Michigan
Yale
Michigan Earns Home Sweep of Yale
2/8/2009 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
Site: Ann Arbor, Mich. (Varsity Tennis Center)
Score: #18 Michigan 7, Yale 0
Records: U-M (4-2),Yale(4-1)
Next U-M Match: Wednesday, Feb.18 --vs.Michigan State(Varsity Tennis Center), 4 p.m.
Photo Gallery
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The No. 18-ranked University of Michigan women's tennis team posted a commanding 7-0 victory over No. 72 Yale on Sunday afternoon (Feb. 8) at the Varsity Tennis Center. The Wolverines (4-2)earned a tightly-contested doubles point and swept the singles competition to wrap up their second shutout of the young season and extendtheir home winning streak to 20 matches.
Sophomores Whitney Taney(Edina, Minn./Edina HS) and Rika Tatsuno(Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif./Palos Verdes HS) provided Michigan with the early momentum in doubles, claiming an easy 8-1 victory over Vicky Brook and Stevi Petrelli at No. 2.The U-M pairholds a team-best 4-1 record in dual-match play this season.
Senior Lindsey Howard(Richmond, Va./Mills E. Godwin HS) and sophomore Denise Muresan(Lincolnshire, Ill./Adlai E. Stevenson HS) held a 6-4 advantage over Lindsay Clark and Lauren Ritz at No. 3, but the Bulldog duo found its rhythm and won four straight games to steal an 8-6win and even the doubles competition.
In the decisive match at No. 1,Michigan's No. 51-ranked tandem of senior Chisako Sugiyama(Parsippany, N.J./The Montclair Kimberley Academy) and junior Tania Mahtani(Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif./Palos Verdes Peninsula HS) pulled out a 9-8(2) victory over Janet Kim and Jessica Rhee. With the score knotted at 7-7, the two teams exchanged breaks to send the match to a tiebreak. Kim and Rhee won the first two points in the extra set, but Sugiyama and Mahtani caught fire and reeled off seven straight points to clinch the doubles point for the Maize and Blue.
Tatsuno put together a near-flawless performance in her career debut at No. 1 singles, needing just 40 minutes to complete a 6-1, 6-0 triumph over Kim and give the Wolverines a 2-0 advantage. Mahtani handily defeated Sarah Lederhandler by a 6-1, 6-1 score at No.4 for U-M's third team point, and Sugiyama closed the door on Yale with a convincing 6-2, 6-2 decision over Rhee at No. 2. Sugiyama now has 94 career singles wins and needs seven more to become the program's all-time leader.
Muresan and freshman Michelle Sulahian(Valley Glen, Calif./Campbell Hall HS) kept things rolling by claiming victories at Nos. 5 and 6, respectively. Taney completed the singles sweep with a super-tiebreak win over Brook at No. 3, 7-5, 4-6, 1-0(6).
The Wolverines will have 10 days off before returning to the Varsity Tennis Center to host intrastate rival Michigan State on Wednesday, Feb. 18, at 4 p.m.
Following are match-by-match results:
Singles
No. 1 --Rika Tatsuno(U-M) d. Janet Kim, 6-1, 6-0
No. 2 --Chisako Sugiyama(U-M) d. Jessica Rhee, 6-2, 6-2
No. 3 -- Whitney Taney (U-M) d. Vicky Brook, 7-5, 4-6, 1-0(6)
No. 4 -- Tania Mahtani (U-M) d. Sarah Lederhandler, 6-1, 6-1
No. 5 --Denise Muresan (U-M) d. Stevi Petrelli, 6-2, 6-2
No. 6 -- Michelle Sulahian (U-M) d. Lauren Ritz, 6-4, 7-5
Doubles
No. 1 -- #51 Mahtani/Sugiyama (U-M) d. Kim/Rhee, 9-8(2)
No. 2 -- Taney/Tatsuno (U-M) d. Brook/Petrelli, 8-1
No. 3 -- Lindsay Clark/Ritz (Yale) d. Lindsey Howard/Muresan, 8-6
Order of Completion: Doubles 2-3-1, Singles 1-4-2-5-6-3
Contact: Marc Ressler (734) 645-0045
Players Mentioned
