Michigan
ITA Midwest Regional Championships
Brown Wins Singles Championship at ITA Midwest Regional
10/25/2022 1:29:00 PM | Women's Tennis
Site: Ann Arbor, Mich. (Varsity Tennis Center)
Event: ITA Midwest Regional Championships
Result: No Team Scoring
Next U-M Event: Fri-Sun., Oct. 28-30 -- at Puerto Rico Invitational (San Juan, Puerto Rico), TBA
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Jaedan Brown of the University of Michigan women's tennis team rallied for a 4-6, 6-2, 7-6 (4) win over Ohio State's Sydni Ratliff to capture the singles title at the ITA Midwest Regional Championships, held Oct. 20-25 at the Varsity Tennis Center.
Brown kept Michigan's singles streak alive at the event, as U-M has won every singles championship since 2013.
After dropping the first set, 6-4, Brown got the break she needed at 4-2 in the second set. She jumped out to a 0-40 lead on Ratliff's serve, eventually cashing in on the deuce point for the break. Brown rattled off wins in the next two games to take the set.
Brown raced out to a 4-0 lead in the third set and led 0-30 in Ratliff's service game at 4-0. The Buckeye regroup, rallying for the game to ignite a three-game run of her own. A few games later, Brown forced a Ratliff error with a lob shot for a 5-3 lead and the opportunity to serve for the match.
Ratliff broke Brown to get back on serve, eventually taking a 6-5 lead on Brown. The Wolverine was able to force the tiebreaker by winning the final four points in the last game.
It was all Brown to start the breaker as she raced out to a 4-0 lead. Ratliff closed to 4-3 but could not get any closer, with Brown making good on her second match point for a 7-4 win.
Brown won three consecutive three-set matches to reach the final match, the last coming at the hands of teammate Lily Jones in the semifinals. Brown fell behind 3-1 to Jones in the first set before reeling off five straight games for the win. Jones leveled the match with a 6-1 second-set win and went up a break early in the third at 2-1. Brown responded by winning three consecutive games for a 4-2 advantage. Jones was able to get one of the breaks back, but Brown held on a deuce point during her next service game for a 5-3 lead. That was all she needed as she advanced to the singles championship match.
Brown fought off two match points in her quarterfinal match against Wisconsin's Taylor Cataldi, eventually getting a 6-4, 6-7 (5), 7-6 (6) win. Brown went up 4-2 in the third-set tiebreaker, only to see Cataldi rip off four straight points for a pair of match points at 6-4. Brown returned the favor by winning four straight of her own to get the win.
Julia Fliegner and Jones teamed up to finish runner-up in the doubles main draw, dropping an 8-6 decision to Illinois' Megan Heuser and Kate Duong. With their runner-up finish, the duo has punched its ticket to the ITA Fall National Championships. The championship match stayed on serve throughout the first six games before the Illini pair broke Michigan at love for a 4-3 lead. Michigan had three break points in the ensuing Illinois service game but could not capitalize. The Wolverines could never get back on serve the rest of the match as Illinois got the 8-6 win.
Fliegner and Jones received a first-round bye and marched the final match with wins over Bowling Green, two against Northwestern and one against Wisconsin. U-M never lost more than five games in each of the first four matches played.
Michigan had seven singles players compete in the main draw, with six winning at least one match. Andrea Cerdan and Merri Kelly made a run to the quarterfinals of the doubles main draw, falling to the eventual champions.
Michigan is back in action this weekend (Oct. 28-30) at the Puerto Rico Invitational.
Singles Main Draw
Jaedan Brown
First Round (Oct. 21)Â -- d. Liisa Vehvilainen (Michigan State), 6-2, 6-0
Second Round (Oct. 22) -- d. Danielle Willson (Ohio State), 6-2, 6-2
Third Round (Oct. 22) -- d Nicole Hammond (U-M), 6-3, 5-7, 6-3
Quarterfinals (Oct. 23) -- d. Taylor Cataldi (Wisconsin), 6-4, 6-7 (5), 7-6 (6)
Semifinals (Oct. 24) -- d. Lily Jones (U-M), 6-3, 1-6, 6-3
Finals (Oct. 25) -- d. Sydni Ratliff (Ohio State), 4-6, 6-2, 7-6 (4)
Andrea Cerdan
First Round (Oct. 21)Â -- d. Jennifer Reister (Northwestern), 6-2, 4-6, 6-3
Second Round (Oct. 22) -- l. Irina Cantos (Ohio State), 6-2, 7-5
Julia Fliegner
First Round (Oct. 21)Â -- d. Madeline Atway (Ohio State), 6-3, 6-3
Second Round (Oct. 22) -- d. Josie Frazier (Illinois), 6-2, 6-2
Third Round (Oct. 22) -- l. Christina Hand (Northwestern), 6-3, 6-4
Nicole Hammond
First Round (Oct. 21)Â -- d. Valentina Martin (DePaul), 6-0, 6-2
Second Round (Oct. 22) -- d. Justine Leong (Northwestern), 6-4, 3-6, 6-3
Third Round (Oct. 22) -- l. Jaedan Brown (U-M), 6-3, 5-7, 6-3
Lily Jones
First Round (Oct. 21)Â -- d. Yashna Yellayi (Notre Dame), 6-3, 6-3
Second Round (Oct. 22) -- d. Cassie Alcala (Toledo), 6-2, 4-6, 6-1
Third Round (Oct. 22) -- d. No. 71 Ava Markham (Wisconsin), 6-3, 6-4
Quarterfinals (Oct. 23) -- d. Maria Sholokhova (Wisconsin), 6-4, 6-4
Semifinals (Oct. 24) -- l. Jaedan Brown (U-M), 6-3, 1-6, 6-3
Gala Mesochoritou
First Round (Oct. 21)Â -- d. Lindsey Zieglar (Western Michigan), 6-3, 0-6, 6-3
Second Round (Oct. 22) -- l. Sydni Ratliff (Ohio State), 6-2, 5-7, 7-6 (3)
Kari Miller
First Round (Oct. 21)Â -- l. Kolie Allen (Ohio State), 7-5, 6-3
Doubles Main Draw
Nicole Hammond/Bayley Sheinin
First Round (Oct. 21) -- d. Julia Marko/Cecilia Rosas (Youngstown State), 8-6
Second Round (Oct. 21) -- d. Demi Jhaveri/Elizabeth Sobieski (Valparaiso), 8-6
Third Round (Oct. 22) -- l. Briana Crowley/Sydney Pratt (Northwestern), 8-2
Julia Fliegner/Lily Jones
First Round (Oct. 21)Â -- BYE
Second Round (Oct. 21)Â -- d. Ionna Tsadari/Eloise Saraty (BGSU), 8-4
Third Round (Oct. 22) -- d. Kiley Rabjohns/Aino Alkio (Northwestern), 8-3
Quarterfinals (Oct. 23) -- d. Xinyu Cai/Alina Mukhortova (Wisconsin), 8-5
Semifinals (Oct. 23) -- d. Sydney Pratt/Briana Crowley (Northwestern), 8-5
Finals (Oct. 24) -- l. Kate Duong/Megan Heuser (Illinois), 8-6
Andrea Cerdan/Merri Kelly
First Round (Oct. 21)Â -- d. Eleanor Nobbs/Valentina Martin (DePaul), 8-3
Second Round (Oct. 21) -- d. Valeriya Monko/Kaitlyn Rogusch (Western Michigan), 8-4
Third Round (Oct. 22) -- d. Ayshe Can/Liisa Vehvilainen (Michigan State), 8-4
Quarterfinals (Oct. 23) -- l. Kate Duong/Megan Heuser (Illinois), 8-2
Qualifying Singles (Oct. 20)
Merri Kelly
First Round (Oct. 20) -- l. Jennifer Riester (Northwestern), 6-4, 6-4
Bayley Sheinin
First Round (Oct. 20) -- d. Lauren Littell (Northern Illinois), 6-2, 6-0
Second Round (Oct. 20) -- l. Liisa Vehvilainen, 3-6, 6-2, 7-5
Players Mentioned
