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Blue women netters hope to end home woes

The Michigan women's tennis team will host a two-match homestand this weekend.

Usually, a team would be happy to be back after four consecutive road matches. The Wolverines, however, may be better off playing away from Liberty Sports Complex -- especially against Big Ten teams.

Michigan is 4-0 on the road in Big Ten play. In Ann Arbor, the Wolverines are winless, with losses to Wisconsin and Northwestern.

Coming off two huge road wins against Illinois and Purdue, Michigan (4-2 Big Ten, 5-8 overall) is looking to keep the month of April perfect. The next two foes will be Ohio State and Indiana.

Ohio State comes into town Saturday at 1 p.m. The Buckeyes (2-4, 11-6) have struggled in the Big Ten. They recently defeated Ball State in a close match, 4-3.

The victory marked the first back-to-back wins for Ohio State since the beginning of the season when the team started out 6-0.

Three Buckeyes have been playing consistently as of late. Senior Linda Magid, No. 4 singles, is riding a five-game win streak and boasts an overall record of 21-7 in singles play.

Magid needs only seven wins to tie Ohio State's career singles win mark.

At the second singles spot, junior Chrissy Splawnyk has claimed three out of her last four matches. Fellow junior Kerry Singer is 11-5 and could give Michigan's Jodi Brewer a tough challenge at No. 6 singles.

The top of the lineup is a considerable weakness for the Buckeyes. Carolina Nahuz is only 3-22 and the doubles tandem of Nahuz and Splawnyk is 3-11. The Wolverines have been strong at No.1, thanks to the play of junior Sarah Cyganiak. Cyganiak has slipped to No. 76 in singles but is still 10-3 this season. The combination of Cyganiak with Sora Moon gives Michigan a formidable one-two punch, especially at doubles, where the No. 26 duo is 13-4.

Sunday could be a tougher task for the Wolverines. Indiana is the nine-time defending Big Ten champ. The Hoosiers haven't been too successful in non-conference play, but they have maintained their strong conference play.

Indiana just defeated No. 31 Minnesota last Sunday. The victory clinched a berth in the NCAA regionals for the Hoosiers.

Megan McCarney and Christy Sharp could give Michigan's Moon and Cyganiak a good match. McCarney and Sharp are 12-5 at the top doubles position. The unranked duo just defeated Minnesota's Jennifer Hayes and Dena Peterson, who are No. 55, in a 9-8 thriller.

Indiana's singles play could give the Hoosiers an edge. Each Hoosier is better than .500, except for Sharp, who is 6-7.

Indiana juggled its lineup a bit recently, replacing Sharp with Candice Donahoe at No. 4. The change hasn't proven to be too successful so far.

The Wolverines know that they have struggled at home, but they also know that they were up against some of the best teams. They are hoping a victory over Ohio State will end their home woes and lead their charge against Indiana.

"We're looking for a good fight from both schools, especially Indiana," Cyganiak said.

"Everyone's fired up. We're ready to do some damage."