Michigan
Penn State
Maize and Blue Sweeps Singles to Win 12th Straight
3/26/2021 6:47:00 PM | Women's Tennis
» U-M dropped the doubles point but dominated in singles action, winning all six singles matches to pick up its 12th straight win.
» For the first time in program history, Michigan has won a 12th Big Ten regular-season match. The Big Ten Conference set a 16-match schedule this year for the first time ever.
» The match was played outdoors at the Varsity Tennis Center.
Site: Ann Arbor, Mich. (Varsity Tennis Center)
Result: #14 Michigan 6, Penn State 1
Records: U-M (12-1, 12-0 B1G), PSU (7-6, 6-6 B1G)
Next U-M Event: Sunday, March 28 -- vs. Ohio State (Varsity Tennis Center), Noon
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The No. 14-ranked University of Michigan women's tennis team continued its winning ways, grabbing its 12th straight win in a 6-1 win over Penn State Friday afternoon (March 26) at the Varsity Tennis Center.
Penn State struck first by winning the doubles point, but U-M swept all six singles matches to record the win.
It was all Michigan at No. 2 doubles, as sophomore Nicole Hammond and freshman Kari Miller jumped out to a 3-0 lead. The duo cashed in on a deuce point to maintain a 4-1 lead and did not look back in recording a 6-1 win.
PSU evened the doubles ledger at one match each with a 6-3 win at No. 1. U-M and Penn State were locked at 5-5 in the final match on court at No. 3, with the Nittany Lions winning the final two games to record a 7-5 victory for the doubles point.
U-M took all six first sets in singles action after graduate student Chiara Lommer rallied from a 5-0 hole for a 7-5 win and freshman Gala Mesochoritou won in a tiebreaker to keep U-M perfect on the start.
Sophomore Andrea Cerdan erased the PSU lead and put U-M on the board with a 6-1, 6-2 win at the No. 3 position. Cerdan struck early in both sets, using the early separation to record the bounce-back win after dropping her last match.
Michigan's next two points came quickly behind straight-set wins at No. 6 and No. 1, as Hammond and Miller held concurrently match points at their respective courts.
Hammond converted first, nudging Michigan into the lead for the first time with a 6-2, 6-1 win at No. 6. Hammond raced out to a 3-0 lead in the first set and a 2-0 lead in the second, using the early momentum in both sets to grab the win.
Miller followed quickly for Michigan's third point, winning 6-2, 6-2 at the No. 1 spot in her first match as a ranked player (No. 38).
Freshman Jaedan Brown clinched the match for the Wolverines with a 6-4, 6-3 win at No. 5. Brown rallied from an early 3-1 deficit in the first set to record the 6-4 win. She struck first in the second set, getting the early break at 2-0 en route to the 6-3 win.
Mesochoritou moved her singles record to 13-0 on the season with a 7-6, 6-1 win at No. 4. She raced out to a 3-0 lead in the first before Samantha Smith worked herself back into the match. Mesochoritou took the first set in a breaker, winning the final two points for an 8-6 win. It was all Mesochoritou in the second as she breezed to the 6-1 win to remain undefeated.
Michigan stayed perfect in singles action when Lommer recorded a 7-5, 4-6, 1-0 (8) win at No. 2. Lommer worked herself out of a 5-0 hole in the first set, winning seven straight games to record the win. She once again fell behind early in the second set, 3-0, before slowly climbing back in at 5-4. She could not complete a second-set comeback as Sofiya Chekhlystova won the final game to send the match to a 10-point tiebreaker in lieu of a full third set.
Lommer took control midway through the breaker, converting on her second match point for a 10-8 win to wrap up a 6-1 Michigan victory.
U-M wraps up the weekend Sunday (March 28), hosting No. 9 Ohio State at noon.
Following are match-by-match results
Singles
No. 1 -- No. 38 Kari Miller (U-M) d. Gabby O'Gorman (PSU), 6-2, 6-2
No. 2 -- Chiara Lommer (U-M) d. Sofiya Chekhlystova (PUS), 7-5, 4-6, 1-0 (8)
No. 3 -- Andrea Cerdan (U-M) d. Frederikke Svarre (PSU), 6-1, 6-2
No. 4 -- No. 115 Gala Mesochoritou (U-M) d. Samantha Smith (PSU), 7-6, 6-1
No. 5 -- No. 105 Jaedan Brown (U-M) d. Karly Friedland (PSU), 6-4, 6-3
No. 6 -- Nicole Hammond (U-M) d. Alexandra Nielsen (PSU), 6-2, 6-1
Doubles
No. 1 -- Gabby O'Gorman/Karly Friedland (PSU) d. No. 57 Chiara Lommer/Jaedan Brown (U-M), 6-3
No. 2 -- Nicole Hammond/Kari Miller (U-M) d. Frederikki Svarre/Samantha Smith (PSU), 6-1
No. 3 -- Sofiya Chekhlystova/Alexandra Nielsen (PSU) d. Gala Mesochoritou/Andrea Cerdan (U-M), 7-5
Order of Completion: Doubles 2-1-3; Singles 3-6-1-5-4-2
Players Mentioned
