
Fahey, Minor Continue Winning Ways
5/26/2017 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
May 26, 2017
» Brienne Minor won her sixth straight match, knocking off No. 37 Mayar Sherif Ahmed of Pepperdine, 6-3, 7-5.
» Kate Fahey extended her singles winning streak to 16 matches, rallying for a 1-6, 7-5, 6-3 win over No. 62 Jessica Livianu of St. John's. Fahey was down 3-1 in the second set before winning 12 of the next 17 games for the three-set win.
» Fahey and Minor are the first Wolverines to ever advance to the quarterfinals of the NCAA Singles Championship.
Site: Athens, Ga. (Dan Magill Tennis Complex)
Event: NCAA Singles Tournament (Round of 16)
Score: No Team Scoring
Next U-M Event: Saturday, May 27 -- at NCAA Individual Championships (Athens, Ga.), Noon
ATHENS, Ga. -- The sophomore pair of Brienne Minor and Kate Fahey continued its winning ways to become the first Wolverines in school history to advance to the quarterfinals of the NCAA Singles Championship as the University of Michigan women's tennis team completed competition on the third day of action (Friday, May 26) at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex.
Minor came away with a straight-set win over No. 37-ranked Mayar Sherif Ahmed of Pepperdine, 6-3, 7-5. Minor struck first, breaking Ahmed in her first service game en route to an early 3-0 lead. Minor faced a break point on a deuce point at 4-2 but came through to keep the break for a 5-2 advantage. Both players held over the last two games, giving Minor the 6-3 victory.
Both players stayed on serve in the second set until Minor came away with the break at 4-3. Minor went back to serve for the match at 5-4 and held two match points but was broken to tie the set at 5-5. Minor was not fazed, breaking back in the next game to give herself another chance to serve out the match. She came through this time, sealing a two-set win for her 29th win of the season.
Fahey rallied for her win, coming back for a 1-6, 7-5, 6-3 win over No. 62 Jessica Livianu of St. John's. Fahey was broken at 3-1 in the first set, falling 6-1.
In the second set, the two exchanged breaks throughout the first three games until Livianu held for a 3-1 advantage. Fahey came through with a break of Livianu on a deuce point to knot the set at 3-3. Livianu broke Fahey for a 5-4 lead, but Fahey answered right back with a break of her own to once again tie the set (5-5). Fahey held in her next game to grab a 6-5 lead, with Livianu calling for a medical timeout at the changeover. Following the break, Fahey came away with the win on a deuce point to take the set, 7-5, and head to a third.
Fahey jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the third, taking advantage of a Livianu double fault on a deuce point to get the break. She held at love in the next game for a 3-0 advantage. Livianu won the next two games to get within 3-2, but Fahey once again came through with a break for a 4-2 lead. Both players held serve the rest of the way as Fahey came away with the 6-3 win for the set.
Fahey is now up to 36 wins on the season, tying her for second on the single-season list.
Minor and Fahey will compete in tomorrow's (Saturday, May 27) quarterfinal round. Fahey will face Miami's Estela Perez-Somarriba and Minor will square off against Sara Daavettila of North Carolina. Both matches will begin at noon.
Following are match-by-match results:
Singles
#26 Kate Fahey (U-M) d. #62 Jessica Livianu (St. John's), 1-6, 7-5, 6-3
#24 Brienne Minor (U-M) d. #37 Mayar Sherif Ahmed (Pepperdine), 6-3, 7-5
Previous Results: Second Round | First Round
Communications Contact: Sarah VanMetre