Michigan
Minnesota
Wolverines Sweep to Road Win at Minnesota
4/2/2011 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
April 2, 2011
Site: Minneapolis, Minn. (Baseline Tennis Center)
Result: #8 Michigan 7, Minnesota 0
Records: U-M (14-3, 4-0 Big Ten), Minnesota (4-11, 0-3 Big Ten)
Next U-M Match: Sunday, April 3 -- at Wisconsin (Madison, Wis.), 11 a.m. CDT
MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. -- The No. 8-ranked University of Michigan women's tennis team remained perfect in Big Ten action, sweeping all nine matches on the afternoon in a 7-0 win at Minnesota on Saturday afternoon (April 2) at the Baseline Tennis Center.
As has been the case in Big Ten action, the Wolverines dominated the doubles courts with three easy wins. Jumping out to 5-1 leads across the board, the No. 8-ranked duo of senior Denise Muresan (Lincolnshire, Ill./Adlai E. Stevenson) and freshman Brooke Bolender (Delray Beach, Fla./Kaplan) was the first U-M pair to secure a victory, winning 8-2 at the top slot. Michigan then clinched the point when junior Michelle Sulahian (Valley Glen, Calif./Campbell Hall) and freshman Sam Critser (Mountainview, Calif./Mountainview) grabbed an 8-2 victory at No. 3.
Michigan's No. 2 pair of seniors Whitney Taney (Edina, Minn./Edina) and Rika Tatsuno (Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif./Palos Verdes Peninsula) kept the Wolverines perfect on the doubles court with an 8-4 triumph after the point had been clinched.
The Maize and Blue did not let up in singles, winning all six matches in straight sets. Critser was the first Wolverine off court with a convincing 6-2, 6-0 victory over Peta Forsyth at No. 4 to extend the lead to 2-0. Muresan followed Critser with a 6-2, 6-1 at the top spot over Natalia Pintusava, putting Michigan on the brink of clinching the match.
Tatsuno did the honors of putting the match away for Michigan with a 6-0, 6-3 victory over Mariana Spilca at the No. 5 position. With the team match decided, the remaining matches quickly finished with Taney next off court, picking up a 6-4, 6-0 win in her first action of the season at No. 3.
Bolender followed with a 6-1, 6-4 victory at No. 2, with Sulahian rounding out the singles wins with a 6-3, 6-2 decision at No. 6.
Michigan wraps up its two-match road swing tomorrow (Sunday, April 3) with an 11 a.m. CDT match at Wisconsin.
Following are match-by-match results:
Singles
No. 1 -- No. 7 Denise Muresan (U-M) d. No. 56 Natalia Pintusava (Minn.), 6-2, 6-1
No. 2 -- No. 73 Brooke Bolender (U-M) d. Alessandra Ferrazzi (Minn.), 6-1, 6-4
No. 3 -- No. 98 Whitney Taney (U-M) d. Doron Muravnik (Minn.), 6-4, 6-0
No. 4 -- No. 69 Sam Critser (U-M) d. Peta Forsyth (Minn.), 6-2, 6-0
No. 5 -- Rika Tatsuno (U-M) d. Mariana Spilca (Minn.), 6-0, 6-3
No. 6 -- Michelle Sulahian (U-M) d. Elianna Kantar (Minn.), 6-3, 6-2
Doubles
No. 1 -- No. 8 Bolender/Muresan (U-M) d. Spilca/Ferrazzi (Minn.), 8-2
No. 2 -- Taney/Tatsuno (U-M) d. Pintusava/Muravnik (Minn.), 8-4
No. 3 -- Critser/Sulahian (U-M) d. Kantar/Forsyth (Minn.), 8-2
Order of Completion: Singles 4-1-5-3-2-6, Doubles 1-3-2
N O T E S
• Michigan is 11-1 in doubles matches during Big Ten play and has swept the doubles matches in three matches.
• U-M has won the doubles point in 15 of 17 matches this season. The Wolverines are 14-1 when securing the first point of the match.
• Michigan has yet to trail in a Big Ten match this season.
• Brooke Bolender ran her win streak to 10 matches, with Rika Tatsuno (nine) and Whitney Taney (eight) both extending theirs as well.
• Michelle Sulahian played her first singles match since U-M hosted Kentucky on Feb. 5. She is 3-0 on the season in dual matches.
• The doubles pair of Sam Critser and Michelle Sulahian is a perfect 3-0 in dual matches since joining the lineup against Indiana. Today's match was the third consecutive match the duo played together.
• Denise Muresan won the 101st match of her career, putting her three away from tying Chisako Sugiyama's all-time mark of 104.
• Rika Tatsuno won her 20th match of the season, becoming the fifth Wolverine to reach that mark. She joins Brooke Bolender (27), Denise Muresan (24), Sam Critser (21) and Mimi Nguyen (21).
• Whitney Taney played the last match of her career in her home state of Minnesota.
Contact: Sarah VanMetre (734) 763-4423
Players Mentioned
