April 9, 2009
ANN ARBOR, Mich. - Texas A&M's Christi Liles recorded a straight-set singles victory, but it wasn't enough as No. 20 Michigan topped the 33rd-ranked Aggies, 6-1, today at the William Clay Ford Outdoor Courts.
A&M falls to 11-7 after having its seven-match winning streak snapped, its longest winning streak since 2007. The Wolverines improve to 12-5 and get their first win against A&M after dropping the first two matches in the all-time series.
"We lost to a better team today," A&M coach Bobby Kleinecke said. "Michigan played a great match. From the start of the doubles throughout the singles, they came out and took it to us. We had opportunities that we did not take, and that was the point where we just couldn't make something of the match. Anytime we got a lead, they also picked up their game."
Michigan won two of three doubles matches to take a 1-0 lead. It was the first time the Aggies dropped the point in eight matches.
Michigan's Whitney Taney and Rika Tatsuno reeled off four straight games to close out an 8-3 victory over Stephanie Davidson and Morgan Frank at the No. 2 line. The 26th-ranked duo of Tania Mahtani and Chisako Sugiyama then clinched the point for the Wolverines, downing Janelle Cuthbertson and Christi Liles, 8-4 at No. 1.
Elzé Potgieter prevented the sweep and improved to 13-3 in dual matches, racing out to a 6-0 lead en route to an 8-1 victory over Lindsey Howard and Denise Muresan at No. 3
In singles, Michigan won the first set on five courts and went on to win all five of those matches in straight sets. Mahtani was first off the court and put the Wolverines up, 2-0, with a 6-0, 7-6 (2) victory against Lauren Santacroce at the No. 5 line.
Sugiyama, ranked No. 67 in the nation, then recorded her school record-setting 101st career singles victory and snapped Frank's eight-match winning streak with a 6-4, 6-3 victory at No. 2.
Michelle Sulahian clinched the winning point and put Michigan ahead, 4-0, holding off Olivier, 6-4, 7-5 at the No. 6 line.
At No. 1 singles, 106th-ranked Tatsuno won her first set against Potgieter, 6-2, but trailed 4-2 in the second set before rallying to win the match and give Michigan a 5-0 lead. Tatsuno tied the second set at 6-6 to force a tiebreaker but quickly found herself trailing 6-2 in the tiebreaker. Tatsuno rallied once again, winning the tiebreaker, 11-9, after fighting off six set points.
Liles prevented a shutout and posted A&M's only point by defeating Taney, 7-6 (7), 6-2, at the No. 4 line.
With Michigan ahead, 5-1, Muresan capped the match for the Wolverines with a 6-3, 6-3 win against Cuthbertson, snapping the freshman's four-match winning streak.
"In singles, we were giving away too many first sets and then making a match out of it in the second," Kleinecke said, "but it's too little, too late at that time. That was a big difference in the match.
"This is a completely different level than what we have been playing. We've got to step it up. If we want to be up there, we've got to step it up and play there."
The Aggies will get another chance for a ranked win when they close out their non-conference regular season schedule Saturday at No. 4 Notre Dame. First serve against the Fighting Irish is slated for 9 a.m. (CDT) at the Eck Tennis Pavilion or the Courtney Tennis Center outdoor courts depending on the weather.
Live scoring of all A&M women's tennis matches is available at AggieAthletics.com.
(20) Michigan 6, (33) Texas A&M 1
April 9, 2009
William Clay Ford Outdoor Courts
Ann Arbor, Mich.
Attendance: n/a
Singles
1. (106) Rika Tatsuno (MICH) def. Elzé Potgieter (A&M), 6-2, 7-6 (9)
2. (67) Chisako Sugiyama (MICH) def. (112) Morgan Frank (A&M), 6-4, 6-3
3. Denise Muresan (MICH) def. Janelle Cuthbertson (A&M), 6-3, 6-3
4. Christi Liles (A&M) def. Whitney Taney (MICH), 7-6 (7), 6-2
5. Tania Mahtani (MICH) def. Lauren Santacroce (A&M), 6-0, 7-6 (2)
6. Michelle Sulahian (MICH) def. Sheri Olivier (A&M), 6-4, 7-5
Doubles (Michigan wins the point)
1. (26) Mahtani/Sugiyama (MICH) def. Cuthbertson/Liles (A&M), 8-4
2. Taney/Tatsuno (MICH) def. Frank/Stephanie Davidson (A&M), 8-3
3. Olivier/Potgieter (A&M) def. Lindsey Howard/Muresan (MICH), 8-1
Order of finish:
Doubles: 2, 1, 3
Singles: 5, 2, 6*, 1, 4, 3
*Clinched match
Team records:
Texas A&M: 11-7
Michigan: 12-5
2009 NCAA Tennis Championships: Texas A&M will host the 2009 NCAA Division I Men's and Women's Tennis Championships, May 14-25, at the George P. Mitchell Tennis Center in College Station, Texas. Tickets can be purchased online at 12ManFoundation.com or by calling 1-888-99-AGGIE.