Michigan
Michigan Invitational
Sulahian, Nguyen Win Doubles Play at Michigan Invitational
1/18/2010 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
Jan. 18, 2010
Site: Ann Arbor, Mich. (Varsity Tennis Center)
Event: Michigan Invitational
Scoring: No team scoring
Next U-M Event: Sunday, Jan. 24 -- vs. Western Michigan (Varsity Tennis Center), 1 p.m.
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The No. 20-ranked University of Michigan women's tennis team competed in its final tournament action before kicking off dual-match play, with the Wolverines sporting a 12-9 singles mark and 7-1 doubles record after playing No. 7 Miami, No. 11 Tennessee and No. 24 Washington at the three-day Michigan Invitational (Jan. 16-18) at the Varsity Tennis Center.
The doubles pairing of sophomore Michelle Sulahian (Valley Glen, Calif./Campbell Hall School) and freshman Mimi Nguyen (Long Beach, Calif./Millikan) paired to win the doubles title, winning all three matches on the weekend. The duo won twice at the No. 3 position and once at the No. 2 position to accumulate 19 points.
As a team, the Wolverines only dropped one doubles match during the three-day event, with the No. 3 duo of Laura Vallverdu and Gabriela Mejia of Miami defeating junior Whitney Taney (Edina, Minn./Edina) and senior Tania Mahtani (Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif./Palos Verdes Peninsula), 8-4.
On the singles side, both Sulahian and junior Kari Wig (Cochrane, Alberta/Cochrane) did not drop a set all weekend. Sulahian went 3-0, while Wig was a perfect 2-0. Taney played for the singles title against Anna Bartenstein of Miami but dropped a 6-3, 4-6, 6-3 decision to finish the weekend 2-1. Mahtani and Nguyen also posted winning records, both going 2-1.
Ranked No. 36 in the first ITA rankings of 2010, junior Denise Muresan (Lincolnshire, Ill./Adlai E. Stevenson) defeated a top-10 opponent for the second time this season with a 7-5, 6-1 win over No. 6 Caitlin Whoriskey of Tennessee. With Muresan leading 6-5 on Whoriskey's serve in the first set, the junior ripped a cross-court shot just inside the baseline to break Whoriskey and win the first game. It was all Muresan after that, as she coasted to a 6-1 second-set victory to take the match.
The Wolverines open the 2010 dual-match season next Sunday (Jan. 24), welcoming Western Michigan to the Varsity Tennis Center. The teams are set to square off at 1 p.m.
N O T E S
• There was no team scoring at the event. Everyone played as an individual.
• Denise Muresan beat her second top-10 opponent this season with a 7-5, 6-1 win over No. 6 Caitlin Whoriskey of Tennessee. During fall tournament play, Muresan knocked off then-No. 7 Kelcy McKenna of Arizona State to win the ASU Thunderbird.
• Denise Muresan and Rika Tatsuno went 2-0 as a doubles pair, picking up their first wins together this season. They were 0-4 heading into the weekend.
• Mimi Nguyen and Michelle Sulahian are now 6-1 in doubles.
• U-M now has three players with double-digit wins in tournament action. Denise Muresan leads the way with a 15-5 record, while Michelle Sulahian is 11-6 and Kari Wig is 10-6.
• Points were allotted for each win based on decreasing point value to determine the champion, both singles and doubles. A win at No. 1 is worth eight points and decreases all the way to No. 8 (one point).
• Michigan's Mimi Nguyen and Michelle Sulahian were the doubles champions (19 points), while Anna Bartenstein of Miami won the singles title with 19 points. The Michigan duo won twice at the No. 3 position and once at the No. 2 slot. Bartenstein won twice at No. 3 and once at No. 2.
Q U O T E S
Michigan Head coach Ronni Bernstein
On her team's play this weekend ... "I am extremely happy with our results this past weekend. Our doubles play was extremely solid against three of the top teams in the country, and we had some really good results in singles as well. Denise had a very good win against Tennessee in singles, and Michelle really stood out with how well she is playing and the focus and discipline she has showed to start off the season. We are looking very good early on, but we need to continue working hard and improving everyday. We look forward to getting started next weekend against Western Michigan."
Contact: Sarah VanMetre (734) 763-4423
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