Michigan
Akron
Wolverines Silence Zips to Advance in NCAA Tournament
5/14/2011 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
May 14, 2011
• NCAA Ann Arbor Regional Central | Notes | Photo Gallery 
Site: Ann Arbor, Mich. (Varsity Tennis Center)
Event: NCAA Championships (First Round)
Score: #10 Michigan 4, Akron 0
Records: U-M (23-4), Akron (20-4)
Next U-M Match: Sunday, May 15 -- vs. Tulsa - NCAA Second Round (Varsity Tennis Center), 1 p.m.
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The No. 10-seeded University of Michigan women's tennis team won the doubles point and the first three singles matches off court to capture a 4-0 win over Akron in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Saturday afternoon (May 14) at the Varsity Tennis Center.
The Wolverines won the doubles points with a pair of wins at No. 2 and No. 1. At the middle position, seniors Whitney Taney (Edina, Minn./Edina) and Rika Tatsuno (Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif./Palos Verdes Peninsula) put the first match away by jumping out to a 5-2 lead en route to an 8-3 victory. Needing just one more win to clinch the point, the race was on between courts No. 1 and No. 3 for the deciding match. Senior Denise Muresan (Lincolnshire, Ill./Adlai E. Stevenson) and freshman Brooke Bolender (Delray Beach, Fla./Kaplan) finished first, winning, 8-3, at the top spot to stake the Wolverines a 1-0 lead.
Michigan raced out to commanding singles leads on five of the six courts before winning the first three completed matches. Muresan was the first to grab a win, dropping just one game to Mid-American Conference Player of the Year Zara Harutyunyan in a 6-1, 6-0 victory at the top of the lineup.
Freshman Sam Critser (Mountain View, Calif./Mountain View) put the Wolverines on the brink of the shutout, winning, 6-1, 6-2, over Angelina Jogasuria at No. 4. Just moments later, sophomore Mimi Nguyen (Long Beach, Calif./Millikan) clinched the match with a 6-1, 6-0 triumph over Natasha Kuvakina at No. 6.
The Wolverines advance to the second round of the NCAA Tournament at the Varsity Tennis Center, taking on No. 22 Tulsa tomorrow (Sunday, May 15) at 1 p.m.
Following are match-by-match results:
Singles
No. 1 -- No. 8 Denise Muresan (U-M) d. Zara Harutyunyan (Akron), 6-1, 6-0
No. 2 -- No. 81 Brooke Bolender (U-M) vs. Angelika Jogasuria (Akron), 5-7, 1-1 abandoned
No. 3 -- No. 82 Whitney Taney (U-M) vs. Prang Pantusart (Akron), 6-6 abandoned
No. 4 -- No. 67 Sam Critser (U-M) d. Angelina Jogasuria (Akron), 6-1, 6-2
No. 5 -- Rika Tatsuno (U-M) vs. Anna Baronayte (Akron), 6-3, 4-1 abandoned
No. 6 -- Mimi Nguyen (U-M) d. Natasha Kuvakina (Akron), 6-1, 6-0
Doubles
No. 1 -- No. 8 Denise Muresan/Brooke Bolender (U-M) d. Zara Harutyunyan/Angelina Jogasuria (Akron), 8-3
No. 2 -- No. 64 Whitney Taney/Rika Tatsuno (U-M) d. Angelika Jogasuria/Prang Pantusart (Akron), 8-3
No. 3 -- Mimi Nguyen/Sam Critser (U-M) vs. Anna Baronayte/Jeremie Benjamin (Akron), 7-4 abandoned
N O T E S
• Michigan won the doubles point for the 24th time this season.
• U-M advances to the second round of the tournament for the sixth consecutive season.
• It was the first time Akron and Michigan competed.
• It is the second consecutive season that the Wolverines have hosted the NCAA first and second rounds.
• The match was played indoors, the first time Michigan has used the indoor courts at the Varsity Tennis Center since a March 27 match against Purdue.
• Michigan is now 15-1 at the Varsity Tennis Center this season.
• Sam Critser won her 30th singles match of the season, becoming the third Wolverine to hit the mark. She joins Brooke Bolender (35) and Denise Muresan (31).
• Whitney Taney and Rika Tatsuno won their 16th consecutive doubles match, all at the No. 2 position.
Contact: Sarah VanMetre (734) 763-4423
Players Mentioned
