DaCosta, Delicata Selected for NCAA Individual Event

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. -- One singles player and one doubles team will be representing the University of Michigan at the individual portion of the 2004 NCAA Women's Tennis Championships.

	DaCosta		Delicata

Junior Michelle DaCosta (Huber Heights, Ohio/Wayne HS) was selected Thursday (May 6) as a singles participant, and the Wolverines' No. 1 doubles tandem of DaCosta and freshman Kara Delicata (LaSalle, Ontario/Sandwich Secondary) also was selected. It is only the second time in program history that the Wolverines will send both a singles representative and a doubles pairing to the NCAA individual tournament.

Both DaCosta and the doubles team received at-large bids from the Midwest Region based on factors such as win-loss record, strength of schedule, significant wins and late-season play. The NCAA Women's Tennis Championship individual competition will feature a 64-player bracket for singles and 32 pairings for doubles participating in a single-elimination tournament. The individual championship will take place May 24-28, directly following the team championship in Athens, Ga. The final draw for the singles and doubles competition will be announced Sunday, May 23, following the official coaches meeting.

DaCosta set a career high in overall wins (20-13) while playing at the No. 1 singles slot for the Wolverines this season, raising her career record to 56-43. The Wolverine junior also matched her career best with 14 dual-match victories this season and has won eight of her last 13 matches.

In doubles action, DaCosta and Delicata combined to compile a 13-8 dual-match record at the No. 1 spot, including a 5-7 mark against Big Ten competition. DaCosta recorded an overall doubles mark of 18-12 on the season, while Delicata was 24-12.

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 U-M women's tennis team returns to the hardcourt next weekend for NCAA Regional action in Palo Alto, Calif. The Wolverines will face Denver in the first round on Friday (May 14, 10 a.m. PDT) at Stanford's Taube Tennis Center.

Contact: Leah Howard (734) 763-4423

University of Michigan Athletics

Players Mentioned

Michelle DaCosta

Kara Delicata

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