Jaime, East Tennessee State - 6-1, 1-6, 1-0 (8)
Pick-up match (Sunday): def. Maria Prishlyak, Penn State - 6-3, 6-3
Kari Wig (1-2)
Flight B first round (Friday): l, Mandy Brown, Louisville - 6-2, 6-4
Flight B consolation first round (Saturday): BYE
Flight B consolation second round (Saturday): def. Maria Prishlyak, Penn State - 6-3, 6-3
Flight B consolation final (Sunday): l, Amy Allen, Illinois - 6-2, 6-3
Doubles
Muresan/Sulahian (3-1)
Flight A first round (Friday): def. Manashirova/Steele, Ohio State - 8-4
Flight A second round (Friday): def. Lambropolous/Smutko, Illinois - 8-3
Flight A third round (Saturday): l, Preeg/Wu, Vanderbilt - 8-4
Pick-up match (Sunday): def. Januskova/McCarthy, Penn State - 8-2
Fournier/Wig (2-1)
Flight B first round (Friday): def. Cameron/Voinea, East Tennessee State - 8-2
Flight B second round (Friday): l, Robertson/Steinbauer, Vanderbilt - 8-6
Pick-up match (Sunday): def. Blanks/Fuccillo, Virginia - 8-1
N O T E S
• Taylor Fournier saw her first singles action as a Wolverine this weekend, going 4-0.
• U-M has now captured three flight wins during the 2009 fall tournament schedule. Tania Mahtani and Denise Muresan won their respective flights last weekend at the Wolverine Invitational (Oct. 2-4) to go along with Taylor Fournier's win this weekend.
• After going 0-2 at last weekend's Wolverine Invitational, Denise Muresan and Michelle Sulahian went 3-1 as a duo in this weekend's doubles action.
• Head coach Ronni Bernstein accompanied the quartet of Tania Mahtani, Mimi Nguyen, Whitney Taney and Rika Tatsuno to Pacific Palisades, Calif., for the ITA/All-American event, while assistant coach Teryn Ashley-Fitch handled the coaching duties at the Kentucky Invitational.
Q U O T E S
Assistant coach Teryn Ashley-Fitch
On Taylor Fournier ... "Taylor's results are great, for her to come in and win is awesome. I told her that she could win but she just laughed. She competed really well. We have been working on a lot of different stuff with her in practice, and she had a great attitude with it. It was great to watch her play and then for her to win her flight."
On what to take away from the weekend ... "We won a lot of matches and really played well this weekend. We closed out the tournament really well. That has been a goal of the fall to win a lot of matches and try some new things while we are doing it. The doubles were really good for us. Playing with the lead allowed us an opportunity to work those new plays in that we have been practicing with, but in a match situation. It was nice to be able to step out of the comfort zone with the doubles and have it pay off in the end."
Freshman Taylor Fournier
On her performance this weekend ... "This weekend was a lot of fun for me. It was good because I changed my forehand and a few other things in my game the past few weeks. It was a good time to practice all my stuff and to get better in a match instead of just in practice."
Contact: Sarah VanMetre (734) 763-4423
Players Mentioned
