Michigan
Notre Dame
Wolverines Knock off Notre Dame, Advance to NCAA Super Regional
5/6/2023 8:10:00 PM | Women's Tennis
Site: Ann Arbor, Mich. (Varsity Tennis Center)
Event: NCAA Tournament (Second Round)
Score: #5 Michigan 4, Notre Dame 0
Records: U-M (24-3), UND (16-11)
Next U-M Event: Saturday, May 13 -- vs. Virginia - NCAA Tournament Third Round (Varsity Tennis Center), 1 p.m.
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The No. 5-ranked University of Michigan women's tennis team ran its winning streak to 13 and advanced to the third round of the NCAA Tournament with a 4-1 win over Notre Dame on Saturday afternoon (May 6) at the Varsity Tennis Center. It is Michigan's 10th trip to the round of 16 since 2010 and 11th overall.
The Wolverines won a roller coaster of a doubles point, getting wins at No. 2 and No. 1.
U-M's No. 2 pair of Lily Jones and Julia Fliegner had little trouble in their match, taking a 6-2 victory. With one match in hand, Michigan was up a break at No. 3 and down two breaks at No. 1.
Notre Dame got the break back at 3-4 at No. 3, tying the match at 4-4. At the same time, Jaedan Brown and Andrea Cerdan went to work at No. 1 after being down 5-2.
Brown and Cerdan slowly chipped away, winning two straight games to get back on serve at 4-5. The Wolverines fell behind 0-30 in the ensuing service game before winning four straight points to even the score at 5-5. Notre Dame double faulted twice in the next game, with Michigan grabbing a 6-5 lead. U-M held in the next game on Cerdan's serve, wrapping up the 7-5 win for the doubles point.
Michigan won four first sets after Gala Mesochoritou won the final five points of her breaker at No. 6, turning a 6-3 deficit into an 8-6 win.
Brown turned in a dominant 6-4, 6-4 win at No. 2 to push Michigan's lead to 2-0. Brown raced out to 3-0 leads in each set and won the final two games of her second set for her second straight-set win of the weekend.
Notre Dame answered by forcing third sets at No. 1, No. 3 and No. 6.
The match moved inside at 6:35 p.m. due to rain and darkness. Fliegner was one game away from winning at No.3, with Jones down in her second set and third sets slated to begin at Nos. 1 and 6.
Fliegner got the job done quickly, winning on her serve and surrendering just one point in the game for a 3-0 Michigan lead. Fliegner erased a 3-1 lead in the first set, winning the final five games to take the opening set. UND's Bojana Pozder returned the favor in the second set, winning 6-1 to force a third. It was all Fliegner in the third as she won the first five games to take control in an identical 6-1 third-set win.
With the matches inside, Mesochoritou and Kari Miller each jumped out to 3-0 leads in their third sets at No. 6 and No. 1, respectively.
Notre Dame got on the board with a straight-set win at No. 5, cutting Michigan's lead to 3-1.
It truly was a race to the finish as Cerdan, Miller and Mesochoritou each took 5-2 leads simultaneously in their third sets.
Mesochoritou was first to finish, firing a forehand winner on her first match point in a 7-6 (6), 0-6, 6-2 win at No. 6. She used her fast start in the third set to propel her to the victory, with Cerdan and Miller each two points from finishing their matches.
Michigan will host No. 12 Virginia in the super regional round next Saturday (May 13) at the Varsity Tennis Center. The match will start at 1 p.m. and admission is free.
Following are match-by-match results
Singles
No. 1 -- No. 36 Kari Miller (U-M) vs. No. 65 Page Freeman (ND), 6-4, 4-6, 5-2 abandoned
No. 2 -- No. 22 Jaedan Brown (U-M) d. No. 97 Julia Andreach (ND), 6-4, 6-4
No. 3 -- No. 51 Julia Fliegner (U-M) d. Bojana Pozder (ND), 6-3, 1-6, 6-1
No. 4 -- Andrea Cerdan (U-M) vs. Yashna Yellayi (ND), 5-7, 6-2, 5-2 abandoned
No. 5 -- Nibedita Ghosh (ND) d. No. 79 Lily Jones (U-M), 7-6 (8), 6-2
No. 6 -- Gala Mesochoritou (U-M) d. Akari Matsuno (ND), 7-6 (6), 0-6, 6-1
Doubles
No. 1 -- Jaedan Brown/Andrea Cerdan (U-M) d. No. 30 Carrie Beckman/Julia Andreach (ND), 7-5
No. 2 -- Lily Jones/Julia Fliegner (U-M) d. Yashna Yellayi/Rylie Hanford (ND), 6-2
No. 3 -- Merri Kelly/Kari Miller (U-M) vs. Page Freeman/Maria Olivia Castedo (ND), 6-5 abandoned
Order of Completion: Doubles 2-1; Singles 2-3-5-6
Players Mentioned
