Michigan
Denver
Wolverines Rally Past Denver to Start ITA Kick-Off
1/28/2017 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
Jan. 28, 2017
» Michigan is hosting Denver, Syracuse and Mississippi State in the ITA Kick-Off. The winner of the event will compete in the ITA National Team Indoor Championship.
» U-M will face either Syracuse or Mississippi State in tomorrow's (Sunday, Jan. 29) championship match at 2 p.m.
Site: Ann Arbor, Mich. (Varsity Tennis Center)
Event: ITA Kick-Off
Score: #14 Michigan 4, Denver 1
Records: U-M (1-0), DU (0-1)
Next U-M Event: Sunday, Jan. 29 -- vs. Mississippi State or Syracuse - ITA Kick-Off (Varsity Tennis Center), 2 p.m.
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The University of Michigan women's tennis team rallied for a 4-1 win over Denver in the opening round of the ITA Kick-Off on Saturday (Jan. 28) at the Varsity Tennis Center.
Michigan dropped the doubles point with losses at No. 3 and No. 1. The No. 2 pair of sophomore Brienne Minor and junior Mira Ruder-Hook raced to a 6-0 win, putting U-M just one win away from securing the first point of the match.
Denver answered with a 6-2 win at No. 3, putting the pressure on the No. 1 court. The No. 4-ranked doubles duo of junior Alex Najarian and sophomore Kate Fahey fought off two match points but could not save a third as Denver won the No. 1 match, 6-4, for the 1-0 lead.
Michigan turned its attention to singles and jumped out to big leads on five of six courts.
Freshman Chiara Lommer was first off court, going up a break at 3-1 in the first set and dropping just one game the rest of the way in a 6-2, 6-0 victory.
Moments later, Minor gave Michigan the lead for good at 2-1 with a 6-3, 6-0 victory at No. 2. In the final game, Minor rallied from 40-0 hole to break Bianca Mok in the straight-set win.
Fahey put Michigan on the brink, breezing to a 6-2, 6-1 victory at the top spot. Fahey took a 5-0 lead in the first set and another big lead in the second to put U-M's third point on the board.
Ruder-Hook clinched the match for Michigan about 15 minutes later, coming through with a 7-5, 6-1 triumph at No. 5. The turning point in the second set came with Ruder-Hook serving up a break at 2-1 and facing break point. Ruder-Hook won the point and did not drop a game the rest of the way to give U-M its first win of the season.
U-M will be back in action tomorrow (Sunday, Jan. 29), taking on the winner of the Mississippi State/Syracuse match at 2 p.m.
Following are match-by-match results
Singles
No. 1 -- No. 20 Kate Fahey (U-M) d. Julia O'Laughlin (DU), 6-2, 6-1
No. 2 -- No. 80 Brienne Minor (U-M) d. Bianca Mok (DU), 6-3, 6-0
No. 3 -- No. 60 Alex Najarian (U-M) vs. Maureen Slattery (DU), 6-7 (5), 2-2 abandoned
No. 4 -- No. 78 Chiara Lommer (U-M) d. Gracia Mboko (DU), 6-2, 6-0
No. 5 -- Mira Ruder-Hook (U-M) d. Sonja Radosevic (DU), 7-5, 6-1
No. 6 -- Valeria Patiuk (U-M) vs. Arisha Ladhani (DU), 4-6, 6-3 abandoned
Doubles
No. 1 -- No. 13 Julia O'Laughlin/Maureen Slattery (DU) d. No. 4 Kate Fahey/Alex Najarian (U-M), 6-4
No. 2 -- No. 29 Mira Ruder-Hook/Brienne Minor (U-M) d. Bianca Mok/Morgan Barnhill (DU), 6-0
No. 3 -- Gracia Mboko/Sonja Radosevic (DU) d. Valeria Patiuk/Chiara Lommer (U-M), 6-2
Order of Completion: Doubles 2-3-1, Singles 4-2-1-5
Communications Contact: Sarah VanMetre
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Players Mentioned
