Michigan
NCAA Individual Championships
Bolender, Muresan Eliminated from NCAA Individual Championships
5/26/2011 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
May 26, 2011
Site: Palo Alto, Calif. (Taube South Stadium)
Event: NCAA Singles/Doubles Championships (Singles Second Round/Doubles First Round)
Result: No Team Scoring
Next U-M Match: Season Complete
PALO ALTO, Calif. -- University of Michigan women's tennis senior Denise Muresan (Lincolnshire, Ill./Adlai E. Stevenson) saw her career come to an end, falling to No. 25 Chelsey Gullickson of Georgia in three sets (3-6, 6-3, 6-3) in the second round of the NCAA Singles Championships on Thursday (May 26) at Taube South Stadium. Muresan and freshman Brooke Bolender (Delray Beach, Fla./Kaplan) also fell in the first round of the NCAA Doubles Championships later in the day to officially end Michigan's season.
Tied at 2-all in the first set, Muresan, ranked No. 8 in singles nationally, broke Gullickson to grab a 3-2 lead. Muresan held serve on her next two serving games and broke Gullickson at 5-3 to win the first set, 6-3.
Gullickson, the 2010 NCAA singles champion, broke Muresan to go up, 3-2, in the second en route to a 6-3 second-set victory to send the match to a third set. The Georgia junior jumped out to a 3-0 advantage in the final set, moving on to the round of 16 with a 6-3 third-set triumph.
In doubles, the No. 8-ranked Michigan duo fell to No. 9-ranked Gullickson and Kate Fuller of Georgia in straight sets (6-3, 6-2). On serve at 4-3 in the first set, the Georgia pair broke Muresan and Bolender for a 5-3 advantage before closing on the set in its next service game.
In the second frame, the Bulldogs broke early for a 2-1 lead en route to a 6-2 win to advance to the round of 16. Bolender and Muresan closed the season with a 25-7 overall doubles record.
In the 2010-11 campaign, U-M won its second straight Big Ten championship with a perfect 10-0 conference record while tying the best season mark in school history with a 24-5 record.
N O T E S
• Denise Muresan ended her Michigan singles career as the winningest player in school history, going 111-45 in four years. Her career winning percentage of .711 is third best in school history.
• Denise Muresan will earn All-America for the second consecutive season, as she was a seeded player (No. 8) heading into the tournament. She, along with Bolender, will also earn doubles honors as a No. 5-8 seed.
• It is the first time Denise Muresan has advanced past the first round in the singles tournament.
• Denise Muresan is the first Wolverine to participate in both singles and doubles tournaments since Michelle DaCosta did it in 2004.
Contact: Sarah VanMetre (734) 763-4423
Players Mentioned
