Michigan
Mississippi
Wolverines Knock Off MIssissippi at ITA Kick-Off
1/25/2020 1:55:00 PM | Women's Tennis
» Michigan won the doubles point and got singles victories from Bella Lorenzini, Andrea Cerdan and Nicole Hammond to earn the 4-2 win over Mississippi.
» Ole Miss tied the match momentarily at 2-2 with two straight singles wins, but Cerdan won moments later, with Hammond following five minutes later to put Michigan's fourth point on the board.
» Michigan will face UCF on Sunday (Jan. 26) with a berth to the ITA National Team Indoor Championship on the line.
Site: Ann Arbor, Mich. (Varsity Tennis Center)
Event: ITA Kick-Off (Day 1 of 2)
Result: #15 Michigan 4, Mississippi 2
Records: U-M (1-0), Ole Miss (2-1)
Next U-M Event: Sunday, Jan. 26 -- vs. UCF - ITA Kick-Off (Varsity Tennis Center), 1 p.m.
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- After Mississippi tied the team match at 2-2, the No. 15-ranked University of Michigan women's tennis team won two matches in a span of five minutes to record a 4-2 win over the Rebels in the first round of the ITA Kick-Off Saturday (Jan. 25) at the Varsity Tennis Center.
Mississippi won a pair of straight-sets matches at No. 1 and No. 5 to knot the team match at 2-2. Moments later, freshman Andrea Cerdan delivered a 6-2, 6-3 win at No. 2 to put the home team back on top. After Cerdan cruised to a first-set win, her second set stayed on serve until she broke on a deuce point for a 5-3 lead. She headed back to the service line to serve out the match, racing out to a 40-0 lead. She came through on the deuce point to wrap up the victory for Michigan's third point.
Freshman Nicole Hammond clinched the match for Michigan with a 6-3, 6-4 win at No. 4 just minutes later. Much like Cerdan, Hammond used a break in the latter stages of the second set to grab the win. Hammond grabbed a break at 4-3 and backed it up in her next service game for a 5-3 lead. She had two match points on her opponent's serve in the next game, but Ole Miss fought both off. Hammond closed it out in the next game, dropping just one point to clinch the win.
Michigan got on the board first with the doubles point by virtue of wins at No. 3 and No. 2.
U-M's No. 3 duo of Hammond and junior Bella Lorenzini went up a break at 3-1 and did not look back in a 6-1 win.
It was a race to the finish from there as both Michigan teams on the remaining courts were one game away from winning. U-M's No. 2 pair of seniors Chiara Lommer and Giulia Pairone got there first, wrapping up a 6-2 win over No. 57-ranked Tereza Janatova and Anna Vrbenska.
Michigan grabbed a 2-0 lead behind a 6-1, 6-1 win for Lorenzini at the No. 6 spot.
Ole Miss evened the match after that before Michigan was able to win the final two matches to finish.
U-M will face No. 12-ranked UCF in Sunday's (Jan. 26) ITA Kick-Off championship match at 1 p.m. at the Varsity Tennis Center.
Following are match-by-match results
Singles
No. 1 -- No. 48 Sabina Machalova (Mississippi) d. No. 26 Giulia Pairone (U-M), 6-3, 6-2
No. 2 -- No. 85 Andrea Cerdan (U-M) d. Alexa Bortles (Mississippi), 6-2, 6-3
No. 3 -- Tereza Janatova (Mississippi) vs. Alyvia Jones (U-M), 7-5, 4-2 abandoned
No. 4 -- Nicole Hammond (U-M) d. Anna Vrbenska (Mississippi), 6-3, 6-4
No. 5 -- Kelsey Mize (Mississippi) d. Chiara Lommer (U-M), 6-2, 6-2
No. 6 -- Bella Lorenzini (U-M) d. Victoire de Samucewicz (Mississippi), 6-1, 6-1
Doubles
No. 1 -- Andrea Cerdan/Alyvia Jones (U-M) vs. Sabina Machalova/Alexa Bortles (Mississippi), 5-3 abandoned
No. 2 -- Giulia Pairone/Chiara Lommer (U-M) d. No. 57 Tereza Janatova/Anna Vrbenska (Mississippi), 6-2
No. 3 -- Nicole Hammond/Bella Lorenzini (U-M) d. Kelsey Mize/Victoire de Samucewicz (Mississippi), 6-1
Order of Completion: Doubles 3-2, Singles 6-1-5-2-4
Players Mentioned
