Michigan
Northwestern
Wolverines Knock Off Northwestern, Head to B1G Championship Match
4/29/2017 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
April 29, 2017
» Michigan won the doubles point and got singles wins from Chiara Lommer (13th straight), Kate Fahey (three sets) and Brienne Minor (three sets).
» U-M held concurrent match points in both doubles (No. 1, No. 3) and singles (No. 1, No. 2) to clinch both the doubles point and the overall match.
» With the win, U-M has advanced to the championship match of the Big Ten Tournament for the 13th straight season and will face Ohio State in the final match Sunday (April 30, 2 p.m.) for the third straight tournament.
Site: Champaign, Ill. (Atkins Tennis Center)
Event: Big Ten Tournament (Semifinals)
Score: #10 Michigan 4, Northwestern 1
Records: U-M (21-4), NU (14-11)
Next U-M Event: Sunday, April 30 -- vs. Ohio - B1G Tournament final (Champaign, Ill.), Noon CDT
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- The No. 10-ranked University of Michigan women's tennis team took the doubles point and won three of the first four singles matches off court to knock off Northwestern, 4-1, in the semifinals of the Big Ten Tournament on Saturday afternoon (April 29) at the Atkins Tennis Center. With the win, U-M has advanced to the championship match of the Big Ten Tournament for the 13th straight season.
U-M grabbed the early 1-0 lead after a pair of 6-3 wins on the doubles court.
The No. 3 duo of from freshman Valeria Patiuk and junior Mira Ruder-Hook went up a break at 3-1 and never looked back, winning, 6-3.
The Wolverines held concurrent match points at No. 3 and No. 1, with junior Alex Najarian and sophomore Kate Fahey coming through with a 6-3 victory moments after the win at No. 3. The match at No. 1 featured seven straight breaks of serve, as Najarian finally held at 5-3 in the match's eighth game. U-M broke NU one more time in the next game to wrap up the first point of the afternoon.
Northwestern won five first sets in singles action, but Michigan was quick to put its second point on the board.
Freshman Chiara Lommer took early breaks in both sets, breezing to a 6-1, 6-1 win at No. 3 to push Michigan's lead to 2-0.
NU cut the Michigan lead in half with a three-set win at No. 4.
Michigan entered third sets at No. 1 and No. 2, as Fahey and sophomore Brienne Minor each claimed second-set wins. At the same time, Ruder-Hook was fighting back from a break down in the second set to tie her set at 4-4. Patiuk fought off three match points at 5-2 to stay on court at No. 6.
Minor rallied after dropping her first set to take a 4-6, 7-5, 6-0 win at No. 2. Minor jumped out to a 4-1 lead in the second set, but Maddie Lipp came back to tie it at 5-5. Minor held serve in the next game and came away with a break in the final game to force a third set. It was all Minor in the third as the sophomore ended the match by winning the final eight games.
Fahey and Minor held match points at the same time, as Fahey also rallied from a set down for a 3-6, 6-1, 6-2 victory at the top spot. In the third set, Fahey and Erin Larner exchanged breaks to start. Fahey took control of the final set when she broke for a 4-2 lead. The Wolverine won the final three games to seal Michigan's 4-1 win behind a 6-2 third-set victory.
The final two matches on court were abandoned as both Wolverines extended their matches and stay on court.
U-M will face top-seeded Ohio State for the third straight season in the Big Ten Tournament championship match tomorrow (Sunday, April 30) at noon CDT. The match can be seen live on the Big Ten Network.
Following are match-by-match results:
Singles
No. 1 -- No. 25 Kate Fahey (U-M) d. Erin Larner (NU), 3-6, 6-1, 6-2
No. 2 -- No. 24 Brienne Minor (U-M) d. Maddie Lipp (NU), 4-6, 7-5, 6-0
No. 3 -- Chiara Lommer (U-M) d. Rheeya Doshi (NU), 6-1, 6-1
No. 4 -- Lee Or (NU) d. Alex Najarian (U-M), 6-1, 4-6, 6-2
No. 5 -- Mira Ruder-Hook (U-M) vs. Alex Chatt (NU), 6-7 (2), 5-6 abandoned
No. 6 -- Valeria Patiuk (U-M) vs. Jillian Rooney (NU), 5-7, 4-5 abandoned
Doubles
No. 1 -- No. 9 Kate Fahey/Alex Najarian (U-M) d. Maddie Lipp/Rheeya Doshi (NU), 6-3
No. 2 -- Chiara Lommer/Brienne Minor (U-M) vs. Lee Or/Alex Chatt (NU), 4-5 abandoned
No. 3 -- Valeria Patiuk/Mira Ruder-Hook (U-M) d. No. 50 Erin Larner/Brooke Rischbieth (NU), 6-3
Order of Completion: Doubles 3-1, Singles 3-4-2-1
Communications Contact: Sarah VanMetre
Players Mentioned
