Michigan Women's Tennis: Michigan stomps Ohio State:

I usually do not post about women's tennis, but figure they need a little attention especially when you beat Ohio State.

from MGoBlue.com
http://www.mgoblue.com/tennis-w/article.aspx?id=134104

Michigan Knocks Off Ohio State for 13th Straight Win
April 18, 2008

Site: Ann Arbor, Mich. (Varsity Tennis Center)
Score: #23 Michigan 6, Ohio State 1Records: U-M (15-4, 8-1 Big Ten), Ohio State (18-6, 5-4 Big Ten)
Next U-M Match: Sunday, April 20 -- vs. Indiana (Varsity Tennis Center), 11 a.m.

ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The No. 23-ranked University of Michigan women's tennis team extended its winning streak to 13 matches with an impressive 6-1 victory over No. 33-ranked Ohio State Friday (April 18) on the Varsity Tennis Center outdoor courts. The Wolverines (15-4, 8-1 Big Ten) squeezed out a tight doubles point and followed with wins on five of six singles courts to secure their fifth straight victory over the Buckeyes (18-6, 5-4 Big Ten). U-M is one win away from completing its first undefeated season at the Varsity Tennis Center since 1997 (10-0).

Ohio State struck first in doubles play, as Julie Blackmore and Cami Hubbs won five of the first seven games en route to an 8-4 victory over freshmen Whitney Taney (Edina, Minn./Edina HS) and Rika Tatsuno (Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif./Palos Verdes Peninsula HS) at No. 2. U-M's No. 44-ranked duo of junior Chisako Sugiyama (Parsippany, N.J./The Montclair Kimberley Academy) and sophomore Tania Mahtani (Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif./Palos Verdes Peninsula HS) drew the Wolverines even with a close 9-7 triumph over Angela DiPastina and Christina Keesey at No. 1. The Buckeye tandem erased a 6-2 deficit by claiming five of the next six games to tie the match at 7-7, but Sugiyama and Mahtani broke OSU's serve and then held to clinch their 11th straight win. The Michigan pair is 15-4 at the top spot and will complete a perfect Big Ten Conference season at No. 1 with a victory over Indiana on Sunday (April 20).

Trailing 4-1 to Paloma Escobedo and Caitlin O'Keefe at No. 3, junior Lindsey Howard (Richmond, Va./Mills E. Godwin HS) and freshman Denise Muresan (Lincolnshire, Ill./Adlai E. Stevenson HS) battled their way back and took a 7-5 advantage. With the score knotted at 7-7, the two teams exchanged breaks to send the match to a tiebreaker, where Howard and Muresan hung tough and gutted out an 8-6 win. The Wolverine tandem has won 11 of 15 matches together in 2007-08, including five straight.

A pair of three-set singles victories propelled Michigan to a 3-0 lead. Howard got off to a slow start but showed her resiliency in a 0-6, 6-0, 6-1 win over O'Keefe at No. 6. Howard holds a 14-4 dual-match record, including a 7-2 mark against league opposition. Tatsuno's 13th straight victory -- a 6-2, 3-6, 6-1 decision over Keesey at No. 5 -- brought U-M within one point of clinching its 10th home win of the season. Tatsuno carries a 21-10 overall record in 2007-08, including a dual-match mark of 14-5.

Sugiyama, ranked 49th nationally, continued her quest for an undefeated Big Ten season at No. 1 by posting a 7-5, 6-2 victory over DiPastina. Sugiyama leads the team in overall singles wins with 23 and has dropped just three of 18 matches at the top spot this season. She has not surrendered a singles set during her current 14-match winning streak.

The Wolverines were victorious in two of the three remaining matches. Muresan used a late surge to knock off Julie Blackmore by a 7-5, 7-5 score at No. 3. Muresan has also won 14 straight and remains undefeated in Big Ten play at 9-0. Taney capped off the team scoring with a solid 6-7(4), 6-4, 1-0(7) comeback win over Escobedo at No. 2. Taney has won 12 of 14 at the second position and needs just one more victory to become the third U-M freshman this year to achieve 20 wins.

Michigan closes out the regular season Sunday (April 20) with an 11 a.m. match against Indiana at the Varsity Tennis Center, with the winner earning a second-place finish in the Big Ten standings and a No. 2 seed in the conference tournament. The Wolverines will honor senior Allie Shafner (Englewood, Colo./Cherry Creek HS) prior to the match against the Hoosiers.

Following are match-by-match results:
Singles
No. 1 -- #49 Chisako Sugiyama (U-M) d. Angela DiPastina, 7-5, 6-2
No. 2 -- Whitney Taney (U-M) d. Paloma Escobedo, 6-7(4), 6-4, 1-0(7)
No. 3 -- Denise Muresan (U-M) d. Julie Blackmore, 7-5, 7-5
No. 4 -- Cami Hubbs (OSU) d. #116 Tania Mahtani, 3-6, 6-4, 6-3
No. 5 -- Rika Tatsuno (U-M) d. Christina Keesey, 6-2, 3-6, 6-1
No. 6 -- Lindsey Howard (U-M) d. Caitlin O'Keefe, 0-6, 6-0, 6-1

Doubles
No. 1 -- #44 Mahtani/Sugiyama (U-M) d. DiPastina/Keesey, 9-7
No. 2 -- Blackmore/Hubbs (OSU) d. Taney/Tatsuno, 8-4
No. 3 -- Howard/Muresan (U-M) d. Escobedo/O'Keefe, 9-8(6)

Order of Completion: Doubles 2-1-3, Singles 6-5-1-4-3-2