Michigan
NCAA Individual Championships
Muresan Rallies to Advance in NCAA Singles Championship
5/25/2011 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
May 25, 2011
Site: Palo Alto, Calif. (Taube Tennis Stadium)
Event: NCAA Singles/Doubles Championships (Singles First Round)
Result: No Team Scoring
Next U-M Match: Thursday, May 26 -- at NCAA Singles/Doubles Championships (Palo Alto, Calif.), 10 a.m. PDT
PALO ALTO, Calif. -- University of Michigan women's tennis senior Denise Muresan (Lincolnshire, Ill./Adlai E. Stevenson) rallied for a three-set win (4-6, 7-5, 6-2) over No. 38-ranked Martina Pavelec of Wake Forest in the first round of the NCAA Singles Championship on Wednesday afternoon (May 25) at Taube Tennis Stadium. With the win, Muresan became the sixth Wolverine in program history to advance past the first round.
Muresan raced out to a 4-0 advantage in the first set before Pavelec ripped off six consecutive games to win, 6-4.
The second set saw two separate rain delays. The first delay lasted about 20 minutes, with the two on serve at 2-1. When play resumed, Muresan won the suspended game to knot the set at 2-2. Only four points were played before more rain forced another delay, lasting approximately two hours.
The second set remained on serve for four more games before Pavelec broke Muresan to take a 5-4 advantage. The Michigan senior returned the favor with a break of serve to tie the second frame at 5-all. After holding serve, Muresan had three set points on Pavelec's serve and made good on the second attempt to send the match to a third and deciding set with a 7-5 victory.
A Pavelec double fault in her first serving game of the third set gave Muresan a 2-0 lead in the early stages. Muresan kept the break advantage throughout, winning the set by once again breaking Pavelec in the eighth game for a 6-2 victory.
Muresan will face Chelsey Gullickson (Georgia) tomorrow (Thursday, May 26) at 10 a.m. PDT in singles action while pairing with freshman Brooke Bolender (Delray Beach, Fla./Kaplan) in the doubles tournament. The duo will play at 6:30 p.m. PDT.
N O T E S
• It is the first match Denise Muresan has won at the NCAA Singles Championship. She lost to Christina Tsang of North Carolina last year in straight sets.
• Muresan joins Chisako Sugiyama, Sarah Cyganiak, Mary Mactaggart, Michelle DaCosta and Stephanie Lightvoet as Wolverines to win a first-round NCAA match.
• Muresan earned her 34th singles win of the season, setting a career best for single-season wins. She is one victory shy of tying Brooke Bolender's record of 35 wins set this season.
• Muresan collected the 111th singles win of her career, a Michigan best.
Contact: Sarah VanMetre (734) 763-4423
Players Mentioned
