Michigan
Indiana
Michigan Rolls Past Indiana in Big Ten Tourney Opener
4/24/2003 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- The University of Michigan women's tennis team began competition at the 22nd annual Big Ten Championship with a 4-2 victory against Indiana Thursday afternoon (April 24) at the University of Illinois' Atkins Tennis Center. The Wolverines (13-8) advanced to Friday's 1 p.m. CDT quarterfinal match against No. 2 seed Northwestern.
Indiana (9-17) won the doubles point with victories at the top two spots. The Hoosiers pairing of Martina Grimm and Sarah Batty clinched the team point with an 8-6 win against sophomores Michelle DaCosta (Huber Heights, Ohio/Wayne HS) and Leanne Rutherford (Calgary, Alberta/National Sports School) at No.1 Linda Tran and Dominika Walterova won Indiana's first match of the day, posting an 8-3 victory over junior Chrissie Nolan (Glenview, Ill./Glenbrook South HS) and freshman Debra Streifler (Highland Park, Ill./Highland Park HS) at No. 2. Michigan created the deciding contest at No. 1 as senior co-captain Joanne Musgrove (LaSalle, Ontario/Sandwich HS) and junior Kim Plaushines (Oconomowoc, Wis./Kettle Moraine HS) won an 8-5 match against Sophie Rychlik and Jessica Groth at No. 3.
Just like their previous matchup in Bloomington, the Wolverines rallied after losing the doubles point with four straight-set victories in a dominating singles performance. Streifler gained her 20th singles victory of the season (20-6) and secured U-M's first point, winning a 6-1, 6-2 match against Groth at No. 6. IU regained the lead, 2-1, with Batty's 6-1, 6-1 win over Nolan at No. 2.
The Hoosiers' advantage was short-lived as the Wolverines won three consecutive matches to gain advancement in the tournament. Plaushines registered a 6-2, 6-0 victory against Rychlik at No. 5, DaCosta dispensed of Tran by a 6-2, 6-3 score at No. 1 and junior Kavitha Tipirneni (Galloway, Ohio/Hilliard Darby HS) clinched the 4-2 win with a 6-4, 6-4 win over Walterova at No. 4. Rutherford's match against Grimm at No. 3 singles was abandoned after Michigan clinched the victory (Rutherford led 7-5, 4-3).
Following are match-by-match results:
Singles
No. 1 -- Michelle DaCosta (U-M) d. Linda Tran, 6-2, 6-3
No. 2 -- Sarah Batty (IU) d. Chrissie Nolan, 6-1, 6-1
No. 3 -- Leanne Rutherford (U-M) vs. Martina Grimm, 7-5, 4-3 -- abandoned
No. 4 -- Kavitha Tipirneni (U-M) d. Dominika Walterova, 6-4, 6-4
No. 5 -- Kim Plaushines (U-M) d. Sophie Rychlik, 6-2, 6-0
No. 6 -- Debra Streifler (U-M) d. Jessica Groth, 6-1, 6-2
Doubles
No. 1 -- Grimm/Batty (IU) d. DaCosta/Rutherford, 8-6
No. 2 -- Tran/Walterova (IU) d. Nolan/Streifler, 8-3
No. 3 -- Plaushines/Joanne Musgrove (U-M) d. Rychlik/Groth, 8-5
Contact: David Ablauf (734) 763-4423
Players Mentioned
