Michigan
Ohio State
Wolverines Dominate Buckeyes for Historic Home Victory
4/11/2010 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
April 11, 2010
Site: Ann Arbor, Mich. (Varsity Tennis Center)
Score: #3 Michigan 6, Ohio State 1
Records: U-M (17-3, 7-0 Big Ten), Ohio State (16-6, 3-3 Big Ten)
Next U-M Match: Saturday, April 17 -- at Purdue (West Lafayette, Ind.), Noon
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The No. 3-ranked University of Michigan women's tennis team picked up the program's 100th win at the Varsity Tennis Center and ran its winning streak to 11 matches with a 6-1 triumph over Ohio State on Sunday (April 11).
U-M got off to a slow start in doubles, as all three Michigan duos were broken early. The No. 36 pairing of juniors Whitney Taney (Edina, Minn./Edina) and Rika Tatsuno (Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif./Palos Verdes Peninsula) found themselves down 4-1 before winning seven of the next eight games for the 8-5 win at No. 1. At No. 2, sophomore Michelle Sulahian (Valley Glen, Calif./Campbell Hall School) and freshman Mimi Nguyen (Long Beach, Calif./Millikan) battled back from a 7-3 deficit before OSU came away with an 8-6 win.
The No. 3 match proved to be the deciding one, as senior Tania Mahtani (Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif./Palos Verdes Peninsula) and Denise Muresan (Lincholnshire, Ill./Adlai E. Stevenson) won, 8-5. Down 3-1 in the early stages of the match, the Wolverine pair ripped off six straight wins to take a 7-3 advantage, holding on for the 8-5 victory to send U-M into singles play ahead, 1-0.
Sulahian was the first Wolverine off the court with a 6-3, 6-3 win at No. 6 to put the home team on top, 2-0. U-M increased its lead to 3-0 after Tatsuno battled back for a 6-4, 6-4 win at No. 3. In the first set, she was down 3-0 before winning six of the next seven games for the win. It was more of the same in the second, as she found herself down 4-2 before rallying for the 6-4 victory.
Nguyen clinched the match at No. 4 (6-4, 6-4) with Muresan following right behind her at No. 1, defeating No. 66 Kirsten Flower, 6-1, 3-6, 6-1. Mahtani battled back after a 6-1 first-set loss to record a win at No. 5 (1-6, 6-3, 7-5) to give the Wolverines a 6-0 lead before OSU grabbed its lone point of the afternoon at No. 2.
The Wolverines hit the road for the final time during the regular season next Saturday (April 17), traveling to West Lafayette, Ind., to take on the Purdue Boilermakers. Doubles are slated to begin at noon.
Following are match-by-match results:
Singles
No. 1 -- No. 25 Denise Muresan (U-M) d. No. 66 Kirsten Flower (OSU), 6-1, 3-6, 6-1
No. 2 -- Paloma Escobedo (OSU) d. Whitney Taney (U-M), 6-3, 5-7, 6-3
No. 3 -- Rika Tatsuno (U-M) d. Kelsey Haviland (OSU), 6-4, 6-4
No. 4 -- Mimi Nguyen (U-M) d. Gabby Steele (OSU), 6-4, 6-4
No. 5 -- Tania Mahtani (U-M) d. Christina Keesey (OSU), 1-6, 6-3, 7-5
No. 6 -- Michelle Sulahian (U-M) d. Fidan Manashirov (OSU), 6-3, 6-3
Doubles
No. 1 -- No. 36 Taney/Tatsuno (U-M) d. Haviland/Hubbs (OSU), 8-5
No. 2 -- Escobedo/Keesey (OSU) d. Nguyen/Sulahian (U-M), 8-6
No. 3 -- Muresan/Mahtani (U-M) d. Steele/Manashirov (OSU), 8-5
Order of Completion: Doubles 1-2-3; Singles 6-3-4-1-5-2
N O T E S
• Michigan is 34-13 all-time versus Ohio State.
• U-M has won the doubles point in 14 consecutive matches.
• U-M is 100-37 all-time at the Varsity Tennis Center.
• Denise Muresan and Mimi Nguyen both remained perfect in Big Ten action (7-0).
• Denise Muresan picked up her 30th win of the season. She is only the fourth Wolverine to hit the 30-win plateau and the first since Chisako Sugiyama won 30 in 2007.
• Mimi Nguyen improved to 18-2 in dual-match play, winning her 12th consecutive match today.
• Denise Muresan and Tania Mahtani are 11-0 since moving to No. 3 doubles.
• Rika Tatsuno evened her dual-match record to 10-10.
• After going 2-10 in non-conference action, Tania Mahtani is 6-1 in Big Ten play.
• The match began outside, but rain forced the action indoors. Doubles did not start until 11:40 am.
Q U O T E S
Michigan Head Coach Ronni Bernstein
On coming back from doubles deficit ... "We have confidence in our doubles. Ohio State really came out at us and played aggressive to start. Once we settled down, we took control. We do not panic and today was definitely not a time to start that. We played some good doubles after we got rolling."
On the tough 6-1 win ... "Any time you play Ohio State, they are going to play well. Today, they brought a lot of energy, especially at the beginning of doubles and singles. It was a tough win and that is how they are all going to be from here on out. We are definitely happy to come out on top today against a good team."
On the singles play ... "Everyone played pretty well today. Rika was down and came back for a great win at No. 3. Tania came back after getting beat pretty quickly in that first set to win a tough three-setter. All the way down the line, we played well. Mimi did what she needed to do, winning some really long points. Michelle got off the court quickly, which is what we need to do. I am definitely happy with everyone today."
Contact: Sarah VanMetre (734) 763-4423
