Weekly Release #10
3/27/2001 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
Friday, March 30 -- Michigan State (Varsity Tennis Center), 6 p.m.
Saturday, April 7 -- at Ohio State (Columbus, Ohio), 10 a.m.
Sunday, April 8 -- at Penn State (State College, Pa.), 11 a.m.
Sunday, April 15 -- Iowa (Varsity Tennis Center), 11 a.m.
In-State Battle
This Friday (March 30) the University of Michigan women's tennis team will play host to Michigan State in the yearly battle on the hardcourt. The Wolverines and Spartans will hit the courts at the Varsity Tennis Center beginning at 6 p.m.
Michigan vs. Michigan State
The Wolverines and Spartans meet for the 45th time Friday (March 30), with Michigan looking to claim its 14th consecutive victory against Michigan State. Michigan has a 29-15 advantage in the all-time series with MSU, and has not lost to the Spartans since a 6-3 setback during the 1987-88 season. The Wolverines have a 2-0 record against MSU at the Varsity Tennis Center and a 15-5 overall record in Ann Arbor. U-M has claimed victories in six straight home matches against MSU. Michigan head coach Bitsy Ritt has a 15-10 career record against Michigan State, including a 7-0 victory last year at the MSU Tennis Facility.
Last Time Against the Spartans
Earning its first Big Ten Conference dual match victory of the 2000 season, Michigan claimed a 7-0 shutout against Michigan State (March 25, 2000) at the MSU Tennis Facility. The Wolverines improved to 6-5 overall and claimed their first shutout since Feb. 11 against North Carolina State. Michigan earned the doubles point with victories at the No. 1 and No. 3 spots in the lineup and claimed all six singles matches.
Musgrove Rolling
Sophomore Joanne Musgrove (LaSalle, Ontario/Sandwich HS) enters the Michigan State contest with a four-match winning streak. She leads the team with nine dual match victories and has the best winning percentage of all starters on the squad (.800). Musgrove has compiled an impressive 12-3 overall singles record and is 9-3 in dual match action (6-2 at No. 5 and 3-1 at No. 6). She posted a pair of Big Ten Conference singles wins last weekend, beating Wisconsin's Lara Vojnov (6-4, 6-2) and Minnesota's Jennifer Howard (6-1, 6-4). Musgrove has an impressive 31-16 career singles record and is 21-12 in dual match action.
Fuzesi Eyes 15th Singles Win
Senior Szandra Fuzesi (Budapest, Hungary/Balassi Balint Gimnazium) heads into the Michigan State match looking to collect her 15th singles victory of the season. Fuzesi has a 14-8 overall singles record this season and is two victories shy of her career high of 16 wins set last year. She defeated Wisconsin's Katie Dougherty (6-4, 7-5) and Minnesota's Michaela Havelkova (6-2, 6-3) last weekend to raise her winning streak to four matches. Fuzesi has an 8-5 dual match record this season and is 12-5 against regional opponents. She needs two singles victories to reach 40 in her career (38-43 record).
Tipirneni and Nolan Pose Formidable Pairing
Freshmen Kavitha Tipirneni (Galloway, Ohio/Hilliard Darby HS) and Chrissie Nolan (Glenview, Ill./Glenbrook South HS) have teamed to pose a formidable pairing at No. 3 doubles for the Wolverines. The duo is in the midst of a four-match winning streak and has compiled a 5-1 overall doubles mark since joining forces on March 1 at San Diego. Tipirneni (13-9) and Nolan (13-10) lead the team with 13 overall doubles wins.
In singles, Tipirneni has compiled a 13-11 overall mark and is 5-8 in dual matches (2-4 at No. 1 and 3-4 at No. 2). Nolan leads the squad with 15 wins (15-9 record), including a 14-6 record against regional opponents. She also has a 5-8 dual match record playing at both the No. 1 (2-5) and No. 2 (3-3) spots.
Duprez Eyes 10th Singles Win
Sophomore Jen Duprez (Westhampton, N.Y./Westhampton Beach HS) looks to collect her 10th singles victory of the season when Michigan takes the court Friday (March 30) against Michigan State. Duprez has a 9-5 overall singles record and is 3-1 in dual match action at No. 6. She split a pair of matches last weekend in Big Ten action, beating Wisconsin's Teresa Gonzaga (6-4, 4-6, 7-6) and losing to Minnesota's Brandi Watts (6-4, 6-2). Duprez has compiled a 24-17 career singles record.
Next Week
The Wolverines continue competition against the state institutions in the Big Ten Conference. U-M travels to Columbus, Ohio, for a Saturday morning (April 7, 10 a.m.) match against Ohio State at the Stickney Tennis Center. Following the match with the Buckeyes, Michigan travels to State College, Pa., for a Sunday morning (April 8, 11 a.m.) matchup with the Penn State Lady Lions at the Sarni Tennis Center.
Contact: David Ablauf (734) 763-4423
Players Mentioned
