Michigan
Columbia
Five Straight Singles Wins Help U-M Overcome Early Deficit Against Columbia
3/13/2022 4:21:00 PM | Women's Tennis
Site: Ann Arbor, Mich. (Varsity Tennis Center)
Result: Michigan 5, Columbia 2
Records: U-M (7-4), CU (10-4)
Next U-M Event: Sunday, March 20 -- vs. Purdue (Varsity Tennis Center), 11 a.m.
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The University of Michigan women's tennis team fell in a 2-0 hole before winning five straight singles matches to clinch the team outcome, knocking off Columbia, 5-2, Sunday afternoon (March 13) at the Varsity Tennis Center.
Michigan won the first doubles match off court at No. 1, with Jaedan Brown and Andrea Cerdan teaming up for a 6-1 win at the top spot.
Columbia took the remaining two matches at No. 2 and No. 3 to put the first point on the board. The Lions then extended their lead to 2-0 with a straight-set win at No. 2 singles as the teams split the six first sets.
With Michigan staring down a 2-0 deficit, Gala Mesochoritou ignited the Wolverine comeback with a 6-3, 6-4 win at No. 6 for Michigan's first point of the day. She used a late break at 5-3 in the first to serve out the set in the ensuing game to gain control early. Mesochoritou raced out to a 3-0 lead in the second before Shivani Amineni tied it 3-3. Mesochoritou won the next two games for a 5-3 lead, and Amineni fought off a match point in the next game to keep it at 5-4. The Wolverine jumped out to a 40-15 lead in the final game and converted on the deuce point for the victory.
Nicole Hammond tied up the team ledger 2-2 with a 7-6 (1), 6-4 win at No. 3. Hammond jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first set, but the set got back on serve two games later. It stayed there throughout, sending it to a breaker. It was all Hammond in the tiebreaker as she won the first four points and only dropped one to get the win. In the second, she got the break she needed at 4-3 and backed it up in the next game for a 5-3 lead. Both players held in their next games, wrapping up the straight-set win for Michigan.
Kari Miller put the third Maize and Blue point on the scoreboard with a 6-2, 3-6, 6-2 win over No. 121 Akanksha Bhan at No. 1. After the players split the first two sets, Miller grabbed the early break in the third en route to a 4-1 lead. That was all the space she needed as she put the Wolverines on the brink of the team win.
With the third point secured, Michigan needed at least to split two remaining matches on court at No. 4 and No. 5 after dropping first sets in both.
Cerdan was down a set and 3-1 at No. 4 before she mounted her comeback. She got her second set back on serve at 3-3 and held in the next game. She broke Melissa Sakar on the deuce point in the ensuing game for the lead and served out the set in the next game. The third set followed a similar script as Cerdan fell behind 3-1 in the early going. She ripped off five straight games after that, clinching the team match for the Wolverines.
Julia Fliegner was the other Wolverine on court at No. 5, and she came through with a 6-2 second-set win when the team match was in the balance to stay on court. Fliegner fell behind 2-0 in the third but won the next two games to tie the set. Julia Haynes answered with two straight wins for a 4-2 lead as Cerdan clinched the team match for the Wolverines.
Fliegner answered with a run of her own, winning the final four games to end the day with a Michigan win and provide the 5-2 margin.
Michigan will wrap up a three-match homestand next Sunday (March 20), hosting Purdue at 11 a.m.
Following are match-by-match results:
Singles
No. 1 -- No. 13 Kari Miller (U-M) d. No. 121 Akanksha Bhan (CU), 6-2, 3-6, 6-2
No. 2 -- Anna Zhang (CU) d. No. 61 Jaedan Brown (U-M), 6-4, 6-1
No. 3 -- No. 93 Nicole Hammond (U-M) d. Jennifer Kerr (CU), 7-6 (1), 6-4
No. 4 -- No. 76 Andrea Cerdan (U-M) d. Melissa Sakar (CU), 5-7, 6-3, 6-3
No. 5 -- Julia Fliegner (U-M) d. Julia Haynes (CU), 5-7, 6-2, 6-4
No. 6 -- Gala Mesochoritou (U-M) d. Shivani Amineni (CU), 6-3, 6-4
Doubles
No. 1 -- Jaedan Brown/Andrea Cerdan (U-M) d. Melissa Sakar/Akanksha Bhan (CU), 6-1
No. 2 -- Rachele Rimondini/Shivani Amineni (CU) d. Anca Craciun/Nicole Hammond (U-M), 6-3
No. 3 -- Anna Zhang/Winta Tewolde (CU) d. Merri Kelly/Kari Miller (U-M), 6-4
Order of Completion: Doubles 1-2-3, Singles 2-6-3-1-4-5
