Although there will be no Wolverines in Tuesday's final of the ITA Regional Championship in East Lansing this weekend, junior Tania Mahtani and the Michigan women's tennis team were pleased with their performances.

Mahtani advanced farther than any other Wolverine in the event. She ousted Northwestern freshman Stacy Lee in the first round in three sets, then cruised past Purdue junior Tatiana Ganzha. She then faced stiff competition in the third round, losing a three-setter to Illinois freshman Chelci Abajian (6-0 4-6 6-1).

"I don't think I had my best day today," Mahtani said. "My strokes were not feeling good."

After the loss, Mahtani willingly called her opponent "the better player."

Michigan coach Ronni Bernstein said she believes the team has plenty to take away from the individual performances this weekend.

"The tournament definitely gave us a good idea of where we stand," Bernstein said.

Last season, Michigan performed well in Big Ten competition but failed to advance past the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

To improve last year's finish, the ladies will need to step up in doubles. With a completely new doubles lineup, the chemistry isn't there yet, but the team hopes it can find the right combinations before the spring season.

Bernstein said starting the season with new talent at the bottom of the lineup is difficult, adding that she will probably shuffle the doubles lineup before the next match. In East Lansing, the doubles team of freshman Michelle Sulahian and sophomore Rika Tatsuno was eliminated in the first round and the tandem of sophomore Kari Wig and senior Lindsey Howard made an early exit in the second.

But behind the great vocal leaders of Mahtani and 30th-ranked senior Chisako Sugiyama, the future looks bright for the Wolverines to make some noise this spring.