Michigan
Ohio State
Michigan's Rally Against No. 3 Ohio State Falls Short
4/1/2026 7:39:00 PM | Women's Tennis
Site: Ann Arbor, Mich. (Varsity Tennis Center)
Score: #3 Ohio State 4, #17 Michigan 1
Records: U-M (10-6), OSU (18-3)
Next U-M Event: Saturday, April 4 -- at Illinois (Champaign, Ill.), 11 a.m. CT
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The No. 17-ranked University of Michigan women's tennis team forced third sets at No. 4 and No. 6 to extend the match, but could not complete the rally from 3-0 down in a 4-1 loss to No. 3-ranked Ohio State in a non-conference match on Wednesday (April 1) at the Varsity Tennis Center.
OSU took the doubles point behind wins at No. 2 and No. 3 sandwiched around a 6-3 win from Lily Jones and Jessica Bernales at No. 1.
The Buckeyes won five first sets in singles, with Reese Miller accounting for Michigan's lone first set at No. 4.
OSU extended its lead to 3-0 behind straight-set victories at No. 1 and No. 2.
Miller cut the Buckeye lead to 3-1 with a 7-5, 7-6 (4) triumph at No. 3. She broke late in the first set, going up 6-5 and closing it out on her serve in the ensuing game. After falling behind 3-0 in the second set, Miller rallied to eventually force a breaker. Tied at 3-3 at the changeover, Miller ripped off the next three points to grab three match points. OSU fought off the first one on a double fault, but Miller closed the door on the next point to put Michigan on the board.
Bernales and Laura Rahnel each forced third sets at No. 4 and No. 6, respectively, keeping Michigan alive in the team match. Bernales was broken at 5-4 in the second set before winning three straight games to force a third at No. 4, with Rahnel breaking at 5-4 and winning the next game to keep Michigan's hopes alive.
Emily Sartz-Lunde was the other Wolverine left on court, on serve in the second set after dropping a 10-8 decision in the first-set tiebreaker.
Rahnel won the first two games of her third set, with Bernales fighting back from down a break to tie it at 2-2 as Michigan was starting to turn the team match.
Michigan's rally came up short as Sartz-Lunde dropped the final two games at No. 5 to account for Ohio State's fourth point.
U-M returns to conference action this weekend, first heading to Illinois on Saturday (April 4) to face the Illini at 11 a.m. CT.
Following are match-by-match results
Singles
No. 1 -- No. 4 Teah Chavez (Ohio State) d. No. 6 Piper Charney (U-M), 6-3, 6-2
No. 2 -- No. 5 Luciana Perry (Ohio State) d. No. 22 Lily Jones (U-M), 6-2, 7-5
No. 3 -- No. 112 Reese Miller (U-M) d. Sophie Cisse (Ohio State), 7-5, 7-6 (4)
No. 4 -- Jessica Bernales (U-M) vs. No. 75 Nao Nishino (Ohio State), 6-7 (1), 7-5, 3-2 abandoned
No. 5 -- No. 114 Audrey Spencer (Ohio State) d. Emily Sartz-Lunde (U-M), 7-6 (8), 7-5
No. 6 -- Hephzibah Oluwadare (Ohio State) vs. Laura Rahnel (U-M), 6-2, 4-6, 5-3 abandoned
Doubles
No. 1 -- No. 37 Lily Jones/Jessica Bernales (U-M) d. No. 13 Hephzibah Oluwadare/Teah Chavez (Ohio State), 6-3
No. 2 -- No. 53 Luciana Perry/Flora Johnson (Ohio State) d. Laura Rahnel/Reese Miller (U-M), 6-1
No. 3 -- Audrey Spencer/Sophia Cisse (Ohio State) d. No. 76 Piper Charney/Emily Sartz-Lunde (U-M), 6-3
Order of Completion: Doubles 2-1-3, Singles 1-2-3-5
Players Mentioned
