Michigan
Wilson/ITA Qualifying
Three Wins Put Howard in Main Draw at ITA Regional
10/19/2007 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
Site: Ann Arbor, Mich. (Varsity Tennis Center)
Event: Wilson/ITA Midwest Regional Championships
Scoring: No Team Scoring
Next U-M Match: Friday, Oct. 19 -- Main Draw at Wilson/ITA Midwest Regional Championships (Varsity Tennis Center)
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Junior Lindsey Howard(Richmond, Va./Mills E. Godwin HS) of the University of Michigan women's tennis team recorded three consecutive wins in the 64-player singles qualifying draw Thursday and Friday (Oct. 18-19) to earn one of eight spots into the main draw of the Wilson/ITA Midwest Regional Championships at the Varsity Tennis Center.
Playing in her first singles match since May 13, 2006, Howard reeled off straight-set victories over Xavier's Kara Courtney (7-5, 6-2) and Marquette's Maria Calbeto (6-1, 6-1) on Thursday and defeated DePaul's Selma Salkovic (6-4, 7-5) Friday to reach the tournament's main draw for the first time in her career.
Freshman Denise Muresan(Lincolnshire, Ill./Adlai E. Stevenson HS) nearly joined Howard in the main draw, as she picked up straight-set wins over Eastern Michigan's Aditi Krishnan (6-2, 6-1) and Wisconsin's Chelsea Nusslock (6-1, 6-4). Ohio State's Cami Hubbs ended Muresan's run with a 7-6(3), 1-6, 6-3 triumph in the final round of qualifying.
Sophomore Tanvi Dudhela(San Jose, Calif./Archbishop Mitty HS) was unable to move past the first round but rebounded with a consolation win over Cleveland State's Melissa Holzinger, 3-6, 6-1, 1-0(4).
Michigan will field four teams in the 64-team doubles main draw, which begins this afternoon. Howard will pair with freshman Rika Tatsuno(Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif./Palos Verdes Peninsula HS), Muresan with sophomore Tania Mahtani(Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif./Palos Verdes Peninsula HS), Dudhela with freshman Kari Wig(Cochrane, Alberta/Cochrane HS), and junior Chisako Sugiyama(Parsippany, N.J./The Montclair Kimberley Academy) with freshman Whitney Taney(Edina, Mich./Edina HS).
Following are U-M's complete singles qualifying results:
Tanvi Dudhela
First Round -- l. Kirsten Gambrell (DePaul), 6-4, 6-0
Consolation -- d. Melissa Holzinger (Cleveland State), 3-6, 6-1, 1-0(4)
Finished with a 1-1 record
Lindsey Howard
First Round -- d. Kara Courtney (Xavier), 7-5, 6-2
Second Round -- d. Maria Calbeto (Marquette), 6-1, 6-1
Third Round -- d. Selma Salkovic (DePaul), 6-4, 7-5
Finished with a 3-0 record (qualifier)
Denise Muresan
First Round -- d. Aditi Krishnan (Eastern Michigan), 6-2, 6-1
Second Round -- d. Chelsea Nusslock (Wisconsin), 6-1, 6-4
Third Round -- l. Cami Hubbs (Ohio State), 7-6(3), 1-6, 6-3
Finished with a 2-1 record
Contact: Marc Ressler (734) 763-4423
Players Mentioned
