Michigan
Ohio State
Wolverines Win Second Straight B1G Tourney Title
4/30/2023 4:13:00 PM | Women's Tennis
Site: West Lafayette, Ind. (Schwartz Tennis Center)
Event: Big Ten Tournament (Final)
Score: #5 Michigan 4, #10 Ohio State 2
Records: U-M (22-3), OSU (20-6)
Next U-M Event: Monday, May 1 -- NCAA Selection Show, 6 p.m.
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -- The No. 5-ranked University of Michigan women's tennis team won its second consecutive Big Ten Tournament title, knocking off No. 10-ranked Ohio State, 4-2, on Sunday (April 30) at the Schwartz Tennis Center. It was Michigan's third win over the Buckeyes this season.
With Michigan needing just one more point to clinch the tournament, Julia Fliegner came through with a three-set win at No. 3. She broke to start her third set, taking a 2-0 lead before Isabelle Boulais won two straight games to tie it at 2-2. It was all Fliegner from there as she broke Boulais yet again and then fought off two break points on her serve for a 4-2 lead. She kept it rolling from there, winning a 6-4, 3-6, 6-2.
Michigan grabbed the early 1-0 lead after rallying for the doubles point behind wins at No. 3 and No. 2. Ohio State grabbed a 6-2 win at No. 1, with Michigan in control at No. 3 and Ohio State rolling at No. 2.
Kari Miller and Merri Kelly completed a 3-0 weekend at the Big Ten Tournament, turning in a 6-3 win at No. 3. U-M got the break it needed at 3-1, consolidating in the next game on Kelly's serve for a 4-1 lead. It was all Maize and Blue from there, with Michigan taking the win to even the doubles ledger.
Ohio State held a 5-2 lead and a pair of breaks at No. 2, heading back to the line to serve out the match. U-M's pair of Fliegner and Lily Jones answered with a break and held on its next serve to get one break back. Ohio State again went back to serve out the match, grabbing two match points in the game. U-M fought off both, tying the match at 5-5. Jones held in the next game as her serve clipped the net and fell over on game point as U-M grabbed a 6-5 lead. The Wolverines grabbed three match points in the next game, making good on the second to complete the rally for the match's first point.
Michigan won five first sets in singles action, but Ohio State came back to force third sets at three spots as the match tightened up.
OSU pulled even at 1-1 with a straight-set win at No. 2.
The tie was short-lived as Jaedan Brown won a 6-3, 6-3 match against No. 20-ranked Irina Cantos at the top of the lineup to push Michigan back in front at 2-1. Brown got the break in the first set at 3-2, keeping it in her next service game for a 4-2 lead en route to the win. In the second, Brown won the first three games before dropping the next two to get back on serve. She broke Cantos on the deuce point in the next game to regain the break and kept it the rest of the way for the win.
Gala Mesochoritou quickly followed with a straight-set win at No. 6, winning 7-6 (2), 6-2. The players went back-and-forth in the first set as neither was able to hold serve much throughout. In the breaker, Mesochoritou raced out to a 4-2 lead at the changeover and did not look back to get the win. She won five of the first six games of the second set and had a pair of match points on her serve that she could not covert. She broke Danielle Willson yet again in the next game, giving Willson her first dual-match loss of the season to stake U-M a 3-1 lead.
Michigan needed just one of the remaining matches on court, with Fliegner doing the honors. Jones hung in there in her third set at No. 4, erasing a 4-0 deficit at 4-3 before eventually dropping 6-3 third set as OSU got back within 3-2.
Andrea Cerdan was up 4-2 in her third set at No. 5 when Fliegner put the fourth point on the board, giving Michigan its fifth Big Ten Tournament title.
Michigan will learn its NCAA Tournament placement during the selection show, set for Monday (May 1) at 6 p.m.
Following are match-by-match results
Singles
No. 1 -- No. 29 Jaedan Brown (U-M) d. No. 20 Irina Cantos (OSU), 6-3, 6-3
No. 2 -- No. 34 Sydni Ratliff (OSU) d. No. 37 Kari Miller (U-M), 6-3, 6-3
No. 3 -- No. 47 Julia Fliegner (U-M) d. Isabelle Boulais (OSU), 6-4, 3-6, 6-2
No. 4 -- Lucia Marzal (OSU) d. No. 77 Lily Jones (U-M), 4-6, 6-1, 6-3
No. 5 -- Andrea Cerdan (U-M) vs. No. 94 Shelly Bereznyak (OSU), 6-4, 3-6, 4-2 abandoned
No. 6 -- Gala Mesochoritou (U-M) d. Danielle Willson (OSU), 7-6 (2), 6-2
Doubles
No. 1 -- No. 33 Irina Cantos/Sydni Ratliff (OSU) d. Jaedan Brown/Andrea Cerdan (U-M), 6-2
No. 2 -- Lily Jones/Julia Fliegner (U-M) d. Isabelle Boulais/Shelly Bereznyak (OSU), 7-5
No. 3 -- Merri Kelly/Kari Miller (U-M) d. Kolie Allen/Danielle Willson (OSU), 6-3
Order of Completion: Doubles 1-3-2; Singles 2-1-6-4-3
Players Mentioned
