Michigan
Hawaii
Michigan Dominates Hawaii During Spring Break Trip
2/28/2008 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
Site: Honolulu, Hawaii (UH Tennis Complex)
Score: #21 Michigan 7, Hawaii 0
Records: U-M (4-4), Hawaii (0-6)
Next U-M Match: Friday, March 14 -- at Wisconsin (Madison, Wis.), 6 p.m. CDT
HONOLULU, Hawaii -- The No. 21-ranked University of Michigan women's tennis team earned its second straight shutout victory Thursday (Feb. 28), claiming a commanding 7-0 victory over Hawaii in the UH Tennis Complex. The Wolverines (4-4) posted a pair of 8-0 wins at the bottom two doubles positions to take the first team point, and U-M steamrolled through singles action with straight-set victories on all six courts.
Head coach Ronni Bernstein implemented two new pairings into the doubles lineup, and it resulted in a pair of 8-0 victories. Senior Allie Shafner(Englewood, Colo./Cherry Creek HS) and junior Lindsey Howard(Richmond, Va./Mills E. Godwin HS) knocked off Brittany Beswick and Jennifer Goldman at No. 3 before freshmen Denise Muresan(Lincolnshire, Ill./Adlai E. Stevenson HS) and Whitney Taney(Edina, Minn./Edina HS) clinched the doubles point by defeating Julia Sandborn and Natasha Zorec at No. 2.
The singles competition saw Howard and Muresan earn a pair of shutout wins at Nos. 5 and 2 singles, respectively, to put Michigan in front 3-0. Sophomore Tania Mahtani(Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif./Palos Verdes Peninsula HS) supplied the match-clinching point with her 6-2, 6-2triumph over Chloe Bihag at No. 3. Junior Chisako Sugiyama(Parsippany, N.J./The Montclair Kimberley Academy), ranked 55th in the nation, posted a 6-3, 6-4 decision over No. 67-ranked Sophie Kobuch at No. 1 for U-M's fifth team point. The Wolverines went up 6-0 thanks to freshman Rika Tatsuno's(Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif./Palos Verdes Peninsula HS) 6-2, 6-3 win over Zorec at No. 4. Freshman Kari Wig(Cochrane, Alberta/Cochrane HS) capped off the team scoring with her first career dual-match victory, a 7-6(3), 6-3 triumph over Goldman at No. 6.
The Wolverines will have over two weeks off before returning to the courts. Michigan will continue Big Ten Conference play on Friday, March 14, when it faces Wisconsin at 6 p.m. CST at the Nielsen Tennis Stadium in Madison, Wis. U-M will then close out the weekend with a 12:30 p.m. CST match against Marquette on Saturday, March 15, at the Helfaer Tennis Stadium in Milwaukee, Wis.
Following are match-by-match results:
Singles
No. 1 -- #55 Chisako Sugiyama (U-M) d. #67 Sophie Kobuch, 6-3, 6-4
No. 2 -- Denise Muresan (U-M) d. Julia Sandborn, 6-0, 6-0
No. 3 -- #96 Tania Mahtani (U-M) d. Chloe Bihag, 6-2, 6-2
No. 4 -- Rika Tatsuno (U-M) d. Natasha Zorec, 6-2, 6-3
No. 5 -- Lindsey Howard (U-M) d. Marie Tanaka, 6-0, 6-0
No. 6 -- Kari Wig (U-M) d. Jennifer Goldman, 7-6(3), 6-3
Doubles
No. 1 -- Bihag/Kobuch (Hawaii) d. #24 Mahtani/Sugiyama, 8-7(10)
No. 2 -- Muresan/Whitney Taney (U-M) d. Sandborn/Zorec, 8-0
No. 3 -- Howard/Allie Shafner (U-M) d. Brittany Beswick/Goldman, 8-0
Order of Completion: Doubles 3-2-1, Singles 5-2-3-1-4-6
Contact: Marc Ressler (734) 763-4423
Players Mentioned
