Michigan
Clemson
Muresan, Bolender Lift Michigan Past 12th-Ranked Clemson
2/20/2011 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
Feb. 20, 2011
Site: Charlottesville, Va. (Boar's Head Tennis Club)
Event: ITA National Team Indoor Championship (Day 3 of 3)
Result: #8 Michigan 4, #12 Clemson 2
Records: U-M (8-1), Clemson (9-2)
Next U-M Match: Friday, Feb. 25 -- vs. Michigan State (Varsity Tennis Center), 5 p.m.
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. -- Paced once again by strong doubles play, the No. 8-ranked University of Michigan women's tennis team defeated No. 12 Clemson, 4-2, in consolation play at the ITA National Indoor Championship on Sunday afternoon (Feb. 20) at the Boar's Head Tennis Club.
Michigan scored the first point and never trailed in the match, supplementing the doubles point with singles wins at No. 3, No. 6 and No. 1 for the win.
For the third time at the Indoor Championship, the Wolverines won the doubles point after wins at No. 1 and No. 2. The No. 22-ranked pair of freshman Brooke Bolender (Delray Beach, Fla./Kaplan) and senior Denise Muresan (Lincolnshire, Ill./Adlai E. Stevenson ) teamed up for an 8-2 trouncing of the No. 2-ranked pair of Josipa Bek and Keri Wong. The Michigan duo broke Clemson on the first game, jumping out to a 6-1 lead en route to the win.
Seniors Whitney Taney (Edina, Minn./Edina) and Rika Tatsuno (Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif./Palos Verdes Peninsula) wrapped up the first point of the match for the Maize and Blue, turning a 2-1 deficit into an 8-2 win.
In singles play, Clemson quickly won at the No. 5 spot to even the score at 1-1 before Bolender put Michigan back on top with a 6-0, 7-5 triumph at No. 3. The Tigers answered again with a win at No. 4 to knot the score at 2-2.
Tatsuno took a 7-5, 7-5 victory at No. 6 moments later to put the Wolverines back on top, 3-2. Needing just one more point for the win, Muresan and freshman Sam Critser (Mountainview, Calif./Mountainview) were left on court.
Critser forced a third set, topping Wong in a second-set tiebreaker to keep Clemson from scoring a third point. Muresan, with the first set in hand, broke Bek to tie the second set at 6-6 and won the tiebreaker to wrap up the match for the Wolverines.
Michigan returns to the Varsity Tennis Center on Friday (Feb. 25) to host Michigan State in its first Big Ten match of the season. Doubles are slated to begin at 5 p.m.
Following are match-by-match results:
Singles
No. 1 -- No. 8 Denise Muresan (U-M) d. No. 14 Josipa Bek (Clemson), 7-5, 7-6
No. 2 -- No. 34 Sam Critser (U-M) vs. No. 37 Keri Wong (Clemson), 6-7, 7-6, 0-0 abandoned
No. 3 -- No. 104 Brooke Bolender (U-M) d. Nelly Ciolkowski (Clemson), 6-0, 7-5
No. 4 -- Klara Vyskocilova (Clemson) d. No. 71 Whitney Taney (U-M), 6-3, 7-6
No. 5 -- Maria Belaya (Clemson) d. No. 123 Mimi Nguyen (U-M), 6-2, 6-0
No. 6 -- Rika Tatsuno (U-M) d. Carolina Magnusson (Clemson), 7-5, 7-5
Doubles
No. 1 -- No. 22 Bolender/Muresan (U-M) d. No. 2 Bek/Wong (Clemson), 8-2
No. 2 -- Taney/Tatsuno d. Magnusson/Ciolkowski (Clemson), 8-2
No. 3 -- Vyskocilova/Belaya (Clemson) vs. Critser/Nguyen (U-M), 4-3 abandoned
Order of finish: Singles 5-3-4-6-1, Doubles 1-2
N O T E S
• Brooke Bolender and Denise Muresan knocked off their second consecutive top-three opponent in doubles. Yesterday, the duo defeated Stanford's No. 3 duo. The pair is now 9-0 this season.
• Michigan has won the doubles point in eight matches this season, including all three doubles points at the Indoor Championship. U-M racked up a perfect 6-0 record this weekend in doubles play.
• It is the second consecutive season that Michigan and Clemson have squared off at the ITA Indoor Championship. Last year, U-M came away with a 5-2 win.
• Michigan pushed its record to 2-3 all-time against Clemson, winning the past two matches.
• Brooke Bolender (2-0) and Rika Tatsuno (2-0) both finished the weekend with an undefeated singles record.
• Denise Muresan earned her 95th career singles win, moving into a tie for third place with Jaimie Fielding (1992-95) among Michigan's all-time leaders.
• The Wolverines moved to 4-2 at the ITA Indoor Championship, finishing with a 2-1 mark the past two seasons.
• Michigan is 5-1 against top 25 competition this season, beating No. 12 Clemson, No. 13 Georgia Tech, No. 13 Notre Dame, No. 18 Vanderbilt and No. 18 Southern California while falling to No. 1 Stanford.
Q U O T E S
Michigan Head Coach Ronni Bernstein
On the team's performance at the tournament ... "I think anytime you can come to a tournament like this with the best teams in the country and come out with two wins, that is a good weekend. I think it was a very successful trip for us. The wins against Clemson and Georgia Tech were great wins for us. We got a chance to play Stanford and were able to get the doubles point. There are a couple of people who can play better but we are definitely happy with the results. Two wins are nothing to be ashamed of. We will now look forward to getting ready for Michigan State on Friday."
On the doubles play throughout the weekend ..."I think that starts at the top with Denise (Muresan) and Brooke (Bolender). They are playing so well and with a ton of confidence at the top. They are getting off the court so quickly with wins, which sets the tone for the team. When you can win at the top, it has a positive impact on the rest of the lineup. With Rika (Tatsuno) and Whitney (Taney) playing at No. 2 after playing at the top last year, it shows you how strong we are all the way down the lineup. We work on it a lot in practice, and the more you play, the more confident you are that you can get that first point. We have focused on getting that quick start in the pro sets and it paid off this weekend."
On where the team goes from here ... "We are going to come home and get ready for Michigan State and the start of Big Ten play, which will be tough. We are looking forward to going to Miami for our spring trip so that we can start working on playing outdoors. It will be nice to get outside and prepare for the second half of the season. These guys compete so hard, which is what it takes to win. We battle in every match, which is what we have to do in every match going forward. We want to treat every match the same."
Contact: Sarah VanMetre (734) 763-4423
Players Mentioned
