Michigan
Indiana
Michigan Battles Back to Beat Indiana in Big Ten Semifinals
4/26/2008 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
Site: West Lafayette, Ind. (Schwartz Tennis Center)
Event: Big Ten Championship (Semifinals)
Score: #21 Michigan 4, Indiana 2
Records: U-M (18-4), Indiana (20-7)
Next U-M Match: Sunday, April 27 -- vs. #1 Northwestern at Big Ten Championship (West Lafayette, Ind.), Noon
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -- The No. 21-ranked University of Michigan women's tennis team will make its fourth straight appearance in the Big Ten Conference Championship title match after earning a hard-fought 4-2 semifinal victory over No. 40-ranked Indiana Saturday afternoon (April 26) at Purdue University's Schwartz Tennis Center. The No. 2 seed Wolverines (18-4) dropped a tightly contested doubles point for the first time in 16 matches but rebounded to post wins in four of the first five singles matches completed and clinch their second victory over the No. 3 seed Hoosiers (20-7) in seven days. It marked the second straight year that U-M defeated Indiana by a 4-2 score in the semifinals of the league tournament.
The Maize and Blue, which has won a program-record 16 straight matches, will meet No. 1-ranked and top-seeded Northwestern (25-1) in the championship match Sunday (April 27) at noon. It will mark the fourth straight season that the two programs have met in the final, with the Wildcats recording a 4-1 victory in 2005, a 4-2 triumph in 2006, and a 4-0 win in 2007. U-M will look to end Northwestern's nine-year title streak at the conference tournament.
Junior Lindsey Howard(Richmond, Va./Mills E. Godwin HS) and freshman Denise Muresan(Lincolnshire, Ill./Adlai E. Stevenson HS) provided Michigan with the early momentum thanks to a dominating 8-1 victory over Sigrid Fischer and Myriam Sopel at No. 3 doubles. Howard and Muresan have won 10 of 14 dual matches together, including eight straight.
After the Hoosiers evened the doubles competition with an 8-5 triumph at No. 2, Brianna Williams and Ekaterina Zapadalova squeezed out a 9-8(1) decision over U-M's No. 44-ranked tandem of 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. It was the Wolverine duo's first loss in 14 matches.
The Indiana lead was short-lived, however, as freshman Rika Tatsuno(Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif./Palos Verdes Peninsula HS) opened singles play with a resounding 6-0, 6-1 triumph over Lindsey Stuckey to extend her winning streak to 16 matches. Sugiyama put Michigan in front for the first time with her commanding 6-1, 6-2 win over Alba Berdala at No. 1. Sugiyama, who has won 17 straight, has defeated 18 of 21 opponents at the top spot this season.
Williams knotted the score at 2-2 by posting a 7-5, 6-0 victory over Howard at No. 6, but Muresan stepped up and completed a solid 2-6, 6-1, 6-0 comeback win over Charlotte Martin at No. 3 to put U-M within one point of clinching a berth in the title match. Muresan also has won 17 straight and holds a perfect 12-0 mark at the third position in her first year.
Mahtani's clutch 6-4, 6-4 decision over Fischer at No. 4 sealed the deal for the Maize and Blue. Mahtani's match-clinching victory guaranteed her the second straight 20-win season of her young career (20-15). She has been victorious in nine of 11 matches since moving to the fourth slot on March 19.
Freshman Whitney Taney(Edina, Minn./Edina HS) was on the verge of completing a comeback win over Zapadalova at No. 2 when the match was decided (2-6, 6-0, 5-3).
The Wolverines hope to earn their second Big Ten Championship title when they face the Wildcats tomorrow. Michigan claimed its first conference tournament championship in 1997.
Following are match-by-match results:
Singles
No. 1 -- #49 Chisako Sugiyama (U-M) d. Alba Berdala, 6-1, 6-2
No. 2 -- Whitney Taney (U-M) vs. Ekaterina Zapadalova, 2-6, 6-0, 5-3 (unfinished)
No. 3 -- Denise Muresan (U-M) d. Charlotte Martin, 2-6, 6-1, 6-0
No. 4 -- #117 Tania Mahtani (U-M) d. Sigrid Fischer, 6-4, 6-4
No. 5 -- Rika Tatsuno (U-M) d. Lindsey Stuckey, 6-0, 6-1
No. 6 -- Brianna Williams (IU) d. Lindsey Howard, 7-5, 6-0
Doubles
No. 1 -- Williams/Zapadalova (Indiana) d. #44 Mahtani/Sugiyama, 9-8(1)
No. 2 -- Berdala/Stuckey (Indiana) d. Allie Shafner/Taney, 8-5
No. 3 -- Howard/Muresan (U-M) d. Fischer/Myriam Sopel, 8-1
Order of Completion: Doubles 3-2-1, Singles 5-1-6-3-4
Contact: Marc Ressler (734) 763-4423
Players Mentioned
