Michigan
Iowa
Michigan Sweeps Iowa for Seventh Consecutive Victory
3/29/2008 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
Site: Iowa City, Iowa (Hawkeye Tennis & Recreation Complex)
Score: Michigan 7, Iowa 0
Records: U-M (9-4, 2-1 Big Ten), Iowa (10-4, 1-2 Big Ten)
Next U-M Match: Sunday, March 30 -- at Minnesota (Minneapolis, Minn.), 11 a.m. CDT
IOWA CITY, Iowa -- The No. 29-ranked University of Michigan women's tennis team continued to steamroll through its competition, claiming its sixth shutout victory in seven matches with a 7-0 blanking of No. 45-ranked Iowa Saturday afternoon (March 29) at the Hawkeye Tennis & Recreation Complex. The Wolverines (9-4, 2-1 Big Ten) captured their seventh straight doubles point and earned a singles sweep for the third time in 10 days to clinch their third straight win over the Hawkeyes (10-4, 1-2 Big Ten). U-M has now won 41 of its last 42 singles matches dating back to Feb. 22.
Junior Lindsey Howard(Richmond, Va./Mills E. Godwin HS) and freshman Rika Tatsuno(Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif./Palos Verdes Peninsula HS) remained undefeated (3-0) at the No. 3 doubles position, posting a dominating 8-2 victory over Kayla Berry and Kelcie Klockenga to give Michigan the early advantage.
After Iowa evened up things with an 8-3 win at No. 2, junior Chisako Sugiyama(Parsippany, N.J./The Montclair Kimberley Academy) and sophomore Tania Mahtani(Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif./Palos Verdes Peninsula HS) secured U-M's ninth doubles point of the season with an 8-5 triumph over Alexis Dorr and Jacqueline Lee at No. 1. Sugiyama and Mahtani, ranked 46th nationally, hold a 9-4 record at the top spot and have won five straight matches.
Freshman Denise Muresan(Lincolnshire, Ill./Adlai E. Stevenson HS) picked up her eighth straight win with a 6-3, 6-1 decision over Dorr at No. 3 singles, which gave the Wolverines a 2-0 lead. Seven of Muresan's nine dual-match victories have come in straight sets. Sugiyama also pushed her winning streak to eight matches by defeating Lee at No. 1, 6-3, 6-1. Sugiyama has not dropped a set since Feb. 15.
Howard provided the clincher with a resounding 6-1, 6-3 victory over Berry at No. 6. Howard has won nine of 12 matches in dual-match play, including seven straight. Tatsuno also continued her stellar play, closing out Klockenga by a 6-4, 6-4 score at No. 5 for her seventh straight win. Tatsuno has not surrendered a set since Feb. 17.
Mahtani outlasted Lynne Poggensee-Wei by a 6-1, 4-6, 6-2 count for her third straight victory at the No. 4 slot. Mahtani has been triumphant in six of her last seven outings. After dropping a set for the first time in six matches, freshman Whitney Taney(Edina, Minn./Edina HS) stormed back to earn a 4-6, 6-1, 6-1 win over Milica Veselinovic at No. 2 that completed the singles sweep for Michigan. Taney has won seven of eight at the second position, including six straight.
The Wolverines will close out their road trip tomorrow (Sunday, March 30) against Minnesota. The match is scheduled for an 11 a.m. CDT start at the Baseline Tennis Center in Minneapolis, Minn.
Following are match-by-match results:
Singles
No. 1 -- #66 Chisako Sugiyama (U-M) d. Jacqueline Lee, 6-3, 6-1
No. 2 -- Whitney Taney (U-M) d. Milica Veselinovic, 4-6, 6-1, 6-1
No. 3 -- Denise Muresan (U-M) d. Alexis Dorr, 6-3, 6-1
No. 4 -- #106 Tania Mahtani (U-M) d. Lynne Poggensee-Wei, 6-1, 4-6, 6-2
No. 5 -- Rika Tatsuno (U-M) d. Kelcie Klockenga, 6-4, 6-4
No. 6 -- Lindsey Howard (U-M) d. Kayla Berry, 6-1, 6-3
Doubles
No. 1 -- #46 Mahtani/Sugiyama (U-M) d. Dorr/Lee, 8-5
No. 2 -- Poggensee-Wei/Veselinovic (Iowa) d. Muresan/Taney, 8-3
No. 3 -- Howard/Tatsuno (U-M) d. Berry/Klockenga, 8-2
Order of Completion: Doubles 3-2-1, Singles 3-1-6-5-4-2
Contact: Marc Ressler (734) 763-4423
Players Mentioned
