Michigan
NC State
Wolverines Advance to ITA Indoors Championship Match
2/11/2024 6:26:00 PM | Women's Tennis
Site: Seattle, Wash. (Nordstrom Tennis Center)
Event: ITA National Team Indoor Championship
Score: #5 Michigan 4, #7 NC State 1
Records: U-M (8-1), NCSU (8-1)
Next U-M Event: Monday, Feb. 12 -- vs. Oklahoma State -- ITA National Team Indoor Championship (Seattle, Wash.), Noon PST
SEATTLE, Wash. -- The No. 5-ranked University of Michigan women's tennis team advanced to the championship match of the ITA National Team Indoor Championship for the first time in program history, dispatching of No. 7 NC State 4-1 on Sunday afternoon (Feb. 11) at the Nordstrom Tennis Center.
U-M took the doubles point and three of the four singles matches to finish to pick up the win and extend its winning streak to eight.
Michigan raced out to a 3-0 lead, winning the doubles point and the first two singles matches off court.
Michigan took the early lead, winning the doubles point for the second straight match. U-M struck first, with the freshman duo of Piper Charney and Reese Miller grabbing a 6-2 win at No. 3. The Wolverines grabbed control in the opening moments, winning four of the first five games en route to the 6-2 victory.
NC State answered with a win at No. 2, with the focus shifting to the No. 1 doubles court between Michigan's No. 5 duo of Jaedan Brown and Kari Miller and NC State's No. 6-ranked pair. Miller and Brown recovered from an early 2-0 deficit to get back on serve at 3-3. NC State cashed in on the deuce point to get the break back, but Michigan countered by winning the next two games at love to get the match back on serve at 5-4. U-M rode the momentum from the previous two games, ending the match by winning the final three games in a 6-4 win.
The teams split the first sets, with Michigan winning at No. 2, No. 5 and No. 6.
Michigan quickly increased its lead to 3-0 behind wins at No. 2 from Julia Fliegner and No. 6 from Charney. The Wolverine pair held concurrent match points, with Fliegner winning first and Charney following.
Fliegner used early breaks in both sets to pick up her first win of the tournament. In the second set, she held on a deuce point to stay on serve at 3-2 behind a lob shot to set up the winner. She broke on the deuce point in the following game and held the rest of the way for the straight-set win.
Charney used a late break in the first set for the win and jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the second. After the second set was tied at 2-2, she ripped off four straight games to stake Michigan a 3-0 lead.
With Michigan needing just one more point to get the win, NC State got on the board with a win at No. 1. Gala Mesochoritou forced a third set at No. 4 and Lily Jones found herself heading to a third at No. 5.
Brown rallied multiple times in her second set at No. 3, eventually forcing a tiebreaker. She fought off two match points, flipping a 6-4 deficit into an 8-6 win to stay on court to keep the pressure on NC State.
Mesochoritou broke for a 5-5 tie, eventually heading to a third-set breaker, while Jones grabbed a break at 3-2. She consolidated it in the next game for a 4-2 lead. Both players held the rest of the way as Jones moved to 3-0 at the tournament with a 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 win.
U-M will face Oklahoma State in Monday's (Feb. 12) championship match at noon PST.
Following are match-by-match results
Singles
No. 1 -- No. 10 Amelia Rajecki (NC State) d. No. 9 Kari Miller (U-M), 7-5, 6-4
No. 2 -- No. 18 Julia Fliegner (U-M) d. No. 40 Abigail Rencheli (NC State), 6-2, 6-3
No. 3 -- Jaedan Brown (U-M) vs. No. 39 Anna Zyryanova (NC State), 4-6, 7-6 (6), 1-1 abandoned
No. 4 -- No. 124 Gala Mesochoritou (U-M) vs. No. 33 Sophie Abrams (NC State), 4-6, 6-4, 6-6 abandoned
No. 5 -- No. 57 Lily Jones (U-M) d. Maddy Zampardo (NC State), 6-4, 4-6, 6-3
No. 6 -- Piper Charney (U-M) d. Gina Dittmann (NC State), 6-2, 6-2
Doubles
No. 1 -- No. 5 Jaedan Brown/Kari Miller (U-M) d. No. 6 Sophie Abrams/Anna Zyryanova (NC State), 6-4
No. 2 -- No. 9 Amelia Rajecki/Maddy Zampardo (NC State) d. Anna Ross/Lily Jones (U-M), 6-3
No. 3 -- Reese Miller/Piper Charney (U-M) d. Abigail Rencheli/Gabriella Broadfoot (NC State), 6-2
Order of Completion: Doubles 3-2-1, Singles 6-2-1-5
Players Mentioned
