Michigan
Oklahoma State
Wolverines Advance to First Final Four Behind Shutout of Oklahoma State
5/15/2025 11:59:00 PM | Women's Tennis
Site: Waco, Texas (Hurd Tennis Center)
Event: NCAA Tournament (Quarterfinals)
Score: #3 Michigan 4, #20 Oklahoma State 0
Records: U-M (27-4), OSU (22-8)
Next U-M Event: Saturday, May 17 -- vs. Texas A&M - NCAA Tournament Semifinals (Waco, Texas), 1 p.m. CT
WACO, Texas -- The No. 3-ranked University of Michigan women's tennis team punched its ticket to its first-ever Final Four, shutting out No. 20-ranked Oklahoma State 4-0 behind the doubles point and singles wins from Jessica Bernales, Lily Jones and Julia Fliegner in the quarterfinals of the NCAA Tournament on Thursday night (May 15) at the Hurd Tennis Center.
Michigan struck first, taking the doubles point behind wins at No. 2 and No. 3. Oklahoma State won the first three games at No. 1 before Michigan answered with two straight to get back on serve at 2-3, but the Cowgirls won the following three games to get off court first with a 6-2 win.
U-M's No. 2 duo of Fliegner and Reese Miller recovered from a break in the first game of the match, ripping off four straight for a 4-1 lead. The Wolverines never gave the break back, taking a 6-3 win to even the doubles ledger.
With attention turned to No. 3, Emily Sartz-Lunde held her serve in the ninth game as she and Piper Charney took a 5-4 lead. OSU scored the first two points of the next game, but Michigan answered by grabbing two match points after a Cowgirl double fault. The Wolverines converted the first, clinching the doubles point behind a 6-4 win.
Switching to singles action, Michigan eventually won four first sets when Fliegner won her final four games for a 7-5 win at the top of the lineup.
Bernales staked the Wolverines a 2-0 lead with a 6-4, 6-2 win at No. 6. Holding a 5-4 lead and forcing Oklahoma State to serve to stay in the first set, Bernales broke in the final game on a double fault to take the win. Bernales was broken at 2-1 in the second set but ripped off five straight games to get off court with Michigan's second point.
After that, every match but the match at No. 1 headed to a third as U-M flipped the two at No. 2 and No. 3 while Oklahoma State did the same at No. 4 and No. 5.
Charney took a 3-0 lead in her third set, with Jones up 3-1 as Michigan looked to take control of the third sets being played. Playing at the top of the lineup, Fliegner went up 2-0 in her second set after rallying for the win in the first.
Needing to win just two of the remaining four matches on court, Jones and Fliegner grabbed concurrent match points at No. 3 and No. 1 on adjacent courts.
Jones converted her point first, winning 4-6, 6-0, 6-1 over No. 115 Rose Marie Nijkamp at the No. 3 spot. After dropping the first set, Jones responded with a lightning-fast second-set win. She went up 2-0 in the third but was broken in the next game to get back on serve. She immediately returned the favor and did not drop another game in getting the victory.
Fliegner put the finishing touches on the match with a 7-5, 6-1 win at the top spot, clinching the match moments later. Down 5-3 in the first after taking a 2-0 lead, Fliegner won four straight games to steal the first set at 7-5. It was all Fliegner in the final set as she won the first five games. OSU held serve at 5-1, but Fliegner closed it out in the ensuing game on her serve.
Michigan advances to the semifinals for the first time in program history and will face No. 2 Texas A&M on Saturday (May 17) at 1 p.m. CT at the Hurd Tennis Center.
Following are match-by-match results
Singles
No. 1 -- No. 6 Julia Fliegner (U-M) d. Melissa Ercan (Oklahoma State), 7-5, 6-1
No. 2 -- No. 21 Piper Charney (U-M) vs. No. 84 Anastasiya Komar (Oklahoma State), 1-6, 6-3, 3-4 abandoned
No. 3 -- No. 46 Lily Jones (U-M) d. No. 115 Rose Marie Nijkamp (Oklahoma State), 4-6, 6-0, 6-1
No. 4 -- No. 68 Emily Sartz-Lunde (U-M) vs. Kylie Collins (Oklahoma State), 6-0, 3-6, 1-3 abandoned
No. 5 -- Reese Miller (U-M) vs. No. 77 Gracie Epps (Oklahoma State), 6-4, 2-6, 3-4 abandoned
No. 6 -- Jessica Bernales (U-M) d. No. 125 Marcela Lopez (Oklahoma State), 6-4, 6-2
Doubles
No. 1 -- No. 6 Anastasiya Komar/Rose Marie Nijkamp (Oklahoma State) d. No. 18 Lily Jones/Jessica Bernales (U-M), 6-2
No. 2 -- No. 45 Julia Fliegner/Reese Miller (U-M) d. Kylie Collins/Marcela Lopez (Oklahoma State), 6-3
No. 3 -- Piper Charney/Emily Sartz-Lunde (U-M) d. Gracie Epps/Alian Zack (Oklahoma State), 6-4
Order of Completion: Doubles 1-2-3, Singles 6-3-1
Players Mentioned
