Michigan
Minnesota
Michigan Picks Up Big Ten Road Victory at Minnesota
4/1/2006 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. -- The No. 32 University of Michigan women's tennis team improved to 3-1 in the Big Ten Conference with a 5-2 victory over Minnesota Saturday afternoon (April 1) at the Baseline Tennis Center. The Wolverines (9-5, 3-1 Big Ten) earned a doubles sweep and used singles wins at Nos. 2-5 to clinch their seventh victory in the last nine outings. U-M has now won five of the last six meetings with the Golden Gophers (3-12, 0-3 Big Ten).
Junior Elizabeth Exon (Irvine, Calif./Woodbridge HS) and sophomore Allie Shafner (Englewood, Colo./Cherry Creek HS) put together a flawless performance in their first career match as a doubles team, shutting out Shelby Rohrer and Megan Steiger by a score of 8-0 at No. 3 to give Michigan the early advantage.
Senior Debra Streifler (Highland Park, Ill./Highland Park HS) and junior Kara Delicata (LaSalle, Ontario/Sandwich Secondary School) continued their spectacular play at the top doubles position, earning an 8-3 victory over Ida Malmberg and Nischela Reddy to clinch the doubles point for the Wolverines. Streifler and Delicata have won seven of nine matches at No. 1 and hold a perfect 4-0 mark in the Big Ten.
Senior Nina Yaftali (Westlake Village, Calif./Westlake HS) and freshman Lindsey Howard (Richmond, Va./Mills E. Godwin HS) completed the doubles sweep with an 8-6 triumph over Danielle Mousseau and Mariana Spilca at No. 2. Yaftali and Howard improve to 9-4 in dual match play, including a 3-1 record in conference action.
Straight-set victories at Nos. 4 and 5, respectively, put Michigan in the driver's seat at 3-0. Freshman Chisako Sugiyama (Parsippany, N.J./The Montclair Kimberley Academy) never allowed Marina Bugaenco a chance in their match at No. 4, cruising to a 6-1, 6-0 win for her team-leading 18th singles victory in 2005-06. Streifler posted a 6-3, 6-3 triumph over Spilca at No. 4 to improve to a team-best 11-3 in dual match play. Streifler now stands alone in fifth place on U-M's all-time singles wins list (79).
The Gophers crawled their way back into the match with back-to-back victories at Nos. 1 and 6, but Michigan came through with wins on the last two courts to secure the team triumph. Exon tallied a 6-4, 6-0 decision over Malmberg at No. 2 to provide U-M with the clincher, while Yaftali finished off Mousseau in a super-tiebreaker at No. 3, 6-2, 6-7(5), 1-0(4).
The Wolverines will head to Cedar Rapids, Iowa, to face Iowa tomorrow (Sunday, April 2). The match is scheduled for a 10 a.m. CDT start at the Clark Racquet Center.
Following are match-by-match results:
Singles
No. 1 -- Nischela Reddy (MINN) d. #97 Kara Delicata, 7-5, 6-1
No. 2 -- Elizabeth Exon (U-M) d. Ida Malmberg, 6-4, 6-0
No. 3 -- Nina Yaftali (U-M) d. Danielle Mousseau, 6-2, 6-7(5), 1-0(4)
No. 4 -- Debra Streifler (U-M) d. Mariana Spilca, 6-3, 6-3
No. 5 -- Chisako Sugiyama (U-M) d. Marina Bugaenco, 6-1, 6-0
No. 6 -- Jane Anderson (MINN) d. Allie Shafner, 6-4, 6-4
Doubles
No. 1 -- Delicata/Streifler (U-M) d. Malmberg/Reddy, 8-3
No. 2 -- Lindsey Howard/Yaftali (U-M) d. Mousseau/Spilca, 8-6
No. 3 -- Exon/Shafner (U-M) d. Shelby Rohrer/Megan Steiger, 8-0
Order of Completion: Doubles 3-1-2, Singles 5-4-1-6-2-3
Q U O T E S
Michigan Head Coach Bitsy Ritt
On the doubles performance of Elizabeth Exon and Allie Shafner ... "Allie and Liz played well together at No. 3, they were really impressive. We have a lot of depth, so we have some options in doubles. It was a team that we practiced with a little bit last week and I thought they had really great energy and complimented each other well on the court. They played a good match, and that is definitely going to continue to be an option for us."
On Michigan's singles play ... "I thought Debra (Streifler) was stronger as the match went on and I think she really started to use her strengths and increase her aggressiveness in the later stages. Chisako (Sugiyama) was very solid throughout the entire match. After winning the doubles point, it was so important to build on that momentum by winning the first two matches in singles.
"Nina (Yaftali) did a good job of maintaining her composure and winning the super-tiebreaker set after dropping a tough second set. I thought Liz (Exon) played excellent at No. 2. Allie had a tough match at No. 6, she played a good competitor who had been injured for most of the year and normally plays higher in the lineup."
Contact: Marc Ressler (734) 763-4423
Players Mentioned
