Sugiyama to Compete in NCAA Singles Championship
5/20/2009 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
COLLEGE STATION, Texas -- Senior Chisako Sugiyama(Parsippany, N.J./The Montclair Kimberley Academy) of the No. 17-ranked University of Michigan women's tennis team has earned an alternate spot in the 64-player field of the 2009 NCAA Singles Championship, which is being held Wednesday through Monday (May 20-25) at Texas A&M University's George P. Mitchell Tennis Center.
Sugiyama, who is currently listed 63rd in the national singles rankings, will meet No. 13-ranked Megan Falcon of Louisiana State in the opening round tonight at 6 p.m. CDT. If Sugiyama advances, she will meet the winner between South Carolina's No. 43-ranked Gira Schofield and Sacramento State's No. 84-ranked Katrina Zheltova in Thursday's (May 21) second round.
Sugiyama enters the tournament with an overall singles record of 20-16, including a 14-10 dual-match mark at the top two positions. With a record of 104-44 (.703), she will finish her career as Michigan's all-time singles wins leader.
Last season, Sugiyama posted a 6-3, 6-4 victory over Georgia Tech's No. 38-ranked Maya Johansson to become just the fifth Wolverine to claim a first-round win at the NCAA Singles Championship. With this year's invitation, Sugiyama becomes just the third player in the 36-year history of the U-M program to earn a bid to thenationaltournamenttwice in a career. She joins Mary Mactaggart (1981-84), who made appearances in 1982 and '84, and Sarah Cyganiak (1994-97), who competed in 1995 and '97.
Sugiyama and junior Tania Mahtani(Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif./Palos Verdes Peninsula HS) are waiting to see if they have secured an alternate spot in the 32-team field of the NCAA Doubles Championship, which runs Thursday through Monday (May 21-25). The No. 42-ranked Wolverine tandem is currently listedsecond on the alternate list.
For live scoring and video of the NCAA Singles & Doubles Championships, visit Texas A&M'sNCAA Championship Centralpage.
Contact: Marc Ressler (734) 645-0045
Players Mentioned
