Michigan
Duke
Michigan Falls to No. 9 Duke at Varsity Tennis Center
2/3/2018 2:41:00 PM | Women's Tennis
» Michigan dropped the doubles point with losses at No. 3 and No. 2 to fall in an early 1-0 hole. Duke's lineup featured the Nos. 1 and 2-ranked doubles teams in the country.
» Alex Najarian put up Michigan's lone point on the afternoon, winning 6-4, 6-4 at No. 6. Duke won three of the first singles matches off court.
» The match was abandoned once Duke reached four points. Kate Fahey was one game away from a win over No. 7-ranked Samantha Harris at the top spot when the match was cinched.
Site: Ann Arbor, Mich. (Varsity Tennis Center)
Score: #9 Duke 4, #10 Michigan 1
Records: U-M (3-1), DU (4-0)
Next U-M Event: Fri-Mon., Feb. 9-12 -- at ITA National Team Indoor Championship (Madison, Wis.), TBA
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ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The No. 10-ranked University of Michigan women's tennis team dropped a 4-1 decision to No. 9-ranked Duke on Saturday (Feb. 3) at the Varsity Tennis Center.
Duke took the early 1-0 lead after getting doubles wins at No. 3 and No. 2. Duke took a 6-0 decision at No. 3, with the other two matches remaining on serve through the first five games.
At No. 1, senior Alex Najarian and junior Kate Fahey fell behind 5-2 before winning three straight games to tie the set at 5. Meanwhile, at No. 2, junior Brienne Minor and senior Mira Ruder-Hook were broken on a deuce point to fall behind, 4-3. Duke won the final two games to seal the doubles point with a 6-3 win.
Duke won four first sets in singles action to take control of the team match. The Blue Devils increased their lead to 2-0 when freshman Alyvia Jones was forced to retire at No. 3 in the second set.
Moments later, Duke's lead swelled to 3-0 following a 6-2, 6-1 win at No. 4.
Najarian got Michigan on the board with a 6-4, 6-4 win at No. 6. Najarian rallied from a 3-0 deficit in the first set to get the win. In the second, she went up a break early and held it throughout, coming back from down 0-40 in the final game to win the match.
Duke sealed the 4-1 win with a 6-4, 6-2 at No. 5. Freshman Bella Lorenzini jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first set, but No. 100 Meible Chi came back to take the two-set win.
The final two matches on court at No. 1 and No. 2 were abandoned. Fahey was up a set and 5-4 at the top spot, with Lommer down a set and 4-3 in the second.
U-M is back in action next weekend (Feb. 9-12), participating in the ITA National Team Indoor Championship.
Following are match-by-match results
Singles
No. 1 -- No. 33 Kate Fahey (U-M) vs. No. 7 Samantha Harris (Duke), 6-5, 5-4 abandoned
No. 2 -- No. 64 Kaitlyn McCarthy (Duke) vs. No. 74 Chiara Lommer (U-M), 6-3, 4-3 abandoned
No. 3 -- No. 58 Kelly Chen (Duke) d. Alyvia Jones (U-M), 6-4, 3-0 retired
No. 4 -- Ellyse Hamlin (Duke) d. Mira Ruder-Hook (U-M), 6-2, 6-1
No. 5 -- No. 100 Meible Chi (Duke) d. Bella Lorenzini (U-M), 6-4, 6-2
No. 6 -- Alex Najarian (U-M) d. Hannah Zhao (Duke), 6-4, 6-4
Doubles
No. 1 -- Kate Fahey/Alex Najarian (U-M) vs. No. 1 Kelly Chen/Samantha Harris (Duke), 5-5 abandoned
No. 2 -- No. 2 Kaitlyn McCarthy/Ellyse Hamin (Duke) d. Mira Ruder-Hook/Brienne Minor (U-M), 6-3
No. 3 -- Meible Chi/Hannah Zhao (Duke) d Bella Lorenzini/Alyvia Jones (U-M), 6-0
Order of Completion: Doubles 3-2; Singles 3-4-6-5
Players Mentioned
