Michigan
Northwestern
Wolverines Win Top-25 Battle at Northwestern
4/6/2019 3:39:00 PM | Women's Tennis
» Michigan won its seventh straight match and moved its Big Ten record to 8-0 to stay atop the conference standings.
» U-M won the doubles point behind wins at No. 1 and No. 2 to take the early lead in the match. The No. 2 pair of Giulia Pairone and Anca Craciun clinched the point with a 7-3 tiebreaker win.
» Brienne Minor was Michigan's final singles winner on the day, winning the 100th singles match of her career.
Site: Evanston, Ill. (Vandy Christie Tennis Center)
Result: #18 Michigan 6, #25 Northwestern 1
Records: U-M (12-4, 8-0 B1G), NU (11-6, 5-1 B1G)
Next U-M Event: Sunday, April 7 -- at Illinois (Champaign, Ill.), 11 a.m. CDT
EVANSTON, Ill. -- The No. 18-ranked University of Michigan women's tennis team won its seventh straight match and stayed unbeaten in Big Ten action with a 6-1 win over No. 25-ranked Northwestern on Saturday afternoon (April 6) at the Vandy Christie Tennis Center.
U-M raced out to the early lead after securing the doubles point. Michigan started fast at both the No. 1 and No. 2 courts, grabbing 4-1 leads to start on both.
Seniors Kate Fahey and Brienne Minor made quick work of Northwestern's No. 40-ranked pair of Clarissa Hand and Lee Or, winning 6-2 at the top spot.
At the same time, NU had stormed back at No. 2 to take a 5-4 lead and won the final three games at No. 3 in a 6-3 Wildcat win.
Junior Giulia Pairone and freshman Anca Craciun hung in despite the swing of momentum and forced a tiebreaker. The Wolverine pair got back on track in the breaker, winning 7-3 to clinch the first point of the match.
Fahey and Pairone took control early during their matches at the top of the lineup. Fahey won her 11th consecutive match at the top spot of the lineup, coming through with a 6-1, 6-0 victory for Michigan's second point.
Pairone quickly followed suit at the No. 2 position, winning 6-1, 6-2 for U-M's third point of the afternoon. Pairone's win pushed her Big Ten record to 8-0 on the season.
Sophomore Alyvia Jones clinched the match for the Maize and Blue moments later behind a 6-2, 6-1 win at No. 6. Jones won four of the first five games in the first set en route to the win. It was all Jones in the second as she won the final five games to wrap up the win.
Northwestern got a point on the board with a win at No. 4, but Craciun came through with a win at No. 5 to push Michigan's lead to 5-1. The team match was already decided by the time Craciun made it on court, where she won a pair of 10-point tiebreakers, 10-5 and 10-8, in lieu of full sets.
Minor wrapped up the afternoon with a win for the Wolveirnes, rallying from a 7-6 (4) loss in the first set to win the second, 6-2. Minor held off Caroline Pozo, 10-8, in the 10-point tiebreaker for the third set to seal Michigan's 6-1 win.
It marked Minor's 100th singles victory at Michigan as she becomes the ninth Wolverine in school history to reach the 100-win plateau.
Michigan will conclude its weekend Sunday (April 7) at Illinois. The match is set for 11 a.m. CDT.
Singles
No. 1 -- No. 3Â Kate Fahey (U-M) d. No. 37 Clarissa Hand (NU), 6-1, 6-0
No. 2 -- No. 85Â Giulia Pairone (U-M) d. Julie Byrne (NU), 6-1, 6-2
No. 3 -- No. 49Â Brienne Minor (U-M) d. Caroline Pozo (NU), 6-7 (4), 6-2, 1-0 (8)
No. 4 --Â Lee Or (NU) d. No. 28Â Chiara Lommer (U-M), 6-3, 6-3
No. 5 -- Anca Craciun (U-M) d. Rheeya Doshi (NU), 1-0 (5), 1-0 (8)
No. 6 -- Alyvia Jones (U-M) d. Carol Finke (NU), 6-2, 6-1
Doubles
No. 1 -- No. 33 Kate Fahey/Brienne Minor (U-M) d. No. 40 Clarissa Hand/Lee Or (NU), 6-2
No. 2 -- Giulia Pairone/Anca Craciun (U-M) d. No. 82 Julie Byrne/Hannah McColgan (NU), 7-6 (3)
No. 3 -- Inci Ogut/Rheeya Doshi (NU) d. Chiara Lommer/Alyvia Jones (U-M), 6-3
Order of Completion: Doubles 1-3-2 Singles 1-2-6-4-5-3
Players Mentioned
