Michigan
Florida
Doubles Comeback, Strong Singles Showing Pushes Michigan to Top-10 Win over Florida
2/6/2024 9:24:00 PM | Women's Tennis
Site: Ann Arbor, Mich. (Varsity Tennis Center)
Score: #5 Michigan 4, #8 Florida 1
Records: U-M (5-1), UF (4-1)
Next U-M Event: Friday, Feb. 9 -- vs. California - at ITA National Team Indoor Championship (Seattle, Wash.), 9 a.m. PST
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The No. 5-ranked University of Michigan women's tennis team used a doubles comeback and strong singles performances to defeat No. 8-ranked Florida on Tuesday night (Feb. 6) at the Varsity Tennis Center, handing the Gators their first loss of the season.
The Wolverines took the doubles point in comeback fashion with wins at No. 1 and No. 3 after Florida struck first with a win at No. 2. Jaedan Brown and Kari Miller battled hard with Florida at No. 1 and took the match 7-5 after a back and forth set. When U-M evened the doubles matches at 1-1, Reese Miller and Piper Charney were tied at six at No. 3. The pair got out to an early lead in the tiebreak set and managed to hold off the Gators to secure the doubles point for U-M.
Gala Mesochoritou controlled her singles match at No. 4 from start to finish, taking both sets by a score of 6-0 to extend the U-M lead to 2-0 on the evening. Mesochoritou used her serve to put her opponent on their back foot on match point and after a long chase by Florida, she slammed the finisher down the line to take the match 6-0, 6-0. The Gators got their only point of the match after Julia Fliegner fell 6-4, 6-1 at No. 2.
Miller brought the Wolverines within one point of taking the match after a strong showing at No. 1. Miller won the first set 6-2 and had a 5-1 lead in the second before Florida took the next game. With a 40-30 advantage on match point, Miller's serve began a long rally. On a cross-court shot from Miller, No. 38-ranked Briggs tried to go down the line, but hit the ball out and Miller won the match 6-2, 6-2.
After a slow first set at No. 3, Brown responded and took the second set 6-3, then used the momentum to take the third set. She was up 5-0 in the third, but No. 23-ranked De Oliveira took the next game before Brown forced a 40-15 lead and earned another match point. A cross-court return from the Gator went out of bounds, giving Brown the match 4-6, 6-3, 6-1 -- which gave Michigan the team win, 4-1.
Both Charney and Lily Jones had the lead in their matches just as Brown secured Michigan's victory. Charney fell behind early at No. 6 after dropping the first set 6-1. She was down 4-1 in the second before mounting a comeback and winning the set 7-6 as well as the tiebreaker 7-4. She led 5-1 in the third at the time the match was abandoned, while Jones led 2-1Â after splitting the first two sets 6-4, 6-7.
Michigan treks west this weekend for the ITA National Team Indoor Championship in Seattle, Wash. U-M earned the No. 4 seed and will face California on Friday (Feb. 9) at 9 a.m. PST.
Following are match-by-match results
 Singles
No. 1 -- No. 10 Kari Miller (U-M) def. No. 38 Carly Briggs (Florida) 6-2, 6-2
No. 2 -- No. 63 Rachel Gailis (Florida) def. No. 39 Julia Fliegner (U-M) 6-4, 6-1
No. 3 -- Jaedan Brown (U-M) def. No. 23 Emily De Oliveira (Florida) 4-6, 6-3, 6-1
No. 4 -- No. 82 Gala Mesochoritou (U-M) def. Alicia Dudeney (Florida) 6-0, 6-0
No. 5 -- No. 47 Lily Jones (U-M) vs. Qavia Lopez (Florida) 6-4, 6-7 (5), 2-1 abandonedÂ
No. 6 -- Piper Charney (U-M) vs. Malwina Rowinska (Florida) 1-6, 7-6 (4), 5-1 abandoned
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Doubles
No. 1 -- No. 8 Jaedan Brown/Kari Miller (U-M) def. Bente Spee/Alicia Dudeney (Florida) 7-5
No. 2 -- No. 38 Malwina Rowinska/Qavia Lopez (Florida) def Anna Ross/Lily Jones (U-M)Â 6-2
No. 3 -- Reese Miller/Piper Charney (U-M) def. Carly Briggs/Rachel Gailis (Florida)Â 7-6 (4)
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Order of Completion: Doubles 3-1-2; Singles 4-2-1-3
Players Mentioned
