2005-06 TNW vs. Indiana -- Notes & Quotes
4/23/2006 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
N O T E S
After winning 12 of its final 15 matches of the regular season, Michigan enters the postseason with a 14-6 overall record. Four of the Wolverines' six losses have come to teams ranked in the Top 25.
Michigan enters the Big Ten Championship as the No. 3 seed after finishing conference play in sole possession of third place at 8-2. The Wolverines' two Big Ten losses came to Northwestern and Iowa, which hold the No. 1 and 2 spots, respectively.
The Wolverines will either face No. 6 seed Michigan State or No. 11 seed Wisconsin in the quarterfinals on Friday (April 28, 2 p.m. CDT). Michigan earned a 5-2 win over the Spartans (March 22) and a 7-0 victory over the Badgers (March 25) earlier this season.
Michigan's 8-2 finish in the Big Ten marks the program's best regular-season finish since 1997, when the Wolverines earned their first and only conference championship and the NCAA Southeast Regional championship.
Michigan has achieved at least 14 victories in each of the last four seasons.
Bitsy Ritt finishes her 22-year head coaching career with a 117-104 (.529) record in the Big Ten regular season.
The Wolverines improve their all-time record against the Hoosiers to 11-23.
Today's singles matches were moved indoors due to rainy conditions.
Q U O T E S
Michigan Head Coach Bitsy Ritt
On the team's ability to focus today, considering it was the final home match for her and the seniors ... "It was emotional, but we were pretty focused. We knew going in that this was a big match. We knew that it was going to be pretty emotional for Nina (Yaftali) and Debra (Streifler), and of course everyone who knows me knows that I'm a pretty emotional person and that things would be hard for me to get through. But as soon as we gathered in the huddle before the match, we went through our routine and our rituals. I knew that we were ready at that point. It's a credit to the players really; they deserve so much credit because they were focused and they battled and fought. They didn't get wrapped up in everything. We had talked recently about using our experience. I feel like we have such a strong junior and senior class. We wanted to use our experience to make us better. Some teams have experience that hurts them because they put too much pressure on themselves. We talked about what we've learned from our experience and how we are wiser and better from what we've been through. We wanted to take advantage of that and put that into play every time we compete. I thought we were able to handle a pretty emotional day and get out there and take care of business."
On Michigan's No. 1 doubles team of Debra Streifler and Kara Delicata ... "They just have great chemistry and they complement each other so well on the court. When you play a pro-set, anything can happen. They've been prepared for every single match. They got off to an early lead, but Indiana is tough. We had talked about how one of the characteristics of their program is that they make you hit a ton of balls and they make you earn it. I thought Debra and Kara were very prepared to keep their composure and raise their level even higher once Indiana made their run. I'm so proud of Kara. She has a ton of experience at No. 1 doubles. But it's been new for Debra. She's stepped in there and she's been amazing. There's a reason that Debra has the record that she has, both in doubles and singles. She is so well-suited for competition and she is tough. She showed that today in doubles and again in singles."
Players Mentioned
