Michigan
Wolverine Invitational
Sugiyama Claims Singles Title at Wolverine Invitational
10/1/2006 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
Event: Wolverine Invitational
Scoring: No Team Scoring
Next U-M Match: Tuesday, Oct. 3 -- Qualifying at Riviera/ITA All-American Championships (Pacific Palisades, Calif.)
Sugiyama Claims Singles Title at Wolverine Invitational
Event Recap| Complete Results| Photos| Notes & Quotes
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The University of Michigan women's tennis team opened the 2006-07 season by hosting the eighth annual Wolverine Invitational Friday through Sunday (Sept. 29-Oct. 1) at the Varsity Tennis Center. Michigan had a solid all-around performance at the three-day event, placing two Wolverines in the championship final of the 32-player singles draw in addition to posting victories in five of six doubles matches. U-M combined for a 20-10 overall record at its own tournament.
Sophomore Chisako Sugiyama (Parsippany, N.J./The Montclair Kimberley Academy) claimed a singles title at the Wolverine Invitational for the second straight year, as she defeated freshman teammate Tania Mahtani (Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif./Palos Verdes Peninsula HS) by a score of 6-3, 6-1 in the championship match.
Sugiyama, who drew a first-round bye, used three consecutive straight-set victories to reach the final. After easy victories over Marquette's Shannon Brown (6-2, 6-0) and Kentucky's Christine Johnston (6-1, 6-2), Sugiyama was able to outlast No. 2 seed Nika Koukhartchouk of Mississippi by a score of 7-5, 6-4 to reach Sunday's match against Mahtani.
Mahtani got off to a brilliant start in her first collegiate event, posting dominating performances over Marquette's Katie Donovan (6-0, 6-0) and Kylie Moore (6-1, 6-0). Mahtani then met a familiar face in the quarterfinal round, as she was set to do battle with senior teammate Elizabeth Exon (Irvine, Calif./Woodbridge HS). Mahtani moved past the third-seeded Exon by a 7-6(3), 6-4 margin to advance to the semifinal round. Mahtani then earned perhaps her most impressive win of the weekend, upsetting No. 108-ranked Joelle Schwenk of Kentucky by a score of 6-2, 6-2 to reach Sunday's final against Sugiyama.
Junior Allie Shafner (Englewood, Colo./Cherry Creek HS) was the fourth Wolverine to reach the quarterfinals after she defeated Marquette's Andrea Bukacek (6-3, 6-0) and Elly Strother (7-5, 7-5) in the first two rounds. Shafner's run came to an end with a 6-3, 6-3 loss to Koukhartchouk.
Freshman Tanvi Dudhela (San Jose, Calif./Archbishop Mitty HS) also reached the quarterfinals in her first event as a Wolverine. After drawing a bye in the first round, Dudhela recorded her first career collegiate victory by knocking off Purdue's Alejandra Boeker by a score of 7-6(5), 6-3. She was then eliminated from the main draw with a 6-1, 6-1 defeat to Schwenk.
Five different Wolverine combinations combined for a 5-1 doubles record over the weekend, led by the tandem of Mahtani and Sugiyama. The singles finalists joined forces to defeat Kentucky's Schwenk and Caroline Winebrenner (8-5) on Friday before defeating Kentucky's Johnston and Whitney Spencer (8-2) on Saturday.
Seniors Kara Delicata (LaSalle, Ontario/Sandwich Secondary School) and Jenny Kuehn (Leipzig, Germany/Sportgymnasium Leipzig) will begin qualifying action at the 2006 Riviera/ITA All-American Championships this Tuesday (Oct. 3) at the Riviera Tennis Club in Pacific Palisades, Calif. Kuehn will compete in the 64-player singles draw before teaming with Delicata in the 32-team doubles competition. The two will then return home and join their teammates at the 2006 Wilson/ITA Midwest Regional Championships, to be held Oct. 19-24 at Michigan State's Indoor Tennis Facility in East Lansing, Mich.
Following are U-M's individual results:
Singles
Tanvi Dudhela
First Round -- Bye
Second Round -- d. Alejandra Boeker (Purdue), 7-6(5), 6-3
Third Round -- l. #108 Joelle Schwenk (Kentucky), 6-1, 6-1
Additional Match -- d. Shannon Brown (Marquette), 6-4, 7-6(4)
Additional Match -- l. Caroline Winebrenner (Kentucky), 6-4, 6-1
Finished with a2-2 record
Elizabeth Exon
First Round -- Bye
Second Round -- d. Lauren Little (Marquette), 6-0, 2-6, 6-4
Quarterfinals -- l. Tania Mahtani (Michigan), 7-6(3), 6-4
Additional Match -- d. Nika Koukhartchouk (Mississippi), 6-1, 2-6, 6-3
Additional Match -- d. Christine Johnston (Kentucky), 7-5, 4-6, 1-0(8)
Additional Match -- l. Jessica Giuggioli (Kentucky), 6-4, 7-5
Finished with a 3-2 record
Tania Mahtani
First Round -- d. Katie Donovan (Marquette), 6-0, 6-0
Second Round -- d. Kylie Moore (Marquette), 6-1, 6-0
Quarterfinals -- d. Elizabeth Exon (Michigan), 7-6(3), 6-4
Semifinals -- d. #108 Joelle Schwenk (Kentucky), 6-2, 6-2
Finals -- l. Chisako Sugiyama (Michigan), 6-3, 6-1
Singles runner-up with a 4-1 record
Allie Shafner
First Round -- d. Andrea Bukacek (Marquette), 6-3, 6-0
Second Round -- d. Elly Strother (Marquette), 7-5, 7-5
Quarterfinals -- l. Nika Koukhartchouk (Mississippi), 6-3, 6-3
Additional Match -- l. Erin Watkins (Marquette), 6-4, 6-4
Additional Match -- l. Kylie Moore (Marquette), 6-1, 6-3
Finished with a 2-3 record
Chisako Sugiyama
First Round -- Bye
Second Round -- d. Shannon Brown (Marquette), 6-2, 6-0
Quarterfinals -- d. Christine Johnston (Kentucky), 6-1, 6-2
Semifinals -- d. Nika Koukhartchouk (Mississippi), 7-5, 6-4
Finals -- d. Tania Mahtani (Michigan), 6-3, 6-1
Additional Match -- l. #108 Joelle Schwenk (Kentucky), 7-5, 7-6(5)
Singles champion with a 4-1 record
Doubles
Tanvi Dudhela/Allie Shafner
Saturday -- d. Whitney Melhorn/Whitney Reys (Purdue), 8-1
Finished with a 1-0 record
Tanvi Dudhela/Chisako Sugiyama
Sunday -- l. Kylie Moore/Erin Watkins (Marquette), 8-4
Finished with a 0-1 record
Elizabeth Exon/Allie Shafner
Friday -- d. Shannon Brown/Robin Metzler (Marquette), 8-6
Finished with a 1-0 record
Tania Mahtani/Allie Shafner
Sunday -- d. Christine Johnston/Whitney Spencer (Kentucky), 9-7
Finished with a 1-0 record
Tania Mahtani/Chisako Sugiyama
Friday -- d. Joelle Schwenk/Caroline Winebrenner (Kentucky), 8-5
Saturday -- d. Christine Johnston/Whitney Spencer (Kentucky), 8-2
Finished with a 2-0 record
Contact: Marc Ressler (734) 763-4423
Players Mentioned
