One statistic continually appears in Michigan women’s tennis coach Ronnie Bernstein’s postgame speech.

It’s not the impressive victories posted against highly ranked opponents, nor is the countdown until senior Chisako Sugiyama becomes the all-time wins leader in Wolverine history.

It’s the 1-5 record logged by the No. 3 doubles team, which consists of senior captain Lindsey Howard and sophomore Denise Muresan when Muresan isn't injured.

Although the Wolverines (4-2) cruised to a 7-0 blowout over Yale (4-1) this weekend, Howard and Muresan lost again in doubles yesterday.

The pair went 10-5 last season but has struggled this year, with Muresan rebounding from a lingering wrist injury that has kept her out for a few weeks.

"I’m not worried at all," Howard said of the pair's slow start. "We have great chemistry. We pump ourselves up, and we are good friends off the court."

The duo misfired from all spots on the court yesterday. Howard and Muresan, who had mentioned playing aggressively after Friday's 4-3 loss at Notre Dame, spent most of the match playing defense and chasing the 13 overhead winners Yale racked up on its attack.

Fittingly, Muresan double-faulted on match point, adding another loss to the stat sheet.

So far this season, the No. 3 doubles team has regularly struggled to start out strong and have had trouble recovering from slow starts.

So where is pair going to improve?

Howard was quick to point out that serving and volleying, a technique utilized by many successful double teams, "was not their game." She thinks all they need is a return to their old dynamic ways.

“We have to keep the ball deep and take balls out of the air," Howard said.

The Wolverines started their weekend in South Bend, where, according to Bernstein, the duo was “blown off the court” on Friday.

“They just did not get going at all, and right now, we are not being aggressive enough,” Bernstein said.

Asked if she had contemplated breaking up the doubles team, Bernstein immediately voiced her trust in her senior captain and the recovering Muresan.

“If improvement doesn’t happen soon, we are going to shuffle it up, but we aren’t giving up yet,” Bernstein said.

Despite the Wolverines' initially poor efforts at Notre Dame on Friday, the Wolverines clawed their way back into contention in South Bend behind a solid singles performance by sophomore Rika Tatsuno.

Tatsuno upset Irish freshman sensation and No. 39 Kristy Frilling, 6-4, 6-4.

“Rika really played good defense," Bernstein said. "The girl hits a heavy ball.”

The Wolverines had to regroup quickly before returning to the court Sunday morning at the Varsity Tennis Center against Yale.

And despite squeezing by in doubles competition and sweeping Yale in singles competition, Michigan's No. 3 doubles team still came out on the short end.