Michigan
Minnesota
Michigan Pounds Minnesota for Sixth Straight Victory
3/30/2007 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The No. 35-ranked University of Michigan womens tennis handed No. 53-ranked Minnesota a 7-0 loss Friday night (March 30) at the Varsity Tennis Center. The Wolverines (9-5, 3-1 Big Ten) earned a doubles sweep and surrendered just one set in six singles matches en route to their sixth straight victory.
Michigan's top doubles team of graduate senior Jenny Kuehn (Leipzig, Germany/Sportgymnasium Leipzig) and sophomore Chisako Sugiyama (Parsipanny, N.J./The Montclair Kimberley Academy) continued on their torrid pace through the dual match season, posting an 8-2 triumph over Tijana Kopricova and Ashley Schellhas at No. 1 to remain undefeated in dual match play at 6-0. The U-M tandem has won 11 of 13 matches overall in 2006-07.
Competing together for the first time since the fall of 2005, junior Allie Shafner (Englewood, Colo./Cherry Creek HS) and sophomore Lindsey Howard (Richmond, Va./Mills E. Godwin HS) recorded an 8-3 win over Karia Chiarelli and Danielle Mousseau at No. 3 to clinch the doubles point for the Maize and Blue.
Senior Kara Delicata (LaSalle, Ontario/Sandwich Secondary School) and freshman Tania Mahtani (Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif./Palos Verdes Peninsula HS) won their match at No. 2 after the Golden Gophers retired due to an injury to Ida Malmberg. The score was tied at 4-4 at the time of retirement.
The 69th-ranked Kuehn won the first 21 points in her No. 2 singles match against Kopricova, eventually wrapping up a 6-1, 6-3 victory to give the Wolverines a 2-0 lead. It was Kuehn's 90th career singles win; she has won three straight and stands at 8-5 on the dual match season.
Delicata found her groove midway through the first set to defeat Mousseau by a score of 6-3, 6-0 at No. 3. With the score knotted at 3-3, Delicata reeled off wins in nine straight games to provide U-M with a 3-0 advantage. With the victory, Delicata becomes the third Wolverine to reach a double-digit win total in dual match play this year (10-4).
Freshman Tanvi Dudhela (San Jose, Calif./Archbishop Mitty HS) supplied the first match-clinching victory of her young career, cruising to a 6-3, 6-1 triumph over Mikayla Rogers at No. 6. It was also Dudhela's first career win in Big Ten Conference play.
Mahtani became the 16th freshman in program history to earn at least 20 wins in a season, as her 7-5, 6-2 decision over Risebrough at No. 4 pushed the Michigan lead to 5-0. Mahtani has won all but nine of the 29 matches she's played in 2006-07, and she holds a team-best seven-match winning streak dating back to March 4.
The 87th-ranked Sugiyama also reached a significant milestone against Minnesota, as her 1-6, 6-4, 6-4 victory over Schellhas at No. 1 put her at 50 wins for her singles career at U-M (50-16). Sugiyama was down 6-1, 4-2 but battled back to secure her sixth straight win. She improves to a team-best 23-6 overall, including an 11-3 mark in dual match action.
Senior Elizabeth Exon (Irvine, Calif./Woodbridge HS) used a late charge to close out Chiarelli by a score of 6-2, 7-6(2) at No. 5 and seal the overall sweep for the Wolverines. Exon has been victorious in five of her last six outing dating back to March 10. Her win tonight puts her in a tie for seventh place with former teammate Chrissie Nolan (2001-04) on Michigan's all-time singles wins chart (78).
The Wolverines return to the Varsity Tennis on Sunday (April 1) to host Iowa at 11 a.m.
Following are match-by-match results:
Singles
No. 1 -- #87 Chisako Sugiyama (U-M) d. Ashley Schellhas, 1-6, 6-4, 6-4
No. 2 -- #69 Jenny Kuehn (U-M) d. Tijana Kopricova, 6-1, 6-3
No. 3 -- Kara Delicata (U-M) d. Danielle Mousseau, 6-3, 6-0
No. 4 -- Tania Mahtani (U-M) d. Lindsay Risebrough, 7-5, 6-2
No. 5 -- Elizabeth Exon (U-M) d. Karina Chiarelli, 6-3, 7-6(2)
No. 6 -- Tanvi Dudhela (U-M) d. Mikayla Rogers, 6-3, 6-1
Doubles
No. 1 -- Kuehn/Sugiyama (U-M) d. Kopricova/Schellhas, 8-2
No. 2 -- Delicata/Mahtani (U-M) d. Ida Malmberg/Risebrough, 4-4 ret.
No. 3 -- Lindsey Howard/Allie Shafner (U-M) d. Chiarelli/Mousseau, 8-3
Order of Completion: Doubles 1-3-2, Singles 2-3-6-4-1-5
Contact: Marc Ressler (734) 763-4423
Players Mentioned
