Michigan
Indiana
Michigan Rolls Over Indiana for Fifth Straight Win
4/18/2009 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
Site: Bloomington, Ind. (IU Tennis Center)
Score: #18 Michigan 5, Indiana 2
Records: U-M (14-5, 8-1 Big Ten),IU (13-9, 5-4 Big Ten)
Next U-M Match: Sunday, April 19 -- at Illinois (Champaign, Ill.), Noon CDT
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- The No. 18-ranked University of Michigan women's tennis team extended its winning streak to five matches thanks to a 5-2 victory over No. 43 Indiana on Saturday afternoon (April 118) at the IU Tennis Center. The Wolverines (14-5, 8-1 Big Ten)claimed their fifth doubles sweep of the season and followed with wins at the top four singles positions to clinch their fourth straight victory over the Hoosiers (13-9, 5-4 Big Ten).
U-M's No. 24-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) came out firing on all cylinders and picked up a commanding 8-2 win over Maria Guerreiro and Katya Zapadalova at No. 1 to give Michigan the early edge in doubles. Sugiyama and Mahtani have won eight straight matches and hold an impressive 8-1 record in the Big Ten this season.
Sophomores Whitney Taney(Edina, Minn./Edina HS) and Rika Tatsuno(Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif./Palos Verdes Peninsula HS) were able to outlast Sigrid Fischer and Charlotte Martin by a 9-7 score at No. 2 to push their unbeaten streak to seven matches and secure the first team point for the Wolverines. Senior Lindsey Howard(Richmond, Va./Mills E. Godwin HS) and sophomore Denise Muresan(Lincolnshire, Ill./Adlai E. Stevenson HS) completed the doubles sweep with a 9-7 triumph over Myriam Sopel and Lindsey Stuckey at No. 3, which improved the U-M pair's conference record to 6-2.
Mahtani was the first one off the singles court for the second straight match as she quickly dispatched Fischer by a score of 6-1, 6-2 to give Michigan a 2-0 advantage on the team scoreboard. Mahtani has gone undefeated in her last five outings and needs just two more victories to complete her third straight 20-win singles campaign.
Muresan then gave the Wolverines a 3-0 lead with an easy 6-2, 6-2 triumph over Alba Berdala at No. 3. Muresan holds a team-best 13-5 dual-match record this season.
Indiana stayed alive with a victory at No. 6, but Tatsuno ended any hopes of a Hoosier comebackby earninga 6-1, 6-3 win over Martin at No. 2. Sugiyama supplied U-M with its final team point as she battled back to beat Zapadalova in a super-tiebreak at No. 1, 2-6, 6-3, 1-0(2). Sugiyama has been victorious in her lastfive matches and needs just one morevictory to clinch her fourth straight 20-win singlesseason.
Michigan closes out the regular season on Sunday (April 19) whenit facesIllinois in Champaign, Ill. The match is scheduled for a noon CDT start at the Atkins Tennis Center. The No. 2 seed in the upcoming Big Ten Conference Tournament will be on the line, as the Wolverines and Fighting Illini enter the match tied for second place in theleague standings at 8-1.
Following are match-by-match results:
Singles
No. 1 -- #70 Chisako Sugiyama (U-M) d. Katya Zapadalova, 2-6, 6-3, 1-0(2)
No. 2 -- #106 Rika Tatsuno(U-M) d. Charlotte Martin, 6-1, 6-3
No. 3 -- Denise Muresan(U-M) d. Alba Berdala, 6-2, 6-2
No. 4 --Tania Mahtani(U-M) d. Sigrid Fischer, 6-1, 6-2
No. 5 --Lindsey Stuckey (IU) d. Whitney Taney, 1-6, 7-6(5), 1-0(9)
No. 6 -- Myriam Sopel (IU) d. Michelle Sulahian, 6-3, 6-2
Doubles
No. 1 -- #24 Mahtani/Sugiyama (U-M) d. Maria Guerreiro/Zapadalova, 8-2
No. 2 -- Taney/Tatsuno (U-M) d. Fischer/Martin, 9-7
No. 3 -- Lindsey Howard/Muresan (U-M) d. Sopel/Stuckey, 9-7
Order of Completion: Doubles 1-2-3, Singles 4-3-6-2-1-5
Contact: Marc Ressler (734) 645-0045
Players Mentioned
