Pairings Announced for NCAA Individual Championships
5/23/2004 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
ATHENS, Ga. -- The official draws for the 2004 NCAA Women's Tennis Individual Championships were announced today (Sunday, May 23), and University of Michigan junior Michelle DaCosta (Huber Heights, Ohio/Wayne HS), ranked 53rd by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association, will face Tennessee's No. 55 Sabita Maharaj in the first round Monday (May 24) at 10 a.m. at Georgia's Dan Magill Tennis Complex. Both players are unseeded in the 64-competitor singles draw.
The U-M doubles tandem of DaCosta and freshman Kara Delicata (LaSalle, Ontario/Sandwich Secondary), ranked 41st by the ITA, is paired against Kentucky's No. 14-ranked Sarah Foster and Aibika Kalsarieva in the first round of the 32-team doubles competition and will play Tuesday. The specific match time will be announced Monday afternoon.
DaCosta recorded a career high in overall wins (21-14) while playing at the No. 1 singles slot for the Wolverines this season, improving her career record to 57-44. The Wolverine junior also set a career best with 14 dual-match victories, including nine in her last 15 matches. Maharaj led the Lady Vols with a 27-12 overall record in her second season at Tennessee and posted a 19-8 dual-meet mark while splitting time between the No. 1 and No. 2 singles positions.
DaCosta and Maharaj have one previous meeting between each other this season. In the early-season dual meet at the Varsity Tennis Center (Feb. 21), the Lady Vol player took a narrow 6-4, 3-6, 10-7 victory in the third-set tiebreaker.
In doubles action, DaCosta and Delicata have compiled a 14-9 dual-match record at the No. 1 spot, including a 5-7 mark against Big Ten competition. DaCosta recorded an overall doubles mark of 19-13 on the season, while Delicata was 25-13. Kentucky's Foster and Kalsarieva own an overall season record of 24-10 and a 13-7 mark in dual meets. This will be the first meeting between these two doubles teams.
DaCosta is the 10th Wolverine to be individually selected for the NCAA singles tournament and the first since 1997. On the doubles side, DaCosta and Delicata are just the fourth U-M tandem selected for the tournament and the first since 1998. DaCosta joins Sarah Cyganiak as the only Michigan women's tennis player to be selected for the NCAA Championships in both singles and doubles.
The DaCosta-Maharaj winner will face either No. 1 seed Raquel Kops-Jones of California or Illinois' Jennifer McGaffigan in the second round Tuesday. The Michigan-Kentucky doubles winner will meet either No. 2-seeded Kops-Jones and Jieun Jacobs of Cal or Marshall's tandem of Jessica Johnson and Ashley Kroh in the second round Wednesday.
Contact: Leah Howard (734) 763-4423
The U-M doubles tandem of DaCosta and freshman Kara Delicata (LaSalle, Ontario/Sandwich Secondary), ranked 41st by the ITA, is paired against Kentucky's No. 14-ranked Sarah Foster and Aibika Kalsarieva in the first round of the 32-team doubles competition and will play Tuesday. The specific match time will be announced Monday afternoon.
DaCosta recorded a career high in overall wins (21-14) while playing at the No. 1 singles slot for the Wolverines this season, improving her career record to 57-44. The Wolverine junior also set a career best with 14 dual-match victories, including nine in her last 15 matches. Maharaj led the Lady Vols with a 27-12 overall record in her second season at Tennessee and posted a 19-8 dual-meet mark while splitting time between the No. 1 and No. 2 singles positions.
DaCosta and Maharaj have one previous meeting between each other this season. In the early-season dual meet at the Varsity Tennis Center (Feb. 21), the Lady Vol player took a narrow 6-4, 3-6, 10-7 victory in the third-set tiebreaker.
In doubles action, DaCosta and Delicata have compiled a 14-9 dual-match record at the No. 1 spot, including a 5-7 mark against Big Ten competition. DaCosta recorded an overall doubles mark of 19-13 on the season, while Delicata was 25-13. Kentucky's Foster and Kalsarieva own an overall season record of 24-10 and a 13-7 mark in dual meets. This will be the first meeting between these two doubles teams.
DaCosta is the 10th Wolverine to be individually selected for the NCAA singles tournament and the first since 1997. On the doubles side, DaCosta and Delicata are just the fourth U-M tandem selected for the tournament and the first since 1998. DaCosta joins Sarah Cyganiak as the only Michigan women's tennis player to be selected for the NCAA Championships in both singles and doubles.
The DaCosta-Maharaj winner will face either No. 1 seed Raquel Kops-Jones of California or Illinois' Jennifer McGaffigan in the second round Tuesday. The Michigan-Kentucky doubles winner will meet either No. 2-seeded Kops-Jones and Jieun Jacobs of Cal or Marshall's tandem of Jessica Johnson and Ashley Kroh in the second round Wednesday.
Contact: Leah Howard (734) 763-4423
Players Mentioned
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