Michigan
Maryland
Fliegner Sends Michigan Past Maryland in B1G Quarters
4/24/2025 4:14:00 PM | Women's Tennis
Site: Ojai, Calif. (Libbey Park)
Event: Big Ten Tournament (Quarterfinals)
Score: #3 Michigan 4, Maryland 3
Records: U-M (22-3), UMD (15-12)
Next U-M Event: Friday, April 25 -- vs. Wisconsin/UCLA - Big Ten Tournament semifinals (Ojai, Calif.), Noon PT
OJAI, Calif. -- With the team match tied at 3-3, Julia Fliegner rallied from a 0-30 deficit on her serve by winning the final four points to push the No. 3-ranked University of Michigan women's tennis team past Maryland, 4-3, in the quarterfinals of the Big Ten Tournament on Thursday (April 24) at Libbey Park.
Michigan held a 3-1 lead after winning the doubles point and getting wins from Piper Charney and Jessica Bernales. Maryland countered by winning a pair of three-set matches at No. 5 and No. 3, pulling level at 3-3.
Fliegner and Kallista Liu exchanged breaks in the middle stages of the third set, with Fliegner taking a 5-4 lead and heading back to serve when the Terps tied the team match at 3-3. She lost the first two points but quickly recovered, winning the final point when she forced Liu wide and came in for the swinging volley winner at the net.
U-M breezed to the doubles point, dropping just one game across the three matches to take a 1-0 lead less than 30 minutes into the match. Fliegner and Reese Miller finished their 6-0 win first, with Emily Sartz-Lunde and Charney quickly following with a 6-0 win at No. 3.
U-M took four first sets in singles action, highlighted by a tiebreak win from Lily Jones at No. 3 and a late break for Fliegner in a 7-5 win at No. 1.
Charney accounted for Michigan's second point of the match, taking a 6-3, 6-4 win at No. 2. After winning her first set, Charney got the break she needed at 4-3. She consolidated it in the next game behind a net cord ace, taking a 5-3 lead. Maryland held serve in the next game and Charney did the same in the 10th game, taking the 6-4 win.
Maryland countered with a straight-set win at No. 4 to halve the U-M lead to 2-1.
Bernales extended the U-M advantage to 3-1 with a 6-0, 4-6, 6-3 victory at the bottom of the lineup. She fell behind 4-1 in the second before getting back on serve at 4-5 but was broken, setting up the third set. It was all Bernales in the third set as she went up 5-2 and had an opportunity to serve for the match. She was broken but immediately broke back in the next game, sealing her match and pushing Michigan's lead to 3-1.
Fliegner fell in a second-set breaker, setting up a third set at No. 1 while Miller and Jones were each in third sets with Michigan needing just one more victory to put the team match away.
Miller was broken at 3-2 in the third and down 5-3 before winning three straight games for a 6-5 lead. She held three match points on Maryland's serve, but Diya Challa fought all three off behind strong first serves. Miller had another match point in the breaker but could not covert as Challa won the final three points to pull the Terps within 3-2.
Jones went up a break at 5-4 in the third and had a chance to serve out the match, but Danielle Hack on the final three games to pull Maryland even at 3-3 to set up the deciding match at No. 1.
Michigan will face either UCLA or Wisconsin in tomorrow's (Friday, April 25) semifinals at noon PT.
Following are match-by-match results
Singles
No. 1 -- No. 5 Julia Fliegner (U-M) d. Kallista Liu (UMD), 7-5, 6-7 (3), 6-4
No. 2 -- No. 25 Piper Charney (U-M) d. Ema Kovacevic (UMD), 6-3, 6-4
No. 3 -- Danielle Hack (UMD) d. No. 41 Lily Jones (U-M), 6-7 (3), 6-3, 7-5
No. 4 -- Oliwia Orlinska (UMD) d. No. 82 Emily Sartz-Lunde (U-M), 6-4, 6-4
No. 5 -- Diya Challa (UMD) d. Reese Miller (U-M), 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 (6)
No. 6 -- Jessica Bernales (U-M) d. Aida Eissa (UMD), 6-0, 4-6, 6-3
Doubles
No. 1 -- No. 20 Lily Jones/Jessica Bernales (U-M) vs. Ema Kovacevic/Diya Challa (UMD), 4-1 abandoned
No. 2 -- Julia Fliegner/Reese Miller (U-M) d. No. 40 Kallista Liu/Danielle Hack (UMD), 6-0
No. 3 -- Piper Charney/Emily Sartz-Lunde (U-M) d. Oliwia Orlinska/Aida Eissa (UMD), 6-0
 Order of Completion: Doubles 2-3; Singles 2-4-6-5-3-1
Players Mentioned
