Michigan
Michigan State
Michigan Dominates Michigan State in Big Ten Opener
2/18/2009 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
Site: Ann Arbor, Mich. (Varsity Tennis Center)
Score: #18 Michigan 7, Michigan State 0
Records: U-M (5-2, 1-0 Big Ten),MSU(4-4, 0-1 Big Ten)
Next U-M Match: Thursday, Feb.26 --at Miami (Fla.)(Coral Gables, Fla.),2 p.m.
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ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The No. 18-ranked University of Michigan women's tennis team opened the Big Ten Conference season with a dominating 7-0 sweep of No. 67 Michigan State on Wednesday (Feb. 18) at the Varsity Tennis Center. The Wolverines (5-2, 1-0 Big Ten) won matches at the top two doublespositions and followed with straight-set wins on all six singles courts to wrap up their eighth straight victory over the Spartans (4-4, 0-1 Big Ten). U-M has now won 21 straight home matches dating back to March 10, 2007.
Michigan's No. 51-ranked duo of senior Chisako Sugiyama(Parsippany, N.J./The Montclair Kimberley Academy) and junior Tania Mahtani(Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif./Palos Verdes Peninsula HS) needed just 38 minutes to complete an 8-2 win over Manon Noe and Whitney Wilson at No. 1 doubles.The Wolverinetandemholds a career record of 11-0 in the Big Ten.
Sophomore Whitney Taney(Edina, Minn./Edina HS) and freshman Michelle Sulahian(Valley Glen, Fla./Campbell Hall HS) put together a flawless performance in their first career match as doubles team, cruising to an 8-0 shutout victory over MSU's No. 48-ranked pairing of Stephanie Kebler and Lindsey Lonergan to clinch the doubles point for the Maize and Blue. Taney has dropped just two of her 18 doubles matches in 2008-09.
Sophomores Denise Muresan(Lincolnshire, Ill./Adlai E. Stevenson HS) and Rika Tatsuno(Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif./Palos Verdes Peninsula HS) fell behind 4-0 in their season debut at No. 3before battling back to claimsix of the next seven gamesand take a 6-5 lead, but Elena Ivanova and Ana Milosavljevic broke U-M's serve two times in a row to escape with an 8-6 win.
Muresan wasted little time in giving Michigan a 2-0 lead, using just 53 minutes to post a 6-0, 6-1 triumph over Wilson at No. 5 singles. Muresan has won four of her six dual matches this season, including three straight.
Taney extended her winning streak to five matches with a commanding 6-0, 6-2 decision over Ivanova at No. 3, which brought the Wolverines within one point of securing the team victory. Taney allowed her opponent just four points in the second set.
Mahtani provided the clincher with a 6-3, 6-1 win over Milosavljevic at No. 4, and Tatsuno pushed the lead to 5-0 with a 6-3, 6-2 triumph over Noe at No. 2. Tatsuno has won four straight matches and holds a team-best 14-5 overall record in 2008-09.
Senior Lindsey Howard(Richmond, Va./Mills E. Godwin HS)used a late surge to close out Lonergan at No. 6 (7-5, 6-2), while Sugiyama moved into a tie for second place on U-M's career singles wins list with a 7-5, 3-6, 1-0(4) decision over Kebler at No. 1. Sugiyama has 95 career victories and needs just six more to become the program's all-time leader.
The Wolverines will head to Coral Gables, Fla., to face Miami (Fla.)next Thursday,Feb. 26. The match is scheduled for a2 p.m. start at the Neil Schiff Tennis Center.
Following are match-by-match results:
Singles
No. 1 --Chisako Sugiyama(U-M) d. Stephanie Kebler, 7-5, 3-6, 1-0(4)
No. 2 --Rika Tatsuno(U-M) d. Manon Noe, 6-3, 6-2
No. 3 -- Whitney Taney (U-M) d. Elena Ivanova, 6-2, 6-0
No. 4 -- Tania Mahtani (U-M) d. Ana Milosavljevic, 6-3, 6-1
No. 5 --Denise Muresan (U-M) d. Whitney Wilson, 6-0, 6-1
No. 6 --Lindsey Howard(U-M) d. Lindsey Lonergan, 7-5, 6-2
Doubles
No. 1 -- #51 Mahtani/Sugiyama (U-M) d. Noe/Wilson, 8-2
No. 2 -- Michelle Sulahian/Taney(U-M) d. #48 Kebler/Lonergan, 8-0
No. 3 -- Ivanova/Milosavljevic (MSU) d. Muresan/Tatsuno, 8-6
Order of Completion: Doubles 1-2-3, Singles 5-3-4-2-6-1
Contact: Marc Ressler (734) 645-0045
Players Mentioned
