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'M' women's tennis aims for fresh start

Two weekends -- four tough defeats.

This weekend the Michigan women's tennis team has a chance to turn things around as it ventures out for two conference matches.

The Wolverines will make their first stop 2 p.m. Friday in Champaign to take on Illinois. The following day Michigan will head to West Lafayette for a dual match against Purdue.

The trip comes at a time when Michigan could be its most vulnerable. The team has lost four matches in a row and seven of its past eight. To say that the month of March was cruel to the Wolverines is an understatement.

April, however, may tell a different story. Only conference teams remain on Michigan's schedule, and the Big Ten championships round out the season in the last weekend of the month. The fact that the Wolverines have played many ranked teams could help in their quest to finish strongly. Also, Michigan has already faced the top two Big Ten teams, Wisconsin and Northwestern.

"Even though we haven't experienced the success that we would have liked, it's important to realize that we have played tough competition," Michigan coach Bitsy Ritt said. "Now we are looking for a fresh start in April."

Illinois poses an interesting challenge for the Wolverines.

The Illini have played many of the same teams Michigan has faced this season. The Illini didn't do so well in California three weeks ago, but they handily disposed of Western Michigan earlier in the season. The Wolverines came away with similar results.

Illinois was No. 47 in the country until its recent loss to Minnesota. Michigan dropped out of the top 50 during the early part of its four-game slide.

The Illini are still making changes in their lineup; coach Jennifer Roberts swapped players among the top two doubles teams. The doubles are not getting the job done, which is apparent in the unusually late changes.

Michigan, on the other hand, has been forced to make small adjustments of its own due to injuries.

The Wolverines may be able to exploit the Illini's changes with their recent doubles success. The top tandem, Sarah Cyganiak and Sora Moon, leaped into yesterday's rankings. Originally unranked, the duo is now No. 26 after winning four straight and nine out of 10.

The biggest difference between Michigan and Illinois may be the records. The Wolverines are 2-2 in the Big Ten, 3-8 overall. The Illini are 4-1 and 9-8.

Purdue is a team that could cause problems for Michigan. The Boilermakers (3-1, 9-3) return all six starters from a year ago. They were the most improved team in the Big Ten last year.

The top singles match, Mary Beth Maggart against Cyganiak, looks to be in the Wolverines' favor. Maggart is 4-6 and not ranked, while Cyganiak is 8-3 and No. 76 in the nation.

Doubles have not been a strong point for Purdue. Michigan will try to take advantage of that against the Boilermakers as well. Purdue's solid singles play could hurt the struggling Wolverines, though. The Michigan singles players haven't been able to come up on top as of late.

The two matches, especially the first against Illinois, give Michigan a chance to rebound and gain momentum for the Big Ten Championships. Two losses could be fatal.

"It's like a new season," Ritt said. "We're 2-2 in the Big Ten and we only have Big Ten matches left.

"We're not going to give up. We're not gonna quit."