Michigan
Penn State
Wolverines Blank Penn State for 10th Consecutive Win
4/10/2010 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
April 10, 2010
• Notes & Quotes | 
Site: Ann Arbor, Mich. (Varsity Tennis Center)
Score: #3 Michigan 7, Penn State 0
Records: U-M (16-3, 6-0 Big Ten), Penn State (4-13, 0-5 Big Ten)
Next U-M Match: Sunday, April 11 -- vs. Ohio State (Varsity Tennis Center), 11 a.m.
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The No. 3-ranked University of Michigan women's tennis team won all nine matches for its 10th consecutive victory, shutting out Penn State, 7-0, on Saturday (April 10) at the Varsity Tennis Center.
The Wolverines dominated the entire match, coasting through doubles before taking all six matches in straight sets in their first outdoor home match of the season.
U-M got off to a quick start in doubles play, not surrendering more than two games to the Nittany Lions on any of the three courts. The No. 3 tandem of senior Tania Mahtani (Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif./Palos Verdes Peninsula) and junior Denise Muresan (Lincolnshire, Ill./Adlai E. Stevenson) were first off the court with an 8-1 win at No. 3 and the No. 2 duo of freshman Mimi Nguyen (Long Beach, Calif./Millikan) and sophomore Michelle Sulahian (Valley Glen, Calif./Campbell Hall School) clinched the doubles point with an 8-1 victory.
The Wolverines' strong play carried over into singles, with junior Rika Tatsuno (Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif./Palos Verdes Peninsula) earning the first victory of the afternoon at No. 4 (6-0, 6-2). Moments after Tatsuno won, Sulahian came through with a 6-2, 6-2 win at No. 6 to put the Maize and Blue on top 3-0.
Nguyen provided the deciding point, winning 6-2, 6-1 at No. 3 for her 11th straight victory. Nothing changed for U-M after the match was decided as junior Whitney Taney (Edina, Minn./Edina) and Mahtani quickly put their opponents away at Nos. 2 and 5, respectively.
Muresan's match at No. 1 provided the closest contest of the day, with Muresan ultimately prevailing, 6-1, 7-5. In the second set, the No. 25-ranked junior broke Amy Simidian to go up 6-5 and had an opportunity to serve out the match. Muresan saved two game points after being down 40-15 to win the game and end the match in a 7-0 victory for the Wolverines.
U-M will wrap up its two-match home stand tomorrow (Sunday, April 11), hosting Ohio State at 11 a.m.
Following are match-by-match results:
Singles
No. 1 -- No. 25 Denise Muresan (U-M) d. Amy Simidian (PSU), 6-1, 7-5
No. 2 -- Whitney Taney (U-M) d. Lauren McCarthy (PSU), 6-1, 6-1
No. 3 -- Mimi Nguyen (U-M) d. Maria Prishlyak (PSU), 6-2, 6-1
No. 4 -- Rika Tatsuno (U-M) d. Denisa Zobeideh (PSU), 6-0, 6-2
No. 5 -- Tania Mahtani (U-M) d. Sarah Henderson (PSU), 6-1, 6-1
No. 6 -- Michelle Sulahian (U-M) d. Sarah Lotto (PSU), 6-2, 6-2
Doubles
No. 1 -- No. 36 Taney/Tatsuno (U-M) d. Simidian/Lotto (PSU), 8-2
No. 2 -- Nguyen/Sulahian (U-M) d. McCarthy/Zobeideh (PSU), 8-1
No. 3 -- Mahtani/Muresan (U-M) d. Prishlyak/Stracar (PSU), 8-1
Order of Completion: Doubles 3-2-1, Singles 4-6-3-2-5-1
• It was the first outdoor match at the Varsity Tennis Center this season.
• Denise Muresan and Tania Mahtani are 10-0 at the No. 3 doubles slot.
• Denise Muresan won her eighth match in a row, moving her record to 29-10. Her 29 season wins rank fourth on the single-season list.
• Denise Muresan and Mimi Nguyen remained perfect in Big Ten action (6-0).
• U-M has not dropped a doubles match in Big Ten action.
• Michigan is 16-2 when winning the doubles point.
• Ronni Bernstein remained perfect against Penn State (3-0).
• Whitney Taney won her 20th singles match of the campaign, reaching the plateau for the second time in her career (2007-08).
Q U O T E S
Michigan Head coach Ronni Bernstein
On the win ... "It is great to be home because we have been on the road so long. It was a good win for us because every match is big right now in Big Ten play. We talk about coming out every day, competing from the beginning. I think that was what we did today, top to bottom.
On the doubles play ... "I think it gives the girls confidence. We are really disciplined in our doubles play. They don't panic because we put them in so many different situations in practice. When they are confident, like they are right now, it carries over into matches. We got really good starts on all the courts and just went from there. We played some really good doubles today."
On moving Mimi Nguyen to No. 3 ... "I feel like we are interchangeable. She has been playing great, and it had nothing to do with Rika (Tatsuno). I just wanted to change it up and see how she responded out there. She stepped up, just like everyone did today."
On tomorrow's match ... "I expect a really tough Ohio State team. We know them pretty well and had a close match with them last year. They are going to come in here and come after us. We talked about it and are ready for it. We are going to have to play our best tennis if we are going to come out with a win."
Contact: Sarah VanMetre (734) 763-4423
