Michigan
Northwestern
Fliegner Sends U-M Past Northwestern in B1G Semis
4/30/2022 3:42:00 PM | Women's Tennis
Site: Iowa City, Iowa (Hawkeye Tennis and Recreation Complex)
Event: Big Ten Tournament Semifinals
Result: #20 Michigan 4, Northwestern 3
Records: U-M (18-5), NU (14-9)
Next U-M Event: Sunday, May 1 -- vs. Ohio State/Wisconsin - Big Ten Tournament Championship (Iowa City, Iowa), Noon CT
IOWA CITY, Iowa -- Julia Fliegner won the final four games of her third set at No. 5, sending the No. 20-ranked University of Michigan women's tennis team to the Big Ten Tournament championship match with a 4-3 victory over Northwestern in the semifinals Saturday afternoon (April 30) at the Hawkeye Tennis and Recreation Complex. U-M has advanced to the championship match for the 17th straight season.
U-M won three straight singles matches off court, erasing an early 1-0 NU lead after doubles. The Wolverines got straight-set wins from Jaedan Brown at No. 2, Nicole Hammond and No. 3 and Andrea Cerdan at No. 4.
With the Wolverines leading 3-1 and needing just one more match for the win, Kari Miller held a 5-3 lead at No. 1 and Gala Mesochoritou completed a comeback from down 4-1 in the third for a 6-5 lead with the chance to serve out the match at No. 6.
Miller dropped four straight games and Mesochoritou was unable to cash in on three match points on her serve, as NU won both matches within moments of each other to knot the team match at 3-3.
All attention turned to court No. 5, where Fliegner had just gone up a break at 2-1 in her final set. She managed to get to a third set by breaking Christina Hand late in the second set at 6-5 before serving it out in the ensuing game.
Fliegner was unable to keep the break as Hand tied the set at 2-2. Fliegner jumped out to a 40-0 lead in the next game, with Hand eventually double faulting on game point to push Fliegner back in front. Fliegner backed up the break in the next game, picking up a drop shot at the net on deuce point to maintain the advantage.
The Wolverine freshman did not drop another game, winning on her serve after falling 40-0 when she was serving for the match. She slowly climbed back into the game, using an overrule on a Northwestern call, followed by a big serve to get to the deuce point. Hand sent a backhand long on match point, sealing the win for the Maize and Blue.
Brown tied the match at 1-1 behind another masterful performance at No. 2, running her dual-match record to 19-2. It was all Brown in the first set as she grabbed a 4-1 lead and did not look back in a 6-2 win. In the second, she was up 3-1 but Maria Shusharina won two straight games to tie it at 3-3. It was all Brown from there as she picked up her second straight-set win over Shusharina in the last week.
Hammond pushed Michigan in front for the first time in the match behind a 7-5, 6-3 win at No. 3. Hammond held for a 6-5 lead in the first set, sending Sydney Pratt back to the line to serve to stay in the set. She double faulted on set point, giving Hammond the win. Hammond fell behind early in the second but won five of the last six games to put Michigan's second point on the board.
Cerdan avenged a straight-set loss to Ema Lazic in the meeting between these two teams last weekend with a 6-3, 7-5 win at No. 4. Cerdan got the break she needed early in the first set and kept it throughout. In the second, she broke Lazic on the deuce point with a cross-court rip for a 6-5 lead. Cerdan served out the match in the next game, winning on her second match point for the 3-1 U-M lead.
U-M will face either Ohio State or Wisconsin in tomorrow's (Sunday, May 1) Big Ten Tournament championship match at noon CDT.
Following are match-by-match results
Singles
No. 1 -- No. 118 Clarissa Hand (NU) d. No. 19 Kari Miller (U-M), 6-4, 4-6, 7-5
No. 2 -- No. 92 Jaedan Brown (U-M) d. Maria Shusharina (NU), 6-2, 6-3
No. 3 -- Nicole Hammond (U-M) d. Sydney Pratt (NU), 7-5, 6-3
No. 4 -- Andrea Cerdan (U-M) d. Ema Lazic (NU), 6-3, 7-5
No. 5 -- Julia Fliegner (U-M) d. Christina Hand (NU), 6-7 (8), 7-5, 6-2
No. 6 -- Brianna Crowley (NU) d. Gala Mesochoritou (U-M), 6-3, 6-7 (5), 7-6 (5)
Doubles
No. 1 -- Clarissa Hand/Maria Shusharina (NU) d. Jaedan Brown/Julia Fliegner (U-M), 6-3
No. 2 -- Briana Crowley/Christina Hand (NU) d. Kari Miller/Andrea Cerdan (U-M), 6-2
No. 3 -- Anca Craciun/Nicole Hammond (U-M) vs. Hannah McColgan/Sydney Pratt (NU), 5-3 abandoned
Order of Completion: Doubles 2-1; Singles 2-3-4-6-1-5
Players Mentioned
