Wolverines Punch Ticket to ITA Indoor Championship – University of Michigan

Wolverines Punch Ticket to ITA Indoor Championship

Site: Stillwater, Okla. (Greenwood Tennis Center)
Event: ITA Kickoff (Day 2 of 2)
Score: #16 Michigan 4, #14 Oklahoma State 2
Records: U-M (3-0), OSU (2-1)
Next U-M Event: Saturday, Feb. 4 — vs. Oklahoma State (Varsity Tennis Center), Noon

STILLWATER, Okla. — The No. 16-ranked University of Michigan women’s tennis team won the doubles point and Kari Miller came through with a 10-8 second-set tiebreak win to put the deciding point on the board in a 4-2 win over No. 14 Oklahoma State at the ITA Kick-Off on Sunday afternoon at the Greenwood Tennis Center. With the win, Michigan has punched its ticket to the ITA National Indoor Team Championship.

Michigan struck first, winning the doubles point behind wins at No. 1 and No. 2 after being down early on all three courts.

Oklahoma State took a 6-4 win at No. 3 in the first doubles match off court.

U-M’s top pair of Jaedan Brown and Kari Miller were broken at 5-4 but ripped off three straight games to take the match at No. 1. Miller ripped a forehand on the deuce point with the match tied at 5-5, giving Michigan a 6-5 lead. U-M closed it out in the next game, turning attention to court No. 2.

At No. 2, Julia Fliegner and Lily Jones came back from a 2-0 deficit to get back on serve. The Wolverine duo got back on serve in the next game, but it was shortlived as Oklahoma State eventually grabbed a 4-1 lead. U-M rallied yet again, eventually forcing a breaker for the doubles point. Much like the match itself, Michigan fell behind early at 4-1 in the tiebreaker, but it was all U-M from there as Fliegner and Jones won six of the next seven points to clinch the point for the Maize and Blue with a 7-5 tiebreak win.

Singles was tightly contested throughout, with the teams splitting the first sets.

Oklahoma State quickly erased the Michigan lead, winning the first two singles matches for a 2-1 lead.

Michigan countered, getting straight-set wins at No. 3 from Fliegner and No. 6 from Andrea Cerdan. Both players jumped out to early leads and used the momentum to wrap up the wins.

With U-M holding a 3-2 lead and needing just one more match victory to take the team match, Miller was up a set and serve in the second at the top spot, while Jones rebounded from a first-set loss for a 6-2 win in the second to set up a third set at No. 4.

Miller’s matched stayed on serve throughout the second set, heading to a tiebreaker. At the same time, Jones saw her 4-2 lead turn into a 5-4 deficit.

Miller won three straight points after the changeover for a 6-3 lead, giving her three match points at No. 1. Over on court No. 4, Jones rallied from a 0-40 hole on her serve, fighting off four match points to knot her third set at 5-5.

Oklahoma State’s Kristina Novak ripped off four straight points at No. 1, grabbing her own set point at 7-6. She and Miller went back and forth over the next several points, with Miller finally stringing together two straight points at 10-8 to clinch the Michigan win.

Jones’ match was abandoned, tied at 5-5 in the third set.

Michigan returns to the Varsity Tennis Center next Saturday (Feb. 4), hosting this same Oklahoma State team at noon. Admission to all home matches is free.

Following are match-by-match results

Singles
No. 1 — No. 81 Kari Miller (U-M) d. Kristina Novak (OSU), 7-5, 7-6 (8)
No. 2 — No. 108 Alana Wolfberg (OSU) d. No. 40 Jaedan Brown (U-M), 6-1, 6-4
No. 3 — No. 39 Julia Fliegner (U-M) d. No. 72 Sofia Rojas (OSU), 6-3, 6-4
No. 4 — No. 65 Lily Jones (U-M) vs. Lucia Peyre (OSU), 5-7, 6-2, 5-5 abandoned
No. 5 — Ayumi Miyamota (OSU) d. No. 103 Gala Mesochoritou (U-M), 6-3, 6-1
No. 6 — No. 101 Andrea Cerdan (U-M) No. 121 Raquel Gonzalez (OSU), 6-2, 6-3

Doubles
No. 1 — No. 2 Jaedan Brown/Kari Miller (U-M) d. Lucia Peyre/Ayumi Miyamoto (OSU), 7-5
No. 2 — Julia Fliegner/Lily Jones (U-M) d. Kristina Novak/Alana Wolfberg (OSU), 7-6 (5)
No. 3 — Sofia Rojas/Raquel Gonzalez (OSU) d. Andrea Cerdan/Merri Kelly (U-M), 6-4

Order of Completion: Doubles 3-1-2; Singles 5-2-3-6-1