Michigan
Iowa
Wolverines Defeat Iowa for Sixth Straight Win
3/27/2010 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
March 27, 2010
Site: Iowa City, Iowa (Hawkeye Tennis and Recreation Complex)
Score: #6 Michigan 6, #18 Iowa 1
Records: U-M (12-3, 2-0 Big Ten), Iowa (10-3, 0-2 Big Ten)
Next U-M Match: Sunday, March 28 -- at Minnesota (Minneapolis, Minn.), Noon CDT
IOWA CITY, Iowa - The No. 6-ranked University of Michigan women's tennis team knocked off its sixth top-25 opponent of the season, defeating No. 18 Iowa, 6-1, in Big Ten Conference action on Saturday afternoon (March 27) at the Hawkeye Tennis and Recreation Complex.
As has been the case all but once this season, the Wolverines started off the match winning the doubles point. U-M swept all three matches, not allowing the Hawkeyes more than three games in any match. Juniors Whitney Taney (Edina, Minn./Edina) and Rika Tatsuno (Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif./Palos Verdes Peninsula) knocked off the No. 23 duo of Sonja Molnar and Merel Beelen at No. 1 (8-2) to clinch the point for the Wolverines.
In singles action, junior Denise Muresan (Lincolnshire, Ill./Adlai E. Stevenson) was the first Wolverine done, making quick work of No. 74 Molnar in a 6-2, 6-0 win. Tatsuno then followed with a straight-set win at No. 3 (6-4, 6-3) before sophomore Michelle Sulahian (Valley Glen, Calif./Campbell Hall School) rallied for a 3-6, 6-1, 6-0 triumph at No. 6 to seal the Michigan win.
After the deciding match, Taney completed her come-from-behind win at No. 2 by knocking off Lynne Poggensee-Wei (4-6, 6-1, 6-0). Freshman Mimi Nguyen (Long Beach, Calif./Millikan) completed the afternoon on a winning note for the Maize and Blue with a three-set win at No. 4
Michigan completes its two-match weekend with another Big Ten match tomorrow (Sunday, March 28) at No. 53 Minnesota. Doubles are slated to begin at noon CDT.
Following are match-by-match results
Singles
No. 1 - No. 26 Denise Muresan (U-M) vs. No. 74 Sonja Molnar (Iowa), 6-2, 6-0
No. 2 - Whitney Taney (U-M) d. Lynne Poggensee-Wei (Iowa), 4-6, 6-1, 6-0
No. 3 - Rika Tatsuno (U-M) d. Merel Beelen (Iowa), 6-4, 6-3
No. 4 - Mimi Nguyen (U-M) d. Jessica Young (Iowa), 6-1, 6-7, 6-1
No. 5 -Kelcie Klockenga (Iowa) d. Tania Mahtani (U-M), 7-5, 4-6, 10-7
No. 6 - Michelle Sulahian (U-M) d. Alexis Dorr (Iowa), 3-6, 6-1, 6-0
Doubles
No. 1 - Taney/Tatsuno (U-M) d. No. 23 Molnar/Beelen (Iowa), 8-2
No. 2 - Nguyen/Sulahian (U-M) d. Young/Klockenga (Iowa), 8-3
No. 3 - Mahtani/Muresan (U-M) d. Poggensee-Wei/Dorr (Iowa), 8-3
Order of Completion: Doubles 2-1-3; Singles 1-3-6-2-5-4
N O T E S
• Michigan is 27-11 all-time versus Iowa.
• The Hawkeyes are the ninth top-25 team Michigan has faced this season. U-M is 6-3 against the top 25.
• U-M has won six in a row over Iowa.
• The match was played outside, only the fourth time U-M has played outdoors all season.
• Whitney Taney played at No. 2 singles for the first time this season.
• Tania Mahtani and Denise Muresan are 6-0 at No. 3 doubles.
• Five Wolverines have winning streaks of at least four matches: Mimi Nguyen (7), Whitney Taney (6), Michelle Sulahian (5), Denise Muresan (4) and Rika Tatsuno (4).
• When winning the doubles points, U-M is 12-2. The only match the Wolverines did not win the point was against Florida (Feb. 12).
• It is the fifth time this season U-M won all three doubles matches.
• Denise Muresan picked up her 10th dual-match win of the season. U-M now has four players with double-digit wins. Muresan joined Mimi Nguyen (13), Whitney Taney (12) and Michelle Sulahian (11).
• U-M extended its season-best win streak to six matches.
Q U O T E S
Head coach Ronni Bernstein
On today's match ... "I think for playing on the road, this was a great win. We played outside, which is really good for us because that is where we are going to be in May. To play a tough team like Iowa today outdoors, this early in the season, was something we needed. We were excited today about the way we competed. For Whitney (Taney), Michelle (Sulahian) and Tania (Mahtani) to come back and win their second sets after dropping the first was big. It is a long season and for us to be battling like that and not giving away matches in two sets was good to see. And Denise (Muresan) played a really great match today. She was the first one off the court, which always gives us a big boost. She was playing their best player, and Molnar is really solid. It was nice to see Denise control the match like that today."
On playing Minnesota tomorrow ... "We will be ready for Minnesota. Iowa was really good today. We were excited we were able to pull this out today. We know that every Big Ten team is out to get us and it will be a really big match tomorrow. Minnesota already beat Iowa earlier this season, so we are expecting a tough match-up tomorrow."
Contact: Sarah VanMetre (734) 763-4423
Players Mentioned
