Michigan
Northwestern
Wolverines Shut Out Northwestern, Stay Perfect in Big Ten
4/1/2023 5:20:00 PM | Women's Tennis
Site: Evanston, Ill. (Combe Tennis Center)
Score: #5 Michigan 4, Northwestern 0
Records: U-M (14-3, 6-0 B1G), NU (5-11, 1-3 B1G)
Next U-M Event: Sunday, April 2 -- at Illinois (Champaign, Ill.), Noon CDT
EVANSTON, Ill. -- The No. 5-ranked University of Michigan women's tennis team stayed perfect in Big Ten action, shutting out Northwestern 4-0 on Saturday afternoon (April 1) at Combe Tennis Center. It marked Michigan's eighth straight win over the Wildcats.
Michigan took the early lead behind the doubles point, winning at No. 2 and No. 3.
It was all U-M at No. 2 as Julia Fliegner and Lily Jones eased to a 6-1 win. The pair broke Northwestern to start and then fought off two break points in the next game, the final on a return long on the deuce point to consolidate the break at 2-0. They held on Fliegner's serve on the deuce point when she went for the feet of the Northwestern player, keeping a 3-1 lead. That was all the room the Wolverines needed to secure the 6-1 victory.
Michigan's No. 3 pair of Andrea Cerdan and Merri Kelly brought home the first point of the match with a 6-3 victory. The duo was broken at 3-2 but immediately returned the favor to level the match back at 3-3. U-M held for the 4-3 lead and broke NU again in the following game after cashing in on its second break point for the 5-3 advantage. Cerdan served out the match in the ensuing game, sealing the 6-3 win to put the match's first point on the board.
Northwestern put the pressure on Michigan in singles action, winning four first sets as only Jones and Cerdan were able to grab first-set wins.
Cerdan pushed Michigan's lead to 2-0 with a 6-3, 6-0 win at No. 5. She got a timely break in the latter stages of the first and did not drop a game in the second to secure Michigan's second point.
Jones rallied from a 4-1 deficit in her second set to wrap up her match in straight sets for Michigan's third point of the afternoon. She methodically worked her way back into the set, winning four of the next five games for a 5-5 tie. Jones did not lose a point over the final two games to push Michigan's lead to 3-0.
It got interesting from there as Michigan needed to pull out a three-set win to take the team match as the Wolverines dropped first sets in all four remaining matches on court.
Kari Miller forced a second set at the No. 2 position as Jones was completing her rally, breezing to a 6-1 win after dropping a 6-3 win in the first set. Gala Mesochoritou followed the same script at No. 6, getting a 6-2 second-set win. She was down a break at 2-1 in the set but got back on serve when Northwestern's forehand hit the net cord to get back on serve. Mesochoritou won the next four games to force the deciding set.
As Jones was putting the finishing touches on her win at No. 4, Jaedan Brown found herself in a 2-0 hole to start the second set after she fell victim to a late break in the first to lose the set.
With Michigan's lead now firmly at 3-0, Fliegner broke to stay in her match at No. 3 and tie it at 5-5. She eventually went onto win 7-5 in the tiebreaker to stay on court and keep NU off the board.
Brown reversed the script from her first set, this time getting her own advantageous break late in the second set to win. Miller, meanwhile, found herself in a 5-1 hole before slowly working her way back into the set after fighting off a match point.
Mesochoritou did the honors for the Maize and Blue, weathering a few early breaks in the third set for a 2-6, 6-2, 6-3 win at the bottom of the lineup. She was down 2-0 to start before getting back on serve at 2-2. She was broken yet again but was able to answer right back to tie it at 3-3. She held at 4-3 and took a 5-3 lead when Aino Alkio put it in the net on the deuce point. The Wolverine held in the next game, coming through on her second match point as Alkio again put a forehand in the net.
U-M completes its weekend swing through Illinois on Sunday (April 2), facing the Fighting Illini in Champaign at noon CDT.
Following are match-by-match results
Singles
No. 1 -- No. 30 Jaedan Brown (U-M) vs. Justine Leong (NU), 4-6, 6-4, 2-2 abandoned
No. 2 -- No. 47 Kari Miller (U-M) vs. Maria Shusharina (NU), 3-6, 6-1, 5-5 abandoned
No. 3 -- No. 37 Julia Fliegner (U-M) vs. Birana Crowley (NU), 4-6, 7-6 (5), 1-2 abandoned
No. 4 -- No. 63 Lily Jones (U-M) d. No. 109 Christina Hand (NU), 6-4, 7-5
No. 5 -- Andrea Cerdan (U-M) d. Kiley Rabjohns (NU), 6-3, 6-0
No. 6 -- Gala Mesochoritou (U-M) d. Aino Alkio (NU), 2-6, 6-2, 6-3
Doubles
No. 1 -- No. 2 Jaedan Brown/Kari Miller (U-M) vs. No. 42 Christina Hand/Justine Leong (NU), 5-4 abandoned
No. 2 --No. 76 Lily Jones/Julia Fliegner (U-M) d. Briana Crowley/Sydney Pratt (NU), 6-1
No. 3 -- Merri Kelly/Andrea Cerdan (U-M) d. Kiley Rabjohns/Maria Shusharina (NU), 6-3
Order of Completion: Doubles 2-3, Singles 5-4-6
Players Mentioned
