Michigan
Penn State
Wolverines Top Nittany Lions to Complete Perfect Week
4/7/2002 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The University of Michigan women's tennis team completed a 3-0 week with a 5-2 victory against Penn State Sunday (April 7) at the Varsity Tennis Center. The Wolverines (10-8, 3-4 Big Ten) won their 10th match of the season by claiming the doubles point and four of the six singles matches against the Nittany Lions (6-9, 1-5 Big Ten).
Michigan earned the doubles point for the third consecutive day with wins at two of the three spots. Freshmen Michelle DaCosta (Huber Heights, Ohio/Wayne HS) and Leanne Rutherford (Calgary, Alberta/National Sports School) picked up the first victory of the day with an 8-4 win over Rebecca Ho and Sarah Spence at No. 1. Penn State's Judy Wang and Megan Marton ended a seven-match winning streak by junior Jen Duprez (Westhampton, N.Y./Westhampton Beach HS) and sophomore Kim Plaushines (Oconomowoc, Wis./Kettle Moraine HS) at No. 2, scoring an 8-6 victory to force the deciding match at No. 3. The Wolverines secured the team point as sophomores Chrissie Nolan (Glenview, Ill./Glenbrook South HS) and Kavitha Tipirneni (Galloway, Ohio/Hilliard Darby HS) won an 8-6 match over Leigh Ann Merryman and Moaria Husain at No. 3.
Penn State grabbed an early 2-1 lead in the match with two quick straight-set singles victories by Merryman and Spence at No. 4 and No. 6, respectively. Michigan regained the lead, 3-2, as Tipirneni collected a 7-5, 6-3 win against Ho at No. 1 and DaCosta posted a 6-4, 6-4 win over Marton at No. 2. Nolan clinched Michigan's win in a comeback fashion, yielding only one game over the final two sets to beat PSU's Husain after dropping the first set at No. 3 (2-6, 6-0, 6-1). Duprez put the exclamation point on the 5-2 victory with a three-set win over Wang at the No. 5 slot, winning the third-set tiebreaker by a 7-3 score and the match 3-6, 6-1, 7-6(3).
Michigan travels to Iowa for its only match of the upcoming week. The Wolverines face the Hawkeyes Sunday (April 14, 11 a.m. CDT) at the Klotz Tennis Center in Iowa City, Iowa.
Following are match-by-match results:
Singles
No. 1 -- Kavitha Tipirneni (U-M) d. Rebecca Ho, 7-5, 6-3
No. 2 -- Michelle DaCosta (U-M) d. Megan Marton, 6-4, 6-4
No. 3 -- Chrissie Nolan (U-M) d. Maaria Husain, 2-6, 6-0, 6-1
No. 4 -- Lee Ann Merryman (PSU) d. Leanne Rutherford, 6-2, 6-1
No. 5 -- Jen Duprez (U-M) d. Judy Wang, 3-6, 6-1, 7-6(3)
No. 6 -- Sarah Spence (PSU) d. Kim Plaushines, 6-4, 6-1
Doubles
No. 1 -- DaCosta/Rutherford (U-M) d. Ho/Spence, 8-4
No. 2 -- Wang/Marton (PSU) d. Duprez/Plaushines, 8-6
No. 3 -- Nolan/Tipirneni (U-M) d. Merryman/Husain, 8-6
Contact: David Ablauf (734) 763-4423
Players Mentioned
