Michigan
Kentucky
Wolverines Headed Back to Sweet 16!
5/13/2017 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
May 13, 2017
» Michigan is headed to the Sweet 16 for the third straight season and for the seventh time in the last eight years. It marks the second consecutive NCAA second round win over Kentucky for the Maize and Blue.
» Michigan rallied for the win after the dropping the doubles point, getting singles wins from Mira Ruder-Hook, Chiara Lommer, Brienne Minor and Alex Najarian. It is U-M's seventh win without the doubles point this season.
» U-M completed a 13-0 season at the Varsity Tennis Center, the third-most wins in a single season. It marks the third perfect season at the VTC for the Wolverines and the first since going 10-0 in 2008.
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Site: Ann Arbor, Mich. (Varsity Tennis Center)
Event: NCAA Tournament (Second Round)
Score: #10 Michigan 4, #17 Kentucky 2
Records: U-M (23-5), UK (17-9)
Next U-M Event: Friday, May 19 -- at NCAA Sweet 16 (Athens, Ga.), 9 a.m.
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The No. 10-ranked University of Michigan women's tennis team rallied after dropping the doubles point by picking up four straight-set wins in singles action to knock off No. 17-ranked Kentucky, 4-2, in the second round of the NCAA Tournament at the Varsity Tennis Center. With the win, Michigan is advancing to the Sweet 16 for the seventh time in the last eight seasons.
Kentucky took the early lead, winning the doubles point with 7-5 wins at No. 2 and No. 3 within a minute. U-M was ahead 5-2 at No. 2, but UK ripped off five straight games to take the win. At No. 3, the Wolverines came back from the same deficit to tie the match at 5-5 after fighting off three match points, but the Wildcats took the last two games to cement the match's first point.
Michigan got out to a quick start in singles action, going up a break to start at No. 3, No. 4 and No. 5. U-M took four first sets, only falling at No. 1 and No. 6.
Junior Mira Ruder-Hook took little time erasing the UK lead, winning 6-2, 6-1 at No. 5. Ruder-Hook took control early in both sets and coasted to the win to tie the team match at 1-1.
Freshman Chiara Lommer quickly followed, winning 6-0, 6-4 at No. 4. After a shutout in the first set, Lommer raced out to a 4-1 lead in the second before hanging on for a 6-4 win to push Michigan in front, 2-1.
Sophomore Brienne Minor put U-M's third point on the board behind a 7-5, 6-4 win at No. 2. Minor took advantage of late breaks in both sets en route to the win. Minor broke at 6-5 in the first and served out the set in the ensuing game before doing the same at 5-4 in the second set.
UK got a point back behind a win at No. 6, cutting the Maize and Blue's lead to 3-2.
Junior Alex Najarian put the finishing touches on the Michigan win, grabbing a 6-4, 7-6 (3) win at No. 3. Najarian raced out to a 3-0 lead in the second and had a chance to serve out the match at 5-3. The set eventually headed to a tiebreaker, where Najarian won the first two points and never looked back in a 7-3 win.
At the same time, sophomore Kate Fahey was in a third set at No. 1 on the court right next to Najarian. The match was tied at 2-2 when it was abandoned.
Michigan will face the winner of the Stanford Regional in the Sweet 16 on Friday (May 19) at 9 a.m. The remainder of the tournament will be hosted by the University of Georgia.
Following are match-by-match results:
Singles
No. 1 -- No. 26 Kate Fahey (U-M) vs. No. 22 Aldila Sutjiadi (UK), 4-6, 6-1, 2-2 abandoned
No. 2 -- No. 24 Brienne Minor (U-M) d. No. 103 Akvilė Para?inskaitė (UK), 7-5, 6-4
No. 3 -- Alex Najarian (U-M) vs. Mami Adachi (UK), 6-4, 7-6 (3)
No. 4 -- Chiara Lommer (U-M) d. Emily Fanning (UK), 6-0, 6-4
No. 5 -- Mira Ruder-Hook (U-M) d. Justina Mikulskytė (UK), 6-2, 6-1
No. 6 -- Morgan Chumney (UK) d. Valeria Patiuk (U-M), 7-6 (5), 6-3
Doubles
No. 1 -- No. 6 Aldila Sutjiadi/Mami Adachi (UK) vs. No. 9 Alex Najarian/Kate Fahey (U-M), 5-6 abandoned
No. 2 -- Morgan Chumney/Akvilė Para?inskaitė (UK) d. Brienne Minor/Chiara Lommer (U-M), 7-5
No. 3 -- Justina Mikulskytė/Emily Fanning (UK) d. Mira Ruder-Hook/Valeria Patiuk (U-M), 7-5
Order of Finish: Doubles 2-3, Singles 5-4-2-6-3
Communications Contact: Sarah VanMetre
