Michigan
Michigan State
Wolverines Trounce Michigan State in Big Ten Opener
2/25/2011 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
Feb. 25, 2011
Site: Ann Arbor, Mich. (Varsity Tennis Center)
Result: #5 Michigan 6, Michigan State 1
Records: U-M (9-1, 1-0 Big Ten), Michigan State (7-2, 0-1 Big Ten)
Next U-M Match: Wednesday, March 2 -- at Miami (Coral Gables, Fla.), 2 p.m.
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The No. 5-ranked University of Michigan women's tennis team started its defense of its 2010 Big Ten championship with a 6-1 victory over Michigan State on Friday evening (Feb. 25) at the Varsity Tennis Center. The Maize and Blue won the doubles point and the first five singles matches off court for its 10th consecutive win over MSU.
Michigan took the early lead by winning two-of-three doubles matches for the doubles point, using wins at No. 3 and No. 2 to secure the first point. At No. 3, freshman Sam Critser (Mountainview, Calif./Mountainview) and Mimi Nguyen (Long Beach, Calif./Millikan) raced out to a 4-1 lead en route to an 8-2 victory to set the Wolverines up for the doubles point.
After dropping an 8-5 decision at No. 1, seniors Whitney Taney (Edina, Minn./Edina) and Rika Tatsuno (Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif./Palos Verdes Peninsula) teamed up to dispatch of MSU's Whitney Wilson and Nicole Herzog, 8-6, at No. 2. Tied at 6-6, U-M broke the Spartans to go ahead 7-6, allowing Taney to serve the match out on the ensuing game.
The Wolverines jumped out to big first-set leads on four singles courts, eventually winning five-of-six first sets. Freshman Brooke Bolender (Delray Beach, Fla./Kaplan) was the first Wolverine off court with a 6-1, 6-0 win at No.2. Taney was right behind her moments later with a 6-0, 6-2 triumph at No. 4 to push the Wolverine advantage to 3-0.
Needing just one more team point, the race to clinch was on as Nguyen and senior Denise Muresan (Lincolnshire, Ill./Adlai E. Stevenson) both needed just one more game on their respective courts. Nguyen missed on her first two match points at No. 5, allowing Muresan to clinch the team match with a 6-0, 6-4 victory at No. 1. Nguyen closed out her match just seconds later, taking a 6-4, 6-2 win at No. 5. Critser rounded out the Michigan wins on the evening with a 7-5, 6-1 victory at No. 2, winning eight of the final nine games for the win.
Michigan State picked up its lone point on the evening with a win at No. 6 singles.
Michigan heads to Florida for a two-match swing, first taking on Miami, currently ranked No. 8 nationally, on Wednesday (March 2) at 2 p.m. The Wolverines conclude their trip through the Sunshine State at Central Florida on Saturday (March 5) at 11 a.m.
Following are match-by-match results:
Singles
No. 1 -- No. 8 Denise Muresan (U-M) d. Amy Barton (MSU), 6-0, 6-4
No. 2 -- No. 104 Brooke Bolender (U-M) d. Valentina Rusakova (MSU), 6-1, 6-0
No. 3 -- No. 34 Sam Critser (U-M) d. Marina Bohrer (MSU), 7-5, 6-1
No. 4 -- No. 71 Whitney Taney (U-M) d. Dana Guentert (MSU), 6-0, 6-2
No. 5 -- No. 123 Mimi Nguyen (U-M) d. Nicole Herzog (MSU), 6-4, 6-2
No. 6 -- Michaela Silesova (MSU) d. Kari Wig (U-M), 6-3, 3-6, 1-0 (11-9)
Doubles
No. 1 -- No. 60 Barton/Bohrer (MSU) d. No. 22 Bolender/Muresan (U-M), 8-5
No. 2 -- Taney/Tatsuno (U-M) d. Wilson/Herzog (MSU), 8-6
No. 3 -- Critser/Nguyen (U-M) d. Silesova/Rusakova (MSU), 8-2
Order of Completion: Doubles 3-1-2, Singles 2-4-1-5-3-6
N O T E S
• Michigan improves to 43-17 all-time against Michigan State and wins its 10th in a row against MSU.
• Brooke Bolender won her 20th singles match of the season, the first Wolverine to reach the 20-win plateau in 2011.
• Denise Muresan won her 96th career singles match, putting her in third place on the all-time list.
• Whitney Taney won her 10th singles match of the season, giving Michigan seven players with double-digit wins.
• Ronni Bernstein is 4-0 against Michigan State.
• Michigan won its ninth doubles point of the season with wins at No. 2 and No. 3. U-M is 8-1 when winning the first point of the match.
• The Wolverines do not return home to the Varsity Tennis Center until March 18 when they host South Florida.
Q U O T E S
Michigan Head Coach Ronni Bernstein
On opening up Big Ten play ... "It is good to get back in conference matches and nice to get that first one under our belts. At the end of the day, it is just another match, but it was good to get back out there after Indoors. Whether it is a conference match or another one, we approach it the same. It was a nice start to Big Tens with a win under our belts."
On the match ... "Our doubles were not as sharp as they have been, especially at No. 1. They were a little tight out there. I was just happy that we could pull out the doubles point after dropping that match at No. 1. We did not want to let Michigan State into the match at the beginning."
On Kari Wig getting in the lineup ... "It was good to see Kari playing and get into the lineup. She is such a positive player for us. I was really pleased with how she fought back after dropping that first set. She came up a little short in the tiebreaker at the end, but it is always great to see her out on the court."
On what to expect on the spring break trip ... "Obviously, we are going so we have a chance to get outside. It will be good for us to get that experience right now. That is where we have to play well at the end of the year. We will have a big challenge at Miami after a few days of outdoor practice. It will be nice to get to some warm and nice weather."
Contact: Sarah VanMetre (734) 763-4423
