2005-06 TNW vs. Iowa -- Postgame Quotes
4/29/2006 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
Michigan Head Coach Bitsy Ritt
On today's match ... "It was such a hard-fought match. Even in the matches we didn't win, we battled hard and played some great tennis. We did have the depth advantage. We dominated at Nos. 2 and 3 doubles and we did such a great job at Nos. 5 and 6 singles to get off to an early 3-0 lead."
On Elizabeth Exon's match-clinching win ... "Liz lost the momentum after getting off to a good start and (Hillary) Mintz really picked up her level of play. To Liz's credit, she came back in the second set, saving three match points before playing a great tiebreak to force a third set."
On Elizabeth Exon being in the same situation as last season's Big Ten Championship ... "I don't know if it was in either of their minds, but Liz and I spoke afterward and she really thought that her loss to (Hillary) Mintz in a super-tiebreaker a few weeks ago really helped her today. Liz really felt that the pressure was on Mintz, with Iowa being a higher seed. Liz is such a great competitor and she fights so hard. She was willing to change a few things tactically to make Mintz a little more uncomfortable out there. We didn't talk about last year during the match, but it's quite a coincidence and we're fortunate to be able to come away with the win again."
On the play of Chisako Sugiyama and Lindsey Howard ... "They are so smooth and very poised. We do a lot of talking about treating this just like any other match and focusing on one segment at a time. They have not for one second appeared overwhelmed or uncomfortable. It's really a credit to their toughness and their ability to be able to perform so well."
On the play of U-M's doubles teams ... "Our No. 3 doubles team just dominated. Nina (Yaftali) and Lindsey (Howard) really stepped up and they appeared so confident from start to finish. Once they got in front, they never looked back. The match at No. 2 was a bit closer, but Allie (Shafner) and Chisako (Sugiyama) really gained the momentum early and put the pressure on Iowa. I was proud of both teams because neither of them looked to No. 1 doubles to step up and get it done. Each team wanted to do it themselves. No one panicked when No. 1 went down, and they all deserve a lot of credit."
On having the opportunity to meet Northwestern in the championship final ... "We are thrilled to be in this position. While we have a lot of respect for Northwestern, we're definitely not intimidated. We look forward to the opportunity of going out there and putting it all out on the court and giving ourselves every opportunity to perform well."
