In a fully loaded tournament, four top-25 teams competed at the Varsity Tennis Center in a three day tournament this weekend. And the No. 20 Michigan women’s tennis team surpassed expectations.
Doubles were a huge success for the Wolverines. Heading into the third day of the tournament, Michigan dropped one doubles match and outscored their defeated opponents 40-19. On the final day, the Wolverines thouroughly dominated the No. 11 Tennessee Volunteers in doubles with pin-pointed precision on their passing shots, claiming both of the doubles matches.
“I was extremely happy with our results this past weekend,” Michigan coach Ronni Bernstein said. “Our doubles were extremely solid against three of the top teams in the country and we had some really good results in singles as well.”
At the individual level, the Wolverines further exceeded expectations. After winning the doubles overall by three points with sophomore Michelle Sulahain, freshman Mimi Nguyen continued her career day by racking up big wins in singles against Washington and Miami (Fla.). She was only one of only two Wolverines to do so.
In singles, Michigan took five out of seven matches against Washington and four out of six against a tough Tennessee lineup.
Michigan’s top singles player, junior Denise Muresan, utilized powerful cross-court forehands and defeated her second top-10 foe of the season by steamrolling the No. 6 player in the nation, Tennessee’s Caitlin Whorisky, 7-5, 6-1. Muresan went on to play two more close matches, losing the first by a break in both sets to Washington’s 11th-ranked Venise Chan, 3-6, 5-7.
Muresan then played Miami’s heavy-hitting Laura Vallverdu in a match full of controversial line calls. Muresan split sets 2-6, 6-0. In the third and final set in the first game, Muresan failed to convert on crucial break points on Vallverdu’s serve. Those failed opportunities and Vallerverdu’s ripped groundstrokes and big serves led to her loss of the final set 6-1.
Junior Whitney Taney continued her hot streak, increasing her record to 8-3. Taney and senior Tania Mahtani claimed the most points for Michigan in singles.
This season, Michigan returns all but two players, five of whom are upperclassmen. And in the first tournament of the season, the team’s success was impressive.
“We are looking very good early on, but we need to continue working hard and improving every day,” Bernstein said. “We look forward to getting started next weekend against Western Michigan.”