Michigan
UCLA
Wolverines Knock Off UCLA, Advance to B1G Championship Match
4/25/2025 6:39:00 PM | Women's Tennis
Site: Ojai, Calif. (Libbey Park)
Event: Big Ten Tournament (Semifinals)
Score: No. 3 Michigan 4, No. 16 UCLA 1
Records: U-M (23-3), UCLA (16-8)
Next U-M Event: Saturday, April 26 -- vs. Ohio State/Washington - Big Ten Tournament final (Ojai, Calif.), 5 p.m. PT
OJAI, Calif. -- With three remaining singles matches on court all in third sets, freshman Emily Sartz-Lunde provided the final point as the No. 3-ranked University of Michigan women's tennis team punched its ticket to the championship match of the Big Ten Tournament behind a 4-1 win over No. 16-ranked UCLA on Friday afternoon (April 25) at Libbey Park. It marks Michigan's 20th straight championship match appearance.
With Michigan up 3-1 behind the doubles point and singles wins from Piper Charney and Reese Miller, the Wolverines needed just one more point to clinch the win. The three remaining matches were all in third sets as Sartz-Lunde raced out to a big lead to record the 6-1, 4-6, 6-1 win for Michigan's fourth point. The Wolverine freshman won the first four games of the final set and never looked back, dropping just one game in the final frame in the win over No. 33-ranked Kate Fakih.
The remaining matches were abandoned, with Michigan on serve at both No. 1 and No. 6. Julia Fliegner was in a 2-0 hole before climbing back in her third set at No. 1, with Jessica Bernales erasing a 4-1 deficit and serving at 4-3 when her match was abandoned.
U-M took the early lead, winning the doubles point for the 11th straight match with wins at No. 2 and No. 3. UCLA took the match at No. 1 but U-M was up 5-2 at both No. 2 and No. 3 when that match ended.
It was all Michigan at No. 2, with Miller and Fliegner winning the first four games for a 4-0 lead. UCLA won two straight to close the gap to 4-2 before Miller held her serve in the next game to keep the break. Michigan grabbed two match points on UCLA's serve, converting on the first one for the 6-2 victory.
Michigan's No. 3 pair of Charney and Sartz-Lunde delivered a 6-3 win moments later, recovering from a break of serve in the first game of the match. After holding serve at 3-2, Michigan broke UCLA in the next game for a 4-2 lead. Both teams held serve over the ensuing three games, giving U-M the 6-3 win for the match's first point.
The Wolverines won four first sets in singles action.
U-M wasted little time increasing its lead, getting a pair of straight-set wins from its sophomore class of Charney and Miller.
For the second straight day, Charney was first off court to extend Michigan's lead to 2-0. She broke on the deuce point for a 3-2 lead, consolidating the break in the next game. She dropped just two more games the rest of the match, getting a 6-3, 6-1 win over No. 84 Kimmi Hance.
Miller followed a few minutes later with a 6-2, 6-1 win at No. 5 over Ahmani Guichard for a 3-0 Michigan lead. Miller got the break she needed at 4-2 in the first set and rode that the rest of the way for the first-set win. Much like Charney, she used that momentum into the second set to put Michigan's third point on the scoreboard.
UCLA countered with a straight-set win at No. 3 to get on the board at 3-1. As the Bruins put that point up, the remaining matches on court headed to third sets to set up the final sequence.
Michigan will face either Ohio State or Washington in tomorrow's championship match, set for 5 p.m. PT.
Following are match-by-match results
Singles
No. 1 -- No. 5 Julia Fliegner (U-M) vs. No. 34 Anne-Christine Lutkemeyer (UCLA), 6-4, 3-6, 3-4 abandoned
No. 2 -- No. 25 Piper Charney (U-M) d. No. 84 Kimmi Hance (UCLA), 6-3, 6-1
No. 3 -- No. 66 Elise Wagle (UCLA) d. No. 41 Lily Jones (U-M), 6-4, 6-4
No. 4 -- No. 82 Emily Sartz-Lunde (U-M) d. No. 33 Kate Fakih (UCLA), 6-1, 4-6, 6-1
No. 5 -- Reese Miller (U-M) d. Ahmani Guichard (UCLA), 6-2, 6-1
No. 6 -- Jessica Bernales (U-M) vs. Olivia Center (UCLA), 4-6, 6-4, 3-4 abandoned
Doubles
No. 1 -- No. 15 Kimmi Hance/Elise Wagle (UCLA) d. No. 20 Lily Jones/Jessica Bernales (U-M), 6-2
No. 2 -- Julia Fliegner/Reese Miller (U-M) d. No. 9 Olivia Center/Kate Fakih (UCLA), 6-2
No. 3 -- Piper Charney/Emily Sartz-Lunde (U-M) d. Anne-Christine Lutkemeyer/Ahmani Guichard (UCLA), 6-3
Order of Completion: Doubles 1-2-3; Singles 2-5-3-4
Players Mentioned
