Michigan
Miami
Wolverines Sweep No. 22 Miami, Advance to Quarters of NCAA Tournament
5/11/2024 4:57:00 PM | Women's Tennis
Site: Ann Arbor, Mich. (Varsity Tennis Center)
Event: NCAA Tournament (Third Round)
Score: #3 Michigan 4, #22 Miami 0
Records: U-M (29-3), Miami (13-10)
Next U-M Event: Friday, May 17 -- vs. Pepperdine - NCAA Quarterfinals (Stillwater, Okla.), 1:30 p.m. CDT
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The No. 3-ranked University of Michigan women's tennis team ran its winning streak to a program-best 21 matches and punched its ticket to the quarterfinals of the NCAA Tournament for the second straight season by shutting out Miami 4-0 on Saturday afternoon (May 11) at the Varsity Tennis Center.
Playing in difficult conditions outdoors, Michigan won the doubles point and captured the first three singles matches off court in the shutout win before the rain ultimately came.
U-M grabbed the early lead behind the doubles point, capturing wins at No. 1 and No. 3.
At the top of the lineup, U-M's No. 9-ranked pair of Jaedan Brown and Kari Miller ran away from Miami's No. 27-ranked pair in a 6-1 win. After rallying from a 0-30 hole to hold serve at 2-1, Michigan broke Miami in the ensuing game on a Brown overhead winner. That was all the space the Wolverines needed as the won the next three games to wrap up the win.
Miami answered with a 6-3 win at No. 2, turning attention to the No. 3 court for the match's first point.
Julia Fliegner and Lily Jones fell in a 2-0 hole before breaking back to get the match back on serve. Miami countered with another break, keeping a 3-1 lead. U-M went to work from there, winning the next four games for a 5-3 lead. Michigan grabbed a match point on the deuce point in the next game, but Fliegner's service return found the net. With the opportunity to serve out the match in the next game, Michigan held three match points on Fliegner's serve. U-M converted the last one on the deuce point on a Fliegner ace up the middle for a 6-4 win and a 1-0 team lead.
Michigan wasted little time in singles, dropping just two total games over its first two wins to extend its lead to 3-0.
Piper Charney won her 19th straight match, dropping just one game in a 6-1, 6-0 win at the No. 6 position. With the victory, she has tied Brienne Minor for most singles wins by a freshman in program history with 36.
Fliegner quickly followed with a 6-1, 6-0 win at No. 2 singles right next to Charney for a 3-0 Michigan lead. Much like Charney, she took control early in the first set and never let her opponent into the match in the straight-set win.
On the remaining four courts, Michigan had first sets in hand at No. 2 and No. 4, with Miami winning a first set at No. 5. The match at No. 1 was still in the early stages of the first set.
With Michigan needing just one more point in the team match, Miami forced a third set at No. 2 and Michigan returned the favor at No. 5.
For the second straight season, it was Gala Mesochoritou who clinched Michigan's trip to the quarterfinals. She raced to a 6-1 win the first set before dropping a 6-2 second set. The players exchanged three straight breaks of serve to start the third set before Mesochoritou consolidated the break at 3-1. It was all Maize and Blue from there as she did not drop another game to put Michigan's fourth point on the board.
Michigan is making its second straight and third overall appearance in the NCAA quarterfinals. The remainder of the tournament shifts to Stillwater, Okla., hosted by Oklahoma State. U-M will face No. 6 seed Pepperdine on Friday (May 17) at 1:30 p.m. CDT.
Following are match-by-match results
Singles
No. 1 -- No. 10 Alexa Noel (Miami) vs. No. 5 Kari Miller (U-M), 7-6 (11) abandoned
No. 2 -- No. 28 Julia Fliegner (U-M) d. No. 47 Isabella Pfennig (Miami), 6-1, 6-0
No. 3 -- No. 57 Gala Mesochoritou (U-M) d. Leonie Schuknecht (Miami), 6-1, 2-6, 6-1
No. 4 -- Jaedan Brown (U-M) vs. No. 115 Audrey Boch-Collins (Miami), 6-4, 3-5 abandoned
No. 5 -- No. 78 Lily Jones (U-M) vs. Xinyi Nong (Miami), 4-6, 6-3, 1-1 abandoned
No. 6 -- No. 113 Piper Charney (U-M) d. Maria Paula Vargas (Miami), 6-1, 6-0
Doubles
No. 1 -- No. 9 Kari Miller/Jaedan Brown (U-M) d. No. 27 Isabella Pfennig/Xinyi Nong (Miami), 6-1
No. 2 -- Audrey Boch-Collins/Alexa Noel (Miami) d. Piper Charney/Reese Miller (U-M), 6-3
No. 3 -- Julia Fliegner/Lily Jones (U-M) d. Leonie Schuknecht/Maria Paula Vargas (Miami), 6-4
Order of Completion: Doubles 1-2-3, Singles 6-2-3
Players Mentioned
