Michigan
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Mississippi State
Wolverines Hold Off Mississippi State
1/29/2017 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
Jan. 29, 2017
» U-M won the doubles point and got singles wins from Alex Najarian, Kate Fahey and Minor in the 4-0 win.
» With the win, Michigan has punched its ticket to the ITA National Team Indoor Championship for the eighth straight season.
Site: Ann Arbor, Mich. (Varsity Tennis Center)
Event: ITA Kick-Off
Score: #14 Michigan 4, #23 Mississippi State 0
Records: U-M (2-0), MSU (2-1)
Next U-M Event: Friday, Feb. 3 -- at Notre Dame (South Bend, Ind.), 3 p.m.
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Needing one more singles victory for the team win, sophomore Brienne Minor fought off three match points en route to a 6-3, 2-6, 7-5 win at No. 1 to clinch the No. 14-ranked University of Michigan women's tennis team's 4-0 win over No. 23 Mississippi State on Sunday afternoon (Jan. 29) at the Varsity Tennis Center. With the win, Michigan has punched its ticket to the ITA National Team Indoor Championship.
The Wolverines came away with the match's first point, getting doubles wins at No. 2 and No. 1.
The No. 2 pair of Minor and junior Mira Ruder-Hook was once again dominant, easing to a 6-1 win at No. 2.
The No. 4-ranked doubles duo of junior Alex Najarian and sophomore Kate Fahey found themselves in a 4-2 hole to the No. 5-ranked pair of Jasmine Lee and Lisa Marie Rioux. U-M broke back on a deuce point volley at the net from Najarian to get back on serve at 3-4. It was all Michigan from there as Fahey and Najarian won the next three games for a 6-4 win to wrap up the doubles point.
At the same time, U-M's No. 3 pair of junior Kara Hall and Valeria Patiuk fought off two match points to break Mississippi State and get back on serve at 4-5 before the match was abandoned.
The Wolverines came away with a pair of straight-set wins to push their lead to 3-0, coming courtesy of Fahey (6-1, 6-2) at No. 2 and Najarian (6-3, 6-2) at No. 3.
Needing just one more win for the team victory, it was clear Michigan was going to have to make it happen in a third set.
Ruder-Hook and Minor began third sets around the same time, with Minor jumping out to a 2-0 lead and Ruder-Hook breaking serve for a 2-1 lead. Neither Wolverine could hold their early break, as Minor fell in a 5-3 hole, and Ruder-Hook kept exchanging breaks.
At the same time, freshman Chiara Lommer was mounting a comeback after being down a set and 4-0, eventually sending her second set to a tiebreaker.
Patiuk took a 6-1 win in her second set, heading to a third on No. 6 as U-M had four options for its fourth point.
Minor fought off three match points as Jasmine Lee was serving at 5-3 and up 40-15. Minor won the next two points to set up a deuce point at 40-40. Lee's forehand hit the tape and remained on her side as Minor got back on serve at 4-5. The Wolverine sophomore ripped off the next three games as well, coming from behind to clinch the team victory.
Ruder-Hook and Patiuk each held at least a one break advantage in their third sets when the match was called.
The Maize and Blue is back in action on Friday (Feb. 3), traveling to Notre Dame to take on the Irish at 3:30 p.m.
Following are match-by-match results
Singles
No. 1 -- No. 80 Brienne Minor (U-M) d. Jasmine Lee (MSU), 6-3, 2-6, 7-5
No. 2 -- No. 20 Kate Fahey (U-M) d. Madison Harrison (MSU), 6-1 6-2
No. 3 -- No. 78 Chiara Lommer (U-M) vs. Lisa Marie Rioux (MSU), 3-6, 6-6 abandoned
No. 4 -- No. 60 Alex Najarian (U-M) d. Anastasia Rentouli (MSU), 6-3, 6-2
No. 5 -- Mira Ruder-Hook (U-M) vs. Sara Lizariturry (MSU), 4-6, 6-2, 4-3 abandoned
No. 6 -- Valeria Patiuk (U-M) vs. Jennifer Brown (MSU), 6-7 (6), 6-1, 3-0 abandoned
Doubles
No. 1 -- No. 4 Kate Fahey/Alex Najarian (U-M) d. Jasmine Lee/Lisa Marie Rioux (MSU), 6-4
No. 2 -- No. 29 Mira Ruder-Hook/Brienne Minor (U-M) d. Madison Harrison/Jennifer Brown (MSU), 6-1
No. 3 -- Valeria Patiuk/Kara Hall (U-M) vs. Anastasia Rentouli/Sara Lizariturry (MSU), 4-5 abandoned
Order of Completion: Doubles 2-1, Singles 2-4-1
Communications Contact: Sarah VanMetre
Players Mentioned
