The Michigan women’s tennis team started this season slowly, with a 2-4 record.
But the Wolverines have been rolling lately.
Michigan (3-1 Big Ten, 10-4 overall) continued its momentum with 7-0 wins over Iowa on Saturday and Minnesota on Sunday. The pair of shutout wins gave the Wolverines four straight sweeps and eight straight victories.
The younger players on Michigan’s roster have adjusted to collegiate play, and the team has reached a higher level of competitiveness.
“We struggled in the beginning because the girls were young and weren’t adjusted to college tennis yet, and we had a brutal schedule,” Michigan Coach Ronni Bernstein said.
The Wolverines were led this weekend by strong play from junior Chisako Sugiyama, who’s riding an eight-match winning streak in singles.
Bernstein also lauded freshmen Denise Muresan, who has also won eight straight singles matches, and Whitney Taney for their dominating play over the weekend.
“Whitney also has been playing really well lately, and she’s been anchoring our number two position all year,” Bernstein said.
Michigan has won by relying on its fundamentals, but Bernstein insists the team will continue to work on the little things.
“This week we plan on working on doubles, because I think we’ve been a little flat,” Bernstein said. “We’re going to try and mix things up a little bit and focus on one match at a time.”