Individual play for the Michigan women's tennis team came to a close with the ITA Rolex Midwest Championships in Madison this weekend. Junior Sora Moon led the Wolverines with the best finish as she advanced to the quarterfinals of the 64-player draw.
Moon showed her best performance of the season so far in her victory over Iowa's Natalya Dawaf, 6-1, 6-2, in the first round. She defeated Wisconsin's Barbara Urbanska, 6-7(4), 6-2, 6-4, in the third round, and lost to Purdue's Mary Beth Maggart, 7-6, 6-2, in the quarterfinals.
"I think I played really well in singles," Moon said. "I stayed focused, and my serve was key."
The Michigan doubles team of senior Sarah Cyganiak and Moon was the top seed in the championship. The duo reached the quarterfinals via an opening-round forfeit and a victory over Notre Dame's Kelly Zalinski and Kelly Olsen, 7-5, 6-3. They lost their final match against Wisconsin's Urbanska and Zobrist, 6-2, 6-3.
"I was disappointed in our doubles play," Moon said. "We missed a lot of easy shots."
Fifth-seeded Cyganiak suffered a shocking loss in the second round of singles. She ended her bid for the singles title with her loss to Illinois' Stacy Shapiro, 6-2, 6-4.
"It was not a good performance on my part at all," Cyganiak said. "I played really poorly."
The Michigan freshman finished their first individual season with more losses than victories in this championship. Freshmen Brooke Hart, Erryn Weggenman and Danielle Lund were all defeated in the first round of singles, but Weggenman and Lund managed to pull their games together for the consolation round.
Weggenman defeated Detroit-Mercy's Jennifer Wioncek, 6-1, 6-0, before losing a close three-set match to Indiana State's Kathy Najbert, 4-6, 7-5, 6-3.
"In my match against Wioncek, I played the best all fall season," Weggenman said. "I executed everything well and was focused on what I had to do."
Lund advanced further in the consolation bracket, with two victories over Purdue's Johanna Hall, 4-6, 6-1, 6-3, and Drake's Amy Hensen, 6-2, 6-1. She ended her play with a loss to Najbert, 6-4, 6-2.
"I need to work on my mental game and learn to be more relaxed when I play," Lund said.
Hart and Lund played their first doubles match together of the season. The tandem defeated Illinois' Shapiro and Bruce, 6-3, 6-7, 6-4 in the first round but lost to third-seeded Marquette duo, Joanna Bauza and Elisa Penalvo, 6-4, 6-7, 7-5.
"I think that we played well considering it was our first time together," Lund said. "We'll probably play together for the dual team matches next semester."
As the Wolverines begin to prepare for the upcoming season, they will concentrate primarily on individual weaknesses.
"Everyone needs to improve in different ways, so that is what we'll probably focus on in practice," Cyganiak added.
FILE PHOTO/Daily
The Michigan women's tennis team finished up individual play with this past weekend's ITA Rolex Midwest Championships. The Wolverines look to improve on individual weaknesses before next semester's dual team matches.