Michigan Shuts Out Purdue in Big Ten Quarterfinal

Friday, April 27

Minneapolis, Minn.

2:00 PM CT

Michigan

Purdue

4/27/2007 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis

MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. -- The No. 26-ranked University of Michigan women's tennis team opened the 2007 Big Ten Conference Championship with a convincing 4-0 quarterfinal victory over No. 45-ranked Purdue Friday afternoon (April 27) at the Baseline Tennis Center. The No. 3 seed Wolverines (15-6) won the doubles point and posted straight-set wins in the first three singles matches completed to clinch their third straight victory over the No. 6 seed Boilermakers (13-9).

Junior Allie Shafner (Englewood, Colo./Cherry Creek HS) and sophomore Lindsey Howard (Richmond, Va./Mills E. Godwin HS) got the Maize and Blue off to a solid start, earning an 8-3 triumph over Alejandra Boeker and Anna Dzeva at No. 3 doubles. Shafner and Howard have been victorious in six of eight dual matches this season.

Graduate senior Jenny Kuehn (Leipzig, Germany/Sportgymnasium Leipzig) and sophomore Chisako Sugiyama (Pasippany, N.J./The Montclair Kimberley Academy) secured the first team point with an 8-5 win over Purdue's 57th-ranked duo of Brooke Beier and Mallory Voelker at No. 1. The Wolverine All-Big Ten peformers have teamed together for 11 victories in 13 outings at the top spot.

Freshman Tania Mahtani (Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif./Palos Verdes Peninsula HS) was triumphant in her postseason singles debut, posting a resounding 6-1, 6-0 win over Cigdem Duru at No. 4 to give Michigan a 2-0 lead. Mahtani has won 13 of her last 14 matches, and her 26 victories (26-10) in 2006-07 put her in a tie for 10th place on U-M's all-time season singles wins chart.

Senior Kara Delicata (LaSalle, Ontario/Sandwich Secondary School) provided the Maize and Blue with a commanding 3-0 advantage thanks to a 6-4, 6-0 decision over Neela Vaez at No. 3. Delicata has walked off the court a winner in 13 of her last 15 matches, with 10 of those wins coming in straight sets.

Shafner sent the Wolverines to the next round with her 6-3, 6-4 triumph over Boeker at No. 6. It marked the tri-captain's first career postseason singles victory and 10th career dual match win at Michigan.

The Wolverines will look to secure their third straight trip to the Big Ten Conference Championship title match when they take on 25th-ranked and No. 2 seed Indiana in the semifinals Saturday (April 28) at 2 p.m. CDT. The Hoosiers, who earned a 4-2 win over No. 7 seed Minnesota in the quarterfinals, handed Michigan a 5-2 loss in the regular-season finale on April 22.

Following are match-by-match results:

Singles
No. 1 -- #88 Chisako Sugiyama (U-M) vs. #97 Mallory Voelker, 4-6, 5-2 (abandoned)
No. 2 -- #83 Jenny Kuehn (U-M) vs. Brooke Beier, 2-6, 6-5 (abandoned)
No. 3 -- Kara Delicata (U-M) d. Neela Vaez, 6-4, 6-0
No. 4 -- Tania Mahtani (U-M) d. Cigdem Duru, 6-1, 6-0
No. 5 -- Elizabeth Exon (U-M) vs. Anna Dzeva, 6-6 (abandoned)
No. 6 -- Allie Shafner (U-M) d. Alejandra Boeker, 6-3, 6-4

Doubles
No. 1 -- Kuehn/Sugiyama (U-M) d. #57 Beier/Voelker, 8-5
No. 2 -- Delicata/Mahtani (U-M) vs. Duru/Vaez, 6-4 (abandoned)
No. 3 -- Lindsey Howard/Shafner (U-M) d. Boeker/Dzeva, 8-3

Order of Completion: Doubles 3-1, Singles 4-3-6

Q U O T E S

U-M Head Coach Amanda Augustus
On the team's ability to take care of business against Purdue ... "It didn't seem as quick as it was. During postseason play, you never want to assume anything. Everyone was very involved in their individual matches today, which was one of our goals. Obviously this is the first time this season where the match stops when you get to four points. It's easy for teams to start looking around to see if someone is almost done. We did a good job of staying focused on our individual matches today."

On Lindsey Howard and Allie Shafner's win at No. 3 doubles ... "That was a team they played well against before. It was a little different playing outside against that team. They pulled out a couple of close games. Allie had one long service game where they hung in there. They did a really good job of closing off the net. The team they played doesn't come in that much. It would be easy to hang back, but Lindsey and Allie really poached a lot and got their overheads going."

On Allie Shafner clinching the match with a victory at No. 6 singles ... "I was really happy for her that she clinched the match today. She's had her ups and downs and some injuries this year, so it was really nice for her to clinch the match for Michigan. She also played well in doubles, so she had a very good day."

On Tania Mahtani's peformance in her postseason debut ... "I'm really pleased that Tania got back on track today. She's done such a great job as a freshman of being consistent while adjusting to everything this year. She's really done a phenomenal job. Last weekend was her first time getting through final exams while playing some tough matches, and I think she learned a lot from that experience. She's definitely back on track and focusing on her tennis."

On having the opportunity to get redemption against Indiana ... "The team is very excited to play tomorrow and wants to show Indiana how good they really are. I'll be real interested to see them come out at full strength after being wiped out last weekend. It will be good match. Indiana is a good team and they've had a great year. It will be a battle, but I'm confident that we can come away with a win tomorrow."

Contact: Marc Ressler (734) 763-4423