Michigan
Iowa
Michigan Blows Past Iowa in Big Ten Quarterfinals
4/25/2008 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
Site: West Lafayette, Ind. (Schwartz Tennis Center)
Event: Big Ten Championship
Score: #21 Michigan 4, Iowa 0
Records: U-M (17-4), Iowa (13-10)
Next U-M Match: Saturday, April 26 -- vs. Indiana at Big Ten Championship (West Lafayette, Ind.), 2 p.m.
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -- The No. 21-ranked University of Michigan women's tennis team opened the Big Ten Conference Championship with a 4-0 quarterfinal victory over No. 57-ranked Iowa Friday afternoon (April 25) atPurdue University'sSchwartz Tennis Center. The No. 2 seed Wolverines (17-4) captured the doubles point and posted straight-set wins in the first three singles matches completed to advance to the semifinals for the fifth straight season.
U-M's No. 44-ranked doubles tandem of junior Chisako Sugiyama(Parsippany, N.J./The Montclair Kimberley Academy) and sophomore Tania Mahtani(Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif./Palos Verdes Peninsula HS) got the Maize and Blue off to a fast start with an 8-1 triumph over Alexis Door and Jacqueline Lee at No. 1. It was Sugiyama and Mahtani's 13th straight victory; the pair improved to a team-best 21-6 overall in 2007-08.
Junior Lindsey Howard(Richmond, Va./Mills E. Godwin HS) and freshman Denise Muresan(Lincolnshire, Ill./Adlai E. Stevenson HS) gave Michigan a 1-0 lead with their 8-4 win over Kelcie Klockenga and Lynne Poggensee-Wei at No. 3. The Wolverine duo has been victorious in 13 of 17 matches, including seven straight.
Competing at the conference championship for the first time in their careers, Muresan and fellow freshman Rika Tatsuno(Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif./Palos Verdes Peninsula HS) provided U-M with a comfortable 3-0 advantage with a pair of wins in singles play. Tatsuno finished off Klockenga at No. 5 (6-1, 6-3) for Michigan's second team point, while Muresan defeated Dorr at No. 3 (6-2, 6-1) to bring the Wolverines within one team point of advancing to the semifinals. With their victories, Muresan and Tatsuno extended their winning streaks to 16 and 15 matches, respectively.
Sugiyama -- ranked 49th nationally -- closed the door on Iowa with a 6-0, 7-6(2) decision over Lee at No. 1. It was Sugiyama's team-leading 25th overall singles victory, and her 17th win in 20 tries at the top spot. She has defeated her last 16 opponents in straight sets.
The Wolverines will meet No. 3 seed Indiana in the semifinals Saturday (April 26). The match is scheduled for a 2 p.m. start at the Schwartz Tennis Center.
Following are match-by-match results:
Singles
No. 1 -- #49 Chisako Sugiyama (U-M) d. Jacqueline Lee, 6-0, 7-6(2)
No. 2 -- Whitney Taney (U-M) vs. #90 Milica Veselinovic, (not played)
No. 3 -- Denise Muresan (U-M) d. Alexis Dorr, 6-2, 6-1
No. 4 -- #117 Tania Mahtani (U-M) vs. Lynne Poggensee-Wei, 2-0 (unfinished)
No. 5 -- Rika Tatsuno (U-M) d. Kelcie Klockenga, 6-1, 6-3
No. 6 -- Lindsey Howard (U-M) vs. Kayla Berry, 2-1 (unfinished)
Doubles
No. 1 -- #44 Mahtani/Sugiyama (U-M) d. Dorr/Lee, 8-1
No. 2 -- Allie Shafner/Taney (U-M) vs. Berry/Veselinovic, 6-5 (unfinished)
No. 3 -- Howard/Muresan (U-M) d. Klockenga/Poggensee-Wei, 8-4
Order of Completion: Doubles 1-3, Singles 5-3-1
Contact: Marc Ressler (734) 763-4423
Players Mentioned
