Michigan
TCU
Sulahian Helps Michigan Knock Off TCU
2/24/2010 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
Feb. 24, 2010
Site: Ann Arbor, Mich. (Varsity Tennis Center)
Score: #8 Michigan 4, #32 TCU 3
Records: U-M 7-3, TCU 1-5
Next U-M Match: Friday, Feb. 5 -- vs. Baylor (Varsity Tennis Center), 6 p.m.
ANN ARBOR, Mich. - The No. 8-ranked University of Michigan women's tennis team won the doubles point and three singles matches in a close 4-3 victory over No. 32 TCU on Wednesday (Feb. 24) at the Varsity Tennis Center.
Sophomore Michelle Sulahian (Valley Glen, Calif./Campbell Hall School) clinched the match for the Wolverines with a three-set win (5-7, 6-4, 6-0) over TCU's Maria Babanova at No. 6 singles. The sophomore battled back from a first-set loss to take control midway through the second set, earning a break to go up 4-3. Sulahian dropped only one more game the rest of the way to give the Wolverines the team win.
Michigan swept all three doubles matches to begin the evening, earning early breaks in all three. The No. 3 duo of Tania Mahtani (Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif./Palos Verdes Peninsula) and Denise Muresan (Lincolnshire, Ill./Adlai E. Stevenson) earned a break in the first set before coasting to an 8-5 win. Freshman Mimi Nguyen (Long Beach, Calif./Millikan) and Sulahian clinched the point for U-M, taking a 5-0 advantage at No. 3 and winning 8-4.
The junior pair of Whitney Taney (Edina, Minn./Edina) and Rika Tatsuno (Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif./Palos Verdes Peninsula) finished off the Wolverine doubles sweep, defeating TCU's No. 22 duo of Nina Munch-Soegaard and Kayla Duncan, 8-5.
Taney started off the singles wins with a 6-1, 6-1 victory at No. 5. After TCU won at No. 2, Nguyen completed her comeback win at No. 4 to push the U-M advantage to 3-1. Nguyen was down 4-0 in the first set before winning seven of the next eight games to win the set. With momentum on her side, the freshman won in two (7-5, 6-3) to set up Sulahian for the clinching win.
U-M will conclude its two-match homestand on Friday (Feb. 26), hosting No. 5 Baylor. Doubles will begin at 6 p.m. from the Varsity Tennis Center.
Following are match-by-match results:
Singles
No. 1 -- Nina Munch-Soegaard (TCU) d. No. 16 Denise Muresan (U-M), 6-3, 1-6, 7-6 (8-6)
No. 2 -- No. 78 Kayla Duncan (TCU) d. Rika Tatsuno (U-M), 6-1, 6-4
No. 3 -- No. 56 Katariina Tuohimaa (TCU) d. Tania Mahtani (U-M), 6-3, 7-5
No. 4 -- Mimi Nguyen (U-M) d. Idunn Hertzberg (TCU), 7-5, 6-3
No. 5 -- Whitney Taney (U-M) d. Gaby Mastromarino (TCU), 6-1, 6-1
No. 6 -- Michelle Sulahian (U-M) d. Maria Babanova (TCU), 5-7, 6-4, 6-0
Doubles
No. 1 -- Taney/Tatsuno (U-M) d. No. 22 Munch-Soegaard/Duncan (TCU) , 8-5
No. 2 -- Nguyen/Sulahian (U-M) d. Tuohimaa/Babanova (TCU), 8-4
No. 3 -- Mahtani/Muresan (U-M) d. Hertzberg/Mastromarino (TCU), 8-5
Order of Completion: Doubles 3-2-1; Singles 5-2-4-3-6-1
N O T E S
• Michigan moves to 2-2 all-time versus TCU and has won two in a row against the Lady Frogs.
• Tania Mahtani and Denise Muresan picked up their second doubles victory of the year.
• Mimi Nguyen and Michelle Sulahian played at No. 2 doubles for the first time this season.
• Mimi Nguyen improved her team-best record to 8-2.
• Michigan fell one spot in the latest ITA rankings to No. 8.
Q U O T E S
Michigan Head coach Ronni Bernstein
On the win against TCU ... "It is nice to be home. Energy-wise, I think we needed to be a little better, but a night match is a little different. We were really fortunate to pull this win out over a quality opponent in TCU. We were solid in doubles and then stepped up when we needed to in singles. Michelle pulled it out at the end, and Mimi came back in her match. They (TCU) are really tough and have lost some really close ones to some really good teams. We are definitely happy with the win."
On Friday's match against No. 5 Baylor ... "We are definitely going to have to play better. They are very good from top to bottom. We will have to come out with more energy and make people work harder for points. We will have to step up on all courts."
Contact: Sarah VanMetre (734) 763-4423
Players Mentioned
