Michigan
Duke
Michigan Grinds Out 4-3 Win Over No. 20 Duke
3/1/2026 4:29:00 PM | Women's Tennis
Site: Ann Arbor, Mich. (Varsity Tennis Center)
Score: Michigan 4, #20 Duke 3
Records: U-M (3-4), Duke (9-3)
Next U-M Event: Friday, March 6 -- at Ohio State (Columbus, Ohio), 6 p.m.
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The University of Michigan women's tennis team won the doubles point and three of the final four singles matches left on court in a 4-3 victory over No. 20 Duke on Sunday (March 1) at the Varsity Tennis Center.
Michigan struck first, taking the doubles point for the second straight match. It was all U-M at No. 2, as Reese Miller and Laura Rahnel raced out to a 3-0 lead with a pair of breaks. Duke got one break back before Michigan rattled off three straight games, converting its third match point in a 6-1 win.
At the same time, Michigan's top pair of Jessica Bernales and Lily Jones fought off three match points at 5-3 to stay on court at 5-4. Over at No. 3, Piper Charney and Emily Sartz-Lunde secured the break they needed at 5-3, and Sartz-Lunde closed it out in the ensuing game as U-M wrapped up the doubles point. Jones and Bernales battled back to 5-5 after fighting off two more match points before their match was abandoned.
Michigan earned first-set wins from Jones, Miller and Sartz-Lunde in singles play, but Duke claimed the first two matches off court to take a 2-1 lead.
Miller evened the team score at 2-2 with a 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 win at No. 3. Trailing 4-2 in the opening set, she won four straight games to take it 6-4. After dropping the second, Miller won the first three games of the deciding set before Duke responded with two straight to get back on serve. The set remained tight until Miller broke at 5-3 and closed out the match on her second match point.
All three remaining matches moved to third sets following Miller's win.
Jones delivered Michigan's third point with a 6-3, 6-7 (4), 7-5 victory over No. 118 Liv Hovde at No. 2. After falling in a second-set tiebreaker, Jones jumped ahead early in the third. She was broken at 5-4 but immediately broke back at love to level the set at 5-5 and rode that momentum to win the final two games.
Needing one more point for the team win, Bernales and Sartz-Lunde remained on court. Bernales had forced a third set after winning five straight games in the second to rally from a 4-1 deficit.
Sartz-Lunde provided the clincher, winning 7-5, 2-6, 6-3 at No. 5 moments after Duke tied the match at 3-3 with a victory at No. 4. She broke for a 4-3 lead in the third, held for 5-3 and secured the win on her second match point when Duke sent a shot long.
The victory marked Michigan's first win over a ranked opponent this season and its first win over Duke since a 4-3 triumph during the 2016 dual-match season.
U-M begins conference play on Friday (March 6), traveling to Ohio State for a 6 p.m. match.
Following are match-by-match results:
Singles
No. 1 -- No. 22 Irina Balus (Duke) d. No. 12 Piper Charney (U-M), 6-4, 7-5
No. 2 -- No. 20 Lily Jones (U-M) d. No. 118 Liv Hovde (Duke), 6-3, 6-7 (4), 7-5
No. 3 -- No. 83 Reese Miller (U-M) d. No. 86 Aspen Schuman (Duke), 6-4, 4-6, 6-3
No. 4 -- No. 101 Eleana Yu (Duke) d. No. 85 Jessica Bernales (U-M), 6-2, 4-6, 6-4
No. 5 -- No. 102 Emily Sartz-Lunde (U-M) d. Shavit Kimchi (Duke), 7-5, 2-6, 6-3
No. 6 -- Claire An (Duke) d. Gabriella Lindgren (U-M), 6-0, 6-3
Doubles
No. 1 -- No. 34 Lily Jones/Jessica Bernales (U-M) vs. No. 12 Liv Hovde/Shavit Kimchi (Duke), 5-5, abandoned
No. 2 -- Reese Miller/Laura Rahnel (U-M) d. No. 39 Eleana Yu/Claire An (Duke), 6-1
No. 3 -- No. 68 Piper Charney/Emily Sartz-Lunde (U-M) d. Irina Balus/Aspen Schuman (Duke), 6-3
Order of Completion: Doubles 1-3; Singles 6-1-3-2-4-5
Players Mentioned
