Weekly Release #8
3/1/2005 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
Upcoming Schedule
Thursday, March 3 -- at San Diego State (San Diego, Calif.), 2 p.m. PST
Saturday, March 12 -- vs. Marquette (Varsity Tennis Center) 1 p.m.
Wednesday, March 16 -- vs. Western Michigan (Varsity Tennis Center) 6 p.m.
This Week
The No. 28 University of Michigan women's tennis team (3-5) will spend Spring Break in San Diego, Calif., this week and have scheduled a non-conference meeting with San Diego State Thursday (March 3, 2 p.m. PST) at the SDSU Tennis Stadium.
Scouting the Opponent
San Diego State -- The No. 68-ranked Aztecs (4-3), who host Loyola Marymount this afternoon (March 1), are coming off a road trip last weekend (Feb. 26-27) in which they defeated UC Irivine (4-3) after falling to USC (7-0). SDSU returns four letterwinners from last year's team, which finished at 9-15 overall with a No. 69 final ITA national ranking. Leading the charge for the Aztecs this year is Nina Spaeth, who holds a team-best 4-1 dual match record at No. 5. Head coach Peter Mattera is in his 12th season at San Diego State and has compiled a career record of 175-107 at the school. The Wolverines hold a 2-2 all-time record against SDSU, including a 6-3 victory in San Diego, Calif., during the last meeting on March 3, 2000. San Diego State on the Internet: www.goaztecs.com.
Last Time Out
The Wolverines suffered a 5-2 defeat to No. 7-ranked Kentucky last Saturday (Feb. 26) at the Varsity Tennis Center. The Wolverines entered the singles competition with momentum after claiming two of three doubles matches for the first team point, but Kentucky responded with wins on five of six singles courts en route to the team victory.
DaCosta, Rutherford Climbing Singles Chart
Seniors Michelle DaCosta (Huber Heights, Ohio/Wayne HS) and Leanne Rutherford (Calgary, Alberta/National Sports School) look to finish their Michigan careers ranked in the top 10 in career singles wins. With her 1-6, 6-4 7-5 win at No. 1 over Maryland's Ramona But (Feb. 5), Michelle DaCosta took sole possession of 13th place on Michigan's all-times singles wins list (66-52). Rutherford's 6-3, 1-6, 6-1 win over USC's Veronika Subertova moved her 14th place on the list (65-40). Both DaCosta and Rutherford will soon pass Mary MacTaggart (1981-84), who is in 12th place at 69-32.
Streifler Joins 50/50 Club
With the lone singles win against Kentucky last Saturday (Feb. 26), a 6-3, 6-3 victory over Liis Sober at No. 6, junior Debra Streifler (Highland Park, Ill./Highland Park HS) reached her 50th career singles win at Michigan. She holds a career singles mark of 50-24, which ties her for fifth place with Sarah Cyganiak (1994-97) and Tina Basle (1985-88) on Michigan's all-time career winning percentage chart (.676). Streifler reached her 50th career doubles victory at the 2005 Michigan Invitational, teaming with sophomore Lindsey Goldstein (Highland Park, Ill./Highland Park HS) for a 9-7 triumph over Georgia Tech's Esther van Londen and Whitney McCray on Jan. 9.
Net Points
Two Wolverines are approaching 25 career singles victories: sophomore Kara Delicata (LaSalle, Ontario/Sandwich Secondary) (23-15) and junior Nina Yaftali (Westlake Village, Calif./Westlake HS) (24-19).
Kara Delicata is one doubles win shy of 20 for her dual match career (19-10).
Debra Streifler is one doubles win short of of 30 for her dual match career (29-12).
Michigan No. 28 in ITA National Rankings
The Wolverines jumped one spot to No. 28 in the most recent Intercollegiate Tennis Association national team rankings, released Tuesday, March 1. U-M is one of three Big Ten Conference teams ranked in the top 30, with Northwestern securing the No. 4 spot and Indiana moving up to No. 25. In addition to the team ranking, the Wolverines have two student-athletes ranked nationally in both singles and doubles. Michelle DaCosta is listed No. 44 in the national singles rankings and teams with Kara Delicata for a No. 13 national ranking in doubles.
DaCosta, Exon Among Top 10 in Regional Singles Rankings
Michelle DaCosta and sophomore Elizabeth Exon (Irvine, Calif./Woodridge HS) entered the dual match season ranked among the elite singles players in the Midwest Region. DaCosta collected a 5-4 record during the fall season, including a trip to the round of 16 at the ITA Midwest Regional Championships between first-round victories at the ITA National Indoor and ITA All-American Championships. Exon, who finished the fall at 7-4, also reached the round of 16 at the ITA Midwest Regional Championships. DaCosta and Exon were listed No. 34 and No. 57, respectively, in the ITA preseason national singles rankings (Sept. 10).
U-M Doubles Pair Listed No. 3 in Regional Doubles Poll
Michigan's top doubles tandem of Michelle DaCosta and Kara Delicata entered the dual match season listed No. 3 in the Midwest Region. The pair posted a 6-4 record during the fall season, including an 8-1 upset over Arizona's No. 1-ranked team of Maja Mlakar and Dianne Hollands in the first round of the ITA National Indoor Championships. DaCosta and Delicata, who also advanced to the quarterfinals at the ITA Midwest Regional Championships, listed No. 8 in the ITA preseason national doubles rankings (Sept. 10).
Seniors Named Captains for 2005
Head coach Bitsy Ritt announced that Michelle DaCosta and Leanne Rutherford will serve as co-captains for the 2005 dual match season. It marks the first nomination for both athletes.
The Leader of the Wolverines
Head coach Bitsy Ritt is in her 21st season at the helm of the U-M women's tennis program, having compiled a career record of 260-225 (.536) since her appointment in 1984. Ritt has guided the Wolverines to the NCAA Championship seven times in the last 10 seasons, including the NCAA Southeast Championship in 1997. She has instructed 12 NCAA individual qualifiers, three Big Ten Conference Players of the Year and 10 All-Big Ten honorees. Ritt has been named the Big Ten Coach of the Year three times during her career and the ITA Midwest Regional Coach of the Year twice. Her athletes have also succeeded in the classroom, with a total of 27 players having earned 49 Academic All-Big Ten citations during their careers and four student-athletes having received ITA Scholar-Athlete honors.
Michigan Hosts 2004 ITA National Indoors
The University of Michigan and the Varsity Tennis Center played host to the ITA National Indoor Championships for the second consecutive year (Nov. 4-7). In the 32-player singles bracket, wild-card entry Michelle DaCosta won a pair of tiebreakers to upset No. 7-ranked Hollands 7-6(2), 7-6(5) in opening round action, but eventually lost to Nebraska's Gitte Osterman (6-4, 6-4) in the round of 16. DaCosta and Kara Delicata advanced to the doubles quarterfinals by upsetting Arizona's No. 4-seeded Maja Mlakar and Dianne Hollands (8-1) in the opening round of the 16-team field. The U-M tandem then dropped an 8-6 decision to UCLA's No. 17-ranked duo of Daniela Bercek and Riza Zalameda in the quarterfinals. It was Michigan's first-ever appearance in the tournament's women's singles and doubles quarterfinals.
On the Horizon ...
The Wolverines return to action next Saturday (March 12) when they welcome Marquette to the Varsity Tennis Center for a 1 p.m. match.
Contact: Marc Ressler (734) 763-4423
Players Mentioned
