Michigan
Northwestern
Michigan Drops Big Ten Opener to No. 2 Northwestern
2/17/2008 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
Site: Evanston, Ill. (Combe Indoor Tennis Center)
Score: #2 Northwestern 5, #25 Michigan 2
Records: U-M (2-4, 0-1 Big Ten), Northwestern (8-1, 2-0 Big Ten)
Next U-M Match: Friday, Feb. 22 -- vs. Oregon (Varsity Tennis Center), 1 p.m.
EVANSTON, Ill. -- The No. 25-ranked University of Michigan women's tennis team opened its Big Ten Conference season with a 5-2 setback to No. 2-ranked Northwestern Sunday (Feb. 17)at the Combe Indoor Tennis Center. The Wolverines (2-4, 0-1 Big Ten) dropped a tight doubles point before the Wildcats (8-1, 2-0 Big Ten) came out on top in three of the first four singles matches completed.
The Wildcats jumped out in front early in the match thanks to Suzie Matzenauer and Maria Mosolova's 8-3 victory over junior Lindsey Howard(Richmond, Va./Mills E. Godwin HS) and freshman Denise Muresan(Lincolnshire, Ill./Adlai E. Stevenson HS) at No. 3 doubles. Junior Chisako Sugiyama(Parsippany, N.J./The Montclair Kimberley Academy) and sophomore Tania Mahtani(Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif./Palos Verdes Peninsula HS) kept the Wolverines in contention, claiming a huge 8-6 upset over Northwestern's No. 7-ranked duo of Lauren Lui and Samantha Murray at No. 1. Sugiyama and Mahtani earned a late break to go up 7-6 before serving out the match to complete their team-leading seventh win of 2007-08.
Alexis Conill and Georgia Rose provided the Wildcats with the doubles point just minutes after the No. 1 match ended, as the tandem closed out freshmen Whitney Taney(Edina, Minn./Edina HS) and Rika Tatsuno(Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif./Palos Verdes Peninsula HS) by an 8-6 count at No. 2. Conill and Rose broke to go ahead 6-5 and then held serve for the remainder of the match.
Sugiyama evened the team score with one of the biggest victories of her career, as she earned a dominating 6-3, 6-1 upset win over No. 9-ranked Rose at the top spot. It was just Rose's fifth loss in 28 matches in 2007-08.
The tie was short-lived, however, as No. 2-ranked Mosolova handed Mahtani a 6-3, 6-2 defeat at No. 2. Matzenauer also prevailed in straight sets, earning a 6-3, 6-4 decision over Howard at No. 6 to bring Northwestern within one point of the team victory. Lui, ranked 68th nationally, supplied the match-clincher with a 6-2, 6-3 win over Tatsuno at No. 4.
Muresan remained undefeated at the No. 5 position (2-0)and posted her second career victory over a nationally ranked opponent, outlasting No. 99 Nazlie Ghazal in a super-tiebreaker at No. 5, 6-7(6), 6-3, 1-0(5).
Taney fell just shy of upsetting No. 20-ranked Murray at No. 3, falling 7-5, 4-6, 1-0(7) to close out the match.
The Wolverines return to action on Friday (Feb. 22) when they welcome Oregon to the Varsity Tennis Center for a 1 p.m. match.
Following are match-by-match results:
Singles
No. 1 -- Chisako Sugiyama (U-M) d. #9 Georgia Rose, 6-3, 6-1
No. 2 -- #2 Maria Mosolova (Northwestern) d. Tania Mahtani, 6-3, 6-2
No. 3 -- #20 Samantha Murray (Northwestern) d. Whitney Taney, 7-5, 4-6, 1-0(7)
No. 4 -- #68 Lauren Lui (Northwestern) d. Rika Tatsuno, 6-2, 6-3
No. 5 -- Denise Muresan (U-M) d. #99 Nazlie Ghazal, 6-7(8), 6-3, 1-0(5)
No. 6 -- Suzie Matzenauer (Northwestern) d. Lindsey Howard, 6-3, 6-4
Doubles
No. 1 -- Mahtani/Sugiyama (U-M) d. #7 Lui/Murray, 8-6
No. 2 -- Alexis Conill/Rose (Northwestern) d. Taney/Tatsuno, 8-6
No. 3 -- Matzenauer/Mosolova (Northwestern) d. Howard/Muresan, 8-3
Order of Completion: Doubles 3-1-2, Singles 1-2-6-4-5-3
Contact: Marc Ressler (734) 763-4423
Players Mentioned
