Michigan
Miami (Fla.)
Michigan Drops Road Match to No. 10 Miami
2/3/2008 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
Site: Coral Gables, Fla. (Neil Schiff Tennis Center)
Score: #10 Miami 6, Michigan 1
Records: U-M (1-3), Miami (3-0)
Next U-M Match: Friday, Feb. 15 -- vs. Tennessee (Varsity Tennis Center), 4 p.m.
CORAL GABLES, Fla. -- The No. 30-ranked University of Michigan women's tennis team was unable to pull off its second straight upset victory in four days, falling 6-1 to No. 10-ranked Miami (Fla.) Sunday afternoon (Feb. 3)at the Neil Schiff Tennis Center. The Wolverines (1-3) put forth a valiant effort in doubles but dropped the first team point, and the Hurricanes (3-0) went on win five of six in singles action.
Miami grabbed the early momentum thanks to Romy Farah and Laura Vallverdu's 8-3 victory over junior Chisako Sugiyama(Parsippany, N.J./The Montclair Kimberley Academy) and sophomore Tania Mahtani(Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif./Palos Verdes Peninsula HS) at No. 1 doubles.
Michigan built early leads on both of the remaining doubles courts. Junior Lindsey Howard (Richmond, Va./Mills E. Godwin HS) and freshman Denise Muresan (Lincolnshire, Ill./Adlai E. Stevenson HS) were up 5-3 at No. 3 before Bianca Eichkorn and Caren Seenauth came back to take six of the final eight games for a 9-7 victory that clinched the first team point for the Hurricanes. Freshmen Whitney Taney(Edina, Minn./Edina HS) and Rika Tatsuno(Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif./Palos Verdes Peninsula HS) saw a 4-2 lead slip away after Michela Kissell and Gina Sabatino rallied to win seven of the final 10 games for another 9-7 triumph.
The Hurricanes came out on top in the first three singles matches completed to secure the team win. Howard provided Michigan with its lone point of day, as she battled back for a solid 4-6, 6-2 1-0(2) victory over Sabatino at No. 6. It was Howard's first dual-match singles win since the 2006 season.
Taney and Mahtani fell just shy in super-tiebreakers at Nos. 2 and 3, respectively, to close out the match.
The Wolverines return to action Friday, Feb. 15 when they welcome Tennessee to the Varsity Tennis Center for a 4 p.m. match.
Following are match-by-match results:
Singles
No. 1 -- #29 Laura Vallverdu (Miami) d. Chisako Sugiyama, 6-1, 6-4
No. 2 -- Romy Farah (Miami) d. Whitney Taney, 7-6, 4-6, 1-0(3)
No. 3 -- Michaela Kissell (Miami) d. Tania Mahtani, 7-5, 2-6, 1-0(6)
No. 4 -- Bianca Eichkorn (Miami) d. Denise Muresan, 6-4, 6-2
No. 5 -- Caren Seenauth (Miami) d. Rika Tatsuno, 6-1, 6-3
No. 6 -- Lindsey Howard (U-M) d. Gina Sabatino, 4-6, 6-2, 1-0(2)
Doubles
No. 1 -- Farah/Vallverdu (Miami) d. Mahtani/Sugiyama, 8-3
No. 2 -- Kissell/Sabatino (Miami) d. Taney/Tatsuno, 9-7
No. 3 -- Eichkorn/Seenauth (Miami) d. Howard/Muresan, 9-7
Order of Completion: Doubles 1-3-2, Singles 5-1-4-6-3-2
Contact: Marc Ressler (734) 763-4423
Players Mentioned
