May 9, 2008

Agate

CLEMSON, S.C. - Michigan and Furman squared off at Clemson University's Hoke Sloan Tennis Center on Friday in the first round of the NCAA Women's Tennis Championships, with the Wolverines taking down the Paladins, 4-0.

"It means a lot to our school to return to the NCAA Tournament - it's one of our team goals," commented head coach Debbie Southern. "We were excited to play Michigan since we've never played them before. They kept more balls in play that we did and were more aggressive. They hit big shots and cover the court well. I just thought that they were a little bit better than us today."

Michigan took the doubles point, with the nation's 40th ranked Wolverine duo of Tania Mahtani and Chisako Sugiyama taking down Furman's Laura Gioia and Natasa Manojlovic, 8-4. Michigan clinched the point when Whitney Taney and Rika Tatsuno defeated the Paladins' Monica Arguello and Lauren Osborne, 8-3.

In singles, Michigan's Lindsey Howard downed Natasa Manojlovic at flight six 6-4, 6-1 to win the first singles point. #112 Tania Mahtani beat Furman's Jessica Preeg 6-2, 6-4 at flight four to earn the team's third point. Whitney Taney then took out Monica Arguello at flight two 6-4, 6-1 to clinch the match for the Wolverines. At the number one singles spot, Furman's Laura Gioia earned a first-set win over 50th-ranked Chisako Sugiyama.

The Paladins end the 2008 season with a 19-6 overall record, while Michigan improves to 19-5.