Michigan
UCSB
Wolverines Shut Out UCSB, Punch Ticket to Indoors
1/26/2025 4:40:00 PM | Women's Tennis
Site: Ann Arbor, Mich. (Varsity Tennis Center)
Event: ITA Kick-Off (Day 2 of 2)
Score: #8 Michigan 4, UCSB 0
Records: U-M (2-0), UCSB (1-3)
Next U-M Event: Saturday, Feb. 1 -- at Virginia (Charlottesville, Va.), 11 a.m.
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The No. 8-ranked University of Michigan women's tennis team blanked UC Santa Barbara, 4-0, on Sunday afternoon (Jan. 26) at the Varsity Tennis Center to punch its ticket to the ITA National Team Indoor Championship. It will be Michigan's 13th appearance at the national event in the last 16 seasons.
Michigan struck first, taking the doubles point behind wins at No. 1 and No. 2. The Gauchos took the first match off court, winning 6-1 at No. 3.
U-M's No. 1 duo of Piper Charney and Jessica Bernales bounced back from a loss yesterday to record a 6-2 victory at the top spot. The Wolverine pair broke to start and consolidated the break in the ensuing game on Charney's serve for a 2-0 lead. U-M kept the break the rest of the way, picking up the win.
With the doubles point coming down the match at No. 2, Reese Miller and Julia Fliegner were tied at 4-4 after the Gauchos got a break back by winning two straight games. Following a hold of serve, U-M led 5-4 with UCSB back to serve to stay in the match. The Wolverines won the final three points to get the win, clinching the doubles point with a 6-4 victory.
Michigan carried that momentum forward in singles, taking five-of-six first sets when Emily Sartz-Lunde pulled through in a first-set tiebreak, 7-4.
Bernales and Charney quickly pushed Michigan's lead to 3-0 on adjacent courts. Bernales was first to finish, putting the second point on the board with a 6-1, 6-2 win at No. 6.
Charney wasted little time following Bernales for U-M's third point, winning 6-1, 6-3 for her second singles win of the weekend.
Lily Jones did the honors for Michigan, winning 6-4, 6-2 at No. 3. Jones recovered from a slow start in the first set, falling behind 2-0. She won six of the final eight games to take the first set. It was all Jones in the second set as she grabbed a match point at 5-1 that Ali Benedetto fought off. She closed it out in her ensuing service game, putting Michigan's fourth point on the board.
U-M hits the road next weekend, heading to Virginia on Feb. 1. Match time is set for 11 a.m.
Following are match-by-match results
Singles
No. 1 -- No. 5 Julia Fliegner (U-M) vs. No. 16 Amelia Honer (UCSB), 7-5, 4-3 abandoned
No. 2 -- No. 18 Piper Charney (U-M) d. Marie Weissheim (UCSB), 6-1, 6-3
No. 3 -- No. 40 Lily Jones (U-M) d. Ali Benedetto (UCSB), 6-4, 6-2
No. 4 -- Tyra Richardson (UCSB) vs. Reese Miller (U-M), 6-1, 5-5 abandoned
No. 5 -- Emily Sartz-Lunde (U-M) vs. Emma Tutoveanu (UCSB), 7-6 (4), 4-1 abandoned
No. 6 -- Jessica Bernales (U-M) d. Lily Pradkin (UCSB), 6-1, 6-2
Doubles
No. 1 -- Piper Charney/Jessica Bernales (U-M) d. No. 9 Amelia Honer/Marie Weissheim (UCSB), 6-2
No. 2 -- No. 49 Reese Miller/Julia Fliegner (U-M) d. Ali Benedetto/Emma Tutoveanu (UCSB), 6-4
No. 3 -- Lucy Lu/Lily Pradkin (UCSB) d. Lily Jones/Emily Sartz-Lunde (U-M), 6-1
Order of Completion: Doubles 3-1-2; Singles 6-2-3
Players Mentioned
