Michigan
Minnesota
Wolverines Win Third Straight with Comeback at Minnesota
3/23/2018 7:33:00 PM | Women's Tennis
» Chiara Lommer was down a set and 5-2 before she reeled off 11 straight games to clinch the Michigan win behind a 3-6, 7-5, 6-0 win at No. 2.
» U-M dropped the doubles point but won five of six singles matches to pick up its third straight win.
» Michigan has completed an 11-match road swing and will return to the Varsity Tennis Center on Sunday (March 25) for the first time since Feb. 3.
Site: Minneapolis, Minn. (Baseline Tennis Center)
Score: Michigan 5, Minnesota 2
Records: U-M (7-8, 3-0 B1G), Minnesota (11-7, 3-1 B1G)
Next U-M Event: Sunday, March 25 -- vs. Purdue (Varsity Tennis Center), noon
MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. -- The University of Michigan women's tennis team won five singles matches, highlighted by sophomore Chiara Lommer's improbable comeback at No. 2, to win its third straight match in a 5-2 victory over Minnesota on Friday afternoon (March 23) at the Baseline Tennis Center.
With the team match tied at 2-2 and Minnesota threatening on all three remaining courts, Lommer went to work at No. 2. She was down a set and 5-2 in the second before ripping off 11 straight games to clinch the Michigan victory. Lommer slowly climbed back into the second set and eventually took a 6-5 advantage after she held her serve. She took the set in the next game when her opponent was overruled on a line call on the final point of the second set. It was all Lommer in the third set as she took the early break on another Tina Kreinis double fault and never looked back in the 3-6, 7-5, 6-0 win for Michigan's fourth point.
Lommer's ability to stay on court helped put Michigan's third point on the board, courtesy of freshman Alyvia Jones. After she lost the first set, Jones buckled down in the second set to rally for the 6-4 win as Lommer began her comeback. Jones got out to an early break in the third set and won on a deuce point to keep the advantage at 4-2. Jones took advantage of a double fault by her opponent on a deuce point to increase her lead to 5-2. In the final game, Jones came back from a 40-15 deficit, to win the last three points to grab the three-sets win.
Michigan's first two points came from juniors Kate Fahey and Brienne Minor, as each Wolverine breezed to straight-sets wins to tie the match at 2-2 after Minnesota won the doubles point and a match at No. 5 to account for its two points.
With the team match in hand, senior Mira Ruder-Hook provided Michigan's fifth point of the afternoon with a three-sets win at No. 6. She went up a break at 4-2 before her opponent won the next three games for a 5-4 lead. Ruder-Hook fought off two match points in the next game en route to a 5-all tie. At the same time, Lommer won her match at No. 2 and Ruder-Hook was able to take the final two games to give Michigan the 5-2 win.
Michigan will return home to the Varsity Tennis Center on Sunday (March 25), when they host Purdue at noon. Admission to the match is free.
Following are match-by-match results
Singles
No. 1 -- No. 23 Kate Fahey (U-M) d. Caroline Ryba (Minn), 6-4, 6-2
No. 2 -- No. 81 Chiara Lommer (U-M) d. Tina Kreinis (Minn), 3-6, 7-5, 6-0
No. 3 -- Brienne Minor (U-M) d. Annemarie Emme (Minn), 6-2, 6-2
No. 4 -- Alyvia Jones (U-M) d. Barbara Mancera (Minn), 1-6, 6-4, 6-2
No. 5 -- Caitlyn Merzbacher (Minn) d. Bella Lorenzini (U-M), 6-4, 6-1
No. 6 -- Mira Ruder-Hook (U-M) d. Cammy Frei (Minn), 7-5, 4-6, 7-5
Doubles
No. 1 -- Caitlyn Merzbacher /Mehvish Safdar (Minn) d. No. 53 Mira Ruder-Hook/Brienne Minor (U-M), 7-5
No. 2 -- Lera Patiuk/Chiara Lommer (U-M) d. Tina Kreinis/Annemarie Emme (Minn), 6-3
No. 3 -- River Hart/Caroline Ryba (Minn) d. Kate Fahey/Alyvia Jones (U-M), 6-2
Order of Completion: Doubles 3-2-1; Singles 3-5-1-4-2-6
Players Mentioned
