Weekly Release #15
5/10/2004 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
Upcoming Schedule
Fri-Sun., May 14-15 -- at NCAA Regional (Palo Alto, Calif.)
May 14 -- #26 Michigan vs. #46 Denver, 10 a.m. PDT
May 14 -- Quinnipiac vs. #1 Stanford, 2 p.m. PDT
May 15 -- U-M/Denver winner vs. Quinnipiac/Stanford winner, 3 p.m. PDT
Thu-Sun., May 20-23 -- at NCAA Championship (Athens, Ga.)
Mon-Sat., May 24-29 -- at NCAA Individual Championship (Athens, Ga.)
Wolverines Return to NCAA Championship
The University of Michigan women's tennis team (16-6, 7-5 Big Ten) earned its third consecutive trip to the 64-team field of the NCAA Division I Women's Tennis Championship. Michigan begins the 2004 championship in Palo Alto, Calif., for the second straight year, with a first-round match against No. 46 University of Denver on Friday (May 14, 10 a.m. PDT) at Stanford's Taube Family Tennis Center. With a victory against the Pioneers, the Wolverines would face the winner of the Quinnipiac and No. 1-ranked Stanford University on Saturday (May 15, 3 p.m. PDT) for a trip to the 16-team NCAA Championship to be played May 20-23 at the University of Georgia's Alfred Ring Tennis Complex in Athens, Ga.
Scouting Denver
The Pioneers (20-1) enter the NCAA Tournament ranked 46th nationally in the Collegiate Tennis Rankings administered by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association. Denver makes its first trip to the NCAA Regional tournament in the program's six-year history after winning 17 consecutive matches and capturing the Sun Belt Conference title with a 4-2 decision over South Alabama in the final. The Pioneers are led by fourth-year head coach Dana Young, a former player All-Big Ten player at the University of Minnesota who has compiled a 52-31 career record and earned SBC Coach of the Year honors for two consecutive years. Top singles player Yanick Dullens owns a near-perfect 17-2 singles record at the No. 1 spot and is ranked, along with teammate Suzana Maksovic, at No. 48 among the nation's best doubles pairs.
Michigan at the NCAA Championship
The Wolverines are making their third consecutive appearance at the NCAA Championship and sixth overall after making three straight trips from 1996 through 1998. Michigan split two matches at the 1996 tournament, beating Indiana (5-4) before losing to Northwestern (5-0) in the regional semifinal. The Wolverines returned to the championship after winning the 1997 Big Ten title and advanced to the 16-team field by winning three matches at the Southeast Regional -- 5-0 vs. Central Florida, 5-3 against Miami (Fla.) and 5-4 vs. South Alabama. U-M lost 5-0 to NCAA runner-up Florida in the round of 16. Michigan suffered a first-round losses against Wisconsin (5-2) in 1998 and Georgia Tech (4-2) in 1999. Last season the Wolverines defeated Colorado 4-0 before falling to NCAA runner-up Stanford 4-0 in the second round.
Ritt Guides U-M into NCAA Field
For the sixth time in her career, Michigan head coach Bitsy Ritt will guide the Wolverines into the national tournament. She has compiled a 5-5 record at the NCAA Tournament, including a 3-1 mark at 1997 championship when U-M claimed the Southeast Regional title. Ritt has a 255-218 overall record in 20 years at Michigan and has a 123-125 mark in Big Ten action.
DaCosta, Doubles Team Selected for NCAA Individual Tournament
Junior Michelle DaCosta (Huber Heights, Ohio/Wayne HS) was selected as a singles participant in the NCAA Indvidual Championship (May 23-29) and will pair with freshman Kara Delicata (LaSalle, Ontario/Sandwich Secondary) to compete in the NCAA doubles tournament. It is just the second time in program history that U-M will send both a singles representative and a doubles pairing to the NCAA individual tournament.
Wolverines Lose in Big Ten Quarterfinals to Eventual Champion
Michigan posted a 1-1 record at the 2004 Big Ten Championship held April 29-May 2 at the Nortwestern University's Vandy Christie Tennis Center in Evanston, Ill. The fourth-seeded Wolverines defeated Wisconsin by a 4-3 score in the first round, winning four singles matches after losing the doubles point to the Badgers. U-M lost 4-2 in the quarterfinals to No. 1 seed and No. 11-ranked Northwestern, the eventual Big Ten champion for the sixth straight year.
DaCosta, Exon Named to All-Big Ten Team
Junior Michelle DaCosta and freshman Elizabeth Exon (Irvine, Calif./Woodridge HS) were named to the All-Big Ten Conference team in recognition of their strong singles play during the Big Ten dual season. It is the first time in 1998 that the Wolverines had two representatives on the all-conference team. DaCosta has been named an All-Big Ten selection for three consecutive seasons, only the third Wolverine to achieve such distinction. Exon receives the recognition for the first time after recording a team-leading 27-13 overall record and 9-3 mark in Big Ten duals at the No. 2 spot.
Wolverines Ranked No. 26 in Team Rankings
After splitting a pair of matches at the Big Ten Championship (April 29May 2), the Wolverines jumped a position into the No. 26 spot in the most recent Intercollegiate Tennis Association national rankings, released May 3. The Wolverines' No. 17 ranking in the March 9 poll was their highest since 1996-97, when U-M closed out the season ranked 16th.
| Date | Rank |
| Jan. 13 | 34th |
| Jan. 27 | 34th |
| Feb. 10 | 25th |
| Feb. 24 | 19th |
| March 2 | 18th |
| March 9 | 17th |
| March 16 | 19th |
| March 23 | 19th |
| March 30 | 20th |
| April 6 | 25th |
| April 13 | 27th |
| April 20 | 29th |
| April 27 | 27th |
| May 3 | 26th |
Exon, DaCosta Listed Among Nation's Best
Junior Michelle DaCosta and freshman Elizabeth Exon are both listed among the top singles players in the nation, with DaCosta receiving the No. 53 ranking and Exon listed at No. 83. The next ITA national individual rankings are scheduled for release on June 4.
Freshman Phenom
Freshman Elizabeth Exon enters her first NCAA Championship with a 27-13 season singles record. Exon is just the 14th freshman in Michigan history to reach the 20-win plateau during her inaugural campaign, joining current teammates sophomore Debra Streifler (Highland Park, Ill./Highland Park HS) and senior Chrissie Nolan (Glenview, Ill./Glenbrook South HS). With her team-leading 27-13 record this season, Exon ranks second on Michigan's all-time freshman wins list, tied with Erryn Weggenman (27-13, 1996-97). The Wolverine rookie needs just two more tallies to reach the top spot, currently held by Danielle Lund (29-9, 1996-97).
Michigan's Top Freshman Win Totals
| | Name | Record | Season |
| 1. | Danielle Lund | 29-9 | 1996-97 |
| 2. | Erryn Weggenman | 27-13 | 1996-97 |
| | Elizabeth Exon | 27-13 | 2003-04 |
| 3. | Brooke Hart | 26-12 | 1996-97 |
| 4. | Sora Moon | 25-11 | 1994-95 |
| 5. | Jaimie Fielding | 24-12 | 1991-92 |
| | Stacy Berg | 24-5 | 1987-88 |
| 7. | Kalei Beamon | 23-9 | 1989-90 |
| 8. | Mary MacTaggart | 22-4 | 1980-81 |
| | Marion Kremer | 22-8 | 1980-81 |
| | Wendy Stross | 22-9 | 1987-88 |
Climbing the Charts
Senior Chrissie Nolan collected her 75th career victory with a 5-7, 6-0, 6-3 decision against Ohio State's Jackie Leskovar on March 28. With her 20-12 record this season, Nolan has brought her career singles mark to 78-48 during her four seasons at Michigan, placing her sixth on Michigan's all-time wins list. Nolan needs two more wins to reach the fifth spot, currently held by Danielle Lund (80-55, 1997-2000).
Career Year
Senior Kavitha Tipirneni has already recorded career highs in every singles category this season. She has notched 26 overall wins, surpassing her previous best -- a season mark of 16-15 as a freshman in 2000-01 -- by 10 wins. The Wolverine senior has posted a team-leading 19-3 dual-meet record, notching 11 more wins than her previous season high (8-12, 2001-02). With an 22-11 doubles record this season, Tipirneni has recorded one more win than her previous career best (21, 2001-02).
Net Points ...
Seniors Chrissie Nolan and Kavitha Tipirneni have recorded a perfect 4-0 doubles mark since pairing at the No. 3 spot late in the dual-meet season. After notching back-to-back wins against Northwestern and Wisconsin to close out the regular season, the tandem also recorded the only doubles victories by the Wolverines at the Big Ten Championship. In their four matches, the pair have outscored their opponents 32-10.
Junior Michelle DaCosta has earned a career-high 20 singles wins this season, notching two more decisions than her previous season-best mark of 18, which she accomplished during both her freshman and sophomore campaigns.
Senior Kim Plaushines and sophomore Debra Streifler have both notched career highs in doubles wins this season. Plaushines has accumulated 26 victories already this season, seven more than her previous best (19, 2001-02); Streifler has also bettered her previous mark (17, 2002-03) by seven wins with 24 under her belt this season.
Senior Kavitha Tipirneni and juniors Michelle DaCosta and Leanne Rutherford have each recorded both their 50th career singles win and their 50th career doubles win this season. Tipirneni has since brought her career marks to 60-59 in singles and 68-41 in doubles. Rutherford owns a career singles record of 56-32 and a career doubles record of 52-39, while DaCosta holds nearly identical career marks in singles (55-42) and doubles (54-42).
Contact: Leah Howard (734) 763-4423
Players Mentioned
