Michigan
Georgia
Wolverines Fall to No. 1 Georgia in NCAA Third Round
5/11/2019 1:20:00 PM | Women's Tennis
» Michigan took the doubles point behind a pair of 6-3 wins at No. 1 and No. 3. Lera Patiuk and Alyvia Jones clinched the point for Michigan, winning the final three games at No. 3.
» Kate Fahey avenged one of her five losses on the year, beating No. 2-ranked Katarina Jokic in straight sets at No. 1. Fahey has tied Emina Bektas for the most wins in a single season with 38 and concluded dual-match play with a 21-1 record at No. 1.
» Fahey, Brienne Minor and Chiara Lommer will represent Michigan at the NCAA Singles Championship, with Minor and Fahey competing in the doubles tournament as well.
Site: Athens, Ga. (Dan Magill Tennis Complex)
Event: NCAA Tournament (Third Round)
Result: #1 Georgia 4, #16 Michigan 2
Records: U-M (20-6), UGA (26-1)
Next U-M Event: Mon-Sat., May 20-25 -- at NCAA Individual Championships (Orlando, Fla.), TBA
ATHENS, Ga. -- The No. 16-ranked University of Michigan women's tennis team won the doubles point and got a win from senior Kate Fahey at No. 1, but it was not enough as No. 1-ranked Georgia pulled out a 4-2 win in the third round of the NCAA Tournament on Saturday afternoon (May 11) at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex.
Michigan grabbed the early advantage, winning the doubles point for the 1-0 lead.
At No. 1, Fahey and fellow senior Brienne Minor raced out to a 5-0 lead on the No. 28-ranked pair of Katarina Jokic and Lourdes Carle. Fahey and Minor had two match points on Georgia's serve at 5-0, but the Bulldog pair fought both off. That ignited a three-game run for Georgia, climbing back in the match at 5-3. Fahey held on her ensuing serve, ensuring a 6-3 Michigan win.
Moments later, Georgia answered with a 6-3 win at No. 2 to turn attention to court No. 3 where junior Lera Patiuk and sophomore Alyvia Jones were slotted.
Both teams held serve throughout the first six games as the match was deadlocked at three games each. Jones was able to hold to make it 3-3, getting another chance at the deuce point after the point had to be replayed due to a ball coming on from another court. Jones made the most of it with an ace up the middle to keep the match square.
Michigan made its move in the next game, breaking for a 4-3 lead to send Patiuk back to the service line with matches at No. 1 and No. 2 complete.
Georgia grabbed a 40-15 lead, taking advantage of a pair of double faults. U-M fought off three break points, culminating with a Jones volley at the net to seal the point and keep the break advantage. The Maize and Blue had two match points in the next game on Georgia's serve, winning the second in a 6-3 victory for the doubles point.
Georgia took control early in singles, winning five first sets.
The Bulldogs won the first two matches off court at No. 5 and No. 3, taking a 2-1 lead in the team match.
Michigan's lone first-set win came courtesy of Fahey at No. 1, where she blanked No. 2-ranked Jokic (6-0) to start. Fahey, who lost to Jokic in the championship match of the ITA Fall National Championships, fell in a 4-2 hole midway through the second. Fahey buckled down, winning the final four games to wrap up a 6-0, 6-4 win over Jokic to tie Emina Bektas for the most wins in a single season (38).
The remaining matches on court were at No. 2, No. 4 and No. 6 after Fahey tied things up.
Freshman Anca Craciun held a 5-2 lead in the second set after dropping her first, but No. 122-ranked Meg Kowalski came storming back to tie the set at 5. The two headed to a tiebreaker, where Craciun won the first two points. Kowalski answered with seven straight to take the tiebreaker and give Georgia a 3-2 lead.
As that was happening, junior Chiara Lommer broke for a 5-4 lead in her second set and headed back to serve for a third set. Lommer came through with a 6-4 victory to stay on court and keep Michigan's hopes alive.
Pairone, who was broken in the final game of the first set for a 7-5 Georgia win, was back serving at 5-6 to force a second-set breaker. Pairone fell down 0-40 in the game but fought off three match points to get to the deuce point. She could not fight off a fourth as her forehand sailed long, wrapping up a 4-2 Georgia win.
Michigan ends its season with a 20-6 record, along with a sweep of the Big Ten championship and Big Ten Tournament title.
Fahey, Minor and Lommer will represent Michigan at the NCAA Singles Championships, with Fahey and Minor teaming up for the doubles tournament. The individuals run May 20-25 at the USTA National Campus in Orlando, Florida.
Singles
No. 1 -- No. 3 Kate Fahey (U-M) d. No. 2 Katarina Jokic (UGA), 6-0, 6-4
No. 2 -- No. 19 Marta Gonzalez (UGA) d. No. 80 Giulia Pairone (U-M), 7-5, 7-5
No. 3 -- No. 69 Lourdes Carle (U-M) d. No. 50 Brienne Minor (U-M), 6-3, 6-3
No. 4 -- No. 48 Chiara Lommer (U-M) vs. No. 72 Vivian Wolff (UGA), 4-6, 6-4 abandoned
No. 5 -- Elena Christofi (UGA) d. Alyvia Jones (U-M), 6-0, 6-3
No. 6 -- No. 122 Meg Kowalski (UGA) d. Anca Craciun (U-M), 6-2, 7-6 (2)
Doubles
No. 1 -- No. 37 Brienne Minor/Kate Fahey (U-M) d. No. 28 28 Katarina Jokic/Lourdes Carle (UGA), 6-3
No. 2 -- Elena Christofi/Vivian Wolff (UGA) d. Giulia Pairone/Anca Craciun (U-M), 6-3
No. 3 -- Alyvia Jones/Lera Patiuk (U-M) d. Meg Kowalski/Marta Gonzalez (UGA), 6-3
Order of completion: Doubles 1-2-3; Singles 5-3-1-6-2
Players Mentioned
