Michigan
Iowa
Wolverines Outlast Iowa to Stay Perfect in B1G
4/15/2017 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
April 15, 2017
» Michigan remained unbeaten in Big Ten play, moving to 8-0 to stay atop the Big Ten standings.
» U-M dropped the doubles point but got singles wins from Chiara Lommer, Mira Ruder-Hook, Alex Najarian and Kate Fahey to rally for the win.
» The Wolverines, who have won four Big Ten matches without the doubles point, played the match outside and are now 9-0 at home this season.
Site: Ann Arbor, Mich. (Varsity Tennis Center)
Score: #9 Michigan 4, Iowa 3
Records: U-M (16-4, 8-0 Big Ten), Iowa (15-5, 4-4 Big Ten)
Next U-M Event: Sunday, April 16 -- vs. Nebraska (Varsity Tennis Center), 10:30 a.m.
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The No. 9-ranked University of Michigan women's tennis team rallied from a 1-0 hole by winning four of the first five singles matches off court to outlast Iowa, 4-3, on Saturday afternoon (April 15) at the Varsity Tennis Center.
Iowa jumped out to the early 1-0 lead after winning the doubles point with victories at No. 1 and No. 3.
The Hawkeyes eased to a 6-1 win at No. 1, before U-M's No. 2 pair of freshman Chiara Lommer and junior Alex Najarian went up a break at 4-3 en route to a 6-3 win.
At No. 3, Michigan's duo of junior Mira Ruder-Hook and senior Annie Wierda went up a break at 5-3. Ruder-Hook went back to serve, but Iowa broke back with the match hitting a tiebreaker at 6-6. U-M held a 3-1 lead but double faulted and did not score a point the rest of the way as Iowa took the 7-3 tiebreak win for the match's first point.
Lommer went quickly about tying the match at 1-1, dropping just two games in a 6-2, 6-0 win at No. 4.
Ruder-Hook gave Michigan its first lead of the day, coming away with a 6-2, 6-2 win at No. 5. Ruder-Hook took an early break in the first set en route to the win before falling in a 2-0 hole to start the second. The junior rattled off six straight games to secure Michigan's second point of the afternoon.
Najarian provided the third Michigan point, cruising at No. 4 in a 6-2, 6-4 win. Najarian fell down an early break in the first but won the final five games to take the frame. She went up a break at 5-4 in the second and served out the match in the ensuing game to put Michigan on the brink.
Iowa got a point back with a three-set win at No. 2, cutting Michigan's lead to 3-2.
Sophomore Kate Fahey clinched the match for the Maize and Blue, winning a hard-fought 7-5, 7-6 (6) match at No. 1. Fahey was in an early 3-1 hole in the first set but tied it up at 5-5. She won the final two games to take the one-set lead. Fahey found herself down a break at 6-5, with Elise Van Heuvelen serving and up 40-15. Fahey won the next three points to send it to a tiebreaker. In the breaker, Fahey went up 5-3, before Van Heuvelen ripped off three straight points for a 6-5 advantage. Fahey responded in kind, wrapping up the match on a double fault in an 8-6 tiebreak win.
U-M wraps up weekend action tomorrow (Sunday, April 16), hosting Nebraska at 10:30 a.m.
Following are match-by-match results:
Singles
No. 1 -- No. 28 Kate Fahey (U-M) d. Elise Van Heuvelen (Iowa), 7-5, 7-6 (6)
No. 2 -- Zoe Douglas (Iowa) d. No. 24 Brienne Minor (U-M), 4-6, 6-2, 6-1
No. 3 -- Alex Najarian (U-M) d. Anastasia Reimchen (Iowa), 6-2, 6-4
No. 4 -- Chiara Lommer (U-M) d. Montana Crawford (Iowa), 6-2, 6-0
No. 5 -- Mira Ruder-Hook (U-M) d. Adorabol Huckleby (Iowa), 6-2, 6-2
No. 6 -- Aimee Tarun (Iowa) d. Valeria Patiuk (U-M), 7-6, 3-6, 1-2 forfeit
Doubles
No. 1 -- Elise Van Heuvelen/Adorabol Huckleby (Iowa) d. Brienne Minor/Kate Fahey (U-M), 6-1
No. 2 -- Chiara Lommer/Alex Najarian (U-M) d. Zoe Douglas/Kristen Thoms (Iowa), 6-3
No. 3 -- Montana Crawford/Aimee Tarun (Iowa) d. Annie Wierda/Mira Ruder-Hook (U-M), 7-6 (3)
Order of Completion: Doubles 1-2-3, Singles 4-5-3-2-1-6
Communications Contact: Sarah VanMetre
Players Mentioned
