Michigan
Purdue
Doubles Point, Strong Singles Play Send U-M Past Purdue
3/20/2022 1:21:00 PM | Women's Tennis
Site: Ann Arbor, Mich. (Varsity Tennis Center)
Result: #22 Michigan 4, Purdue 0
Records: U-M (8-4, 2-0 B1G), PU (9-5, 2-0 B1G)
Next U-M Event: Friday, March 25 -- at Minnesota (Minneapolis, Minn.), 3:30 p.m. CT
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The University of Michigan women's tennis team won its third straight match, winning the doubles point and the first three singles matches off court in a 4-0 win over Purdue Sunday afternoon (March 20) at the Varsity Tennis Center.
U-M took the early lead in the match after getting a pair of timely breaks at No. 1 and No. 3 to secure the first point.
At No. 1, Andrea Cerdan and Jaedan Brown jumped out to a 3-1 lead before Purdue answered with a pair of games. After Michigan held on Brown's serve for a 4-3, U-M got the break it needed at 5-3 on a pretty drop shot from Brown. Cerdan headed back to serve, with Michigan converting on its first match point for the 6-3 win.
Michigan's No. 3 duo of Kari Miller and Merri Kelly clinched the doubles point moments later with an identical 6-3 score. After falling behind a break at 2-1, Kelly and Miller ripped off three straight games for a 4-2 lead. Purdue countered by breaking the Wolverines on Miller's serve at 4-3, but Michigan answered right back for a 5-3 lead. U-M jumped out to a 40-15 lead as Kelly was serving, with the Wolverines converting on the deuce point on a crosscourt forehand winner from Kelly to put the first point on the board for the Maize and Blue.
Michigan won all six first sets as Brown rallied from a 5-2 deficit to win in a breaker and Julia Fliegner won the final three games for a 7-5 win.
Nicole Hammond put Michigan's second point on the board behind a dominating 6-2, 6-1 win at No. 2. Hammond grabbed the early break in both sets at 3-1, dropping just three games in the straight-set win.
It was a race to finish from there as both Miller and Gala Mesochoritou held concurrent match points at No. 1 and No. 6, respectively.
Mesochoritou came through first, getting a 6-1, 6-2 win at No. 5. She got the break she needed at 3-1 in the first and never looked back in the win. The second set followed a very similar script as she got the early break and never relinquished it for Michigan's third point.
Miller was the deciding point for the Maize and Blue moments later, delivering a 6-3, 6-0 win at the top spot over No. 104-ranked Csilla Fodor. With the first five games of the first set staying on serve, Miller broke through for a 4-2 lead en route to a 6-3 win. It was all Miller in the second set as she breezed to the 6-0 win to end the team match.
Michigan kicks off a five-match road swing on Friday (March 25), heading to Minnesota to face the Gophers at 3:30 p.m. CT.
Following are match-by-match results
Singles
No. 1 -- No. 13 Kari Miller (U-M) d. No. 104 Csilla Fodor (PU), 6-3, 6-0
No. 2 -- No. 93 Nicole Hammond (U-M) d. Carmen Gallardo Guevara (PU), 6-2, 6-1
No. 3 -- No. 61 Jaedan Brown (U-M) vs. Tara Katrina Milic (PU), 7-6 (4), 3-1 abandoned
No. 4 -- No. 76 Andrea Cerdan (U-M) vs. Juana Larranaga (PU), 6-3, 4-1 abandoned
No. 5 -- Gala Mesochoritou (U-M) d. Rut Galindo (PU), 6-1, 6-2
No. 6 -- Julia Fliegner (U-M) Seira Shimizu (PU), 7-5, 1-1 abandoned
Doubles
No. 1 -- Jaedan Brown/Andrea Cerdan (U-M) d. Nathalia Wolf Gasparin/Csilla Fodor (PU), 6-3
No. 2 -- Anca Craciun/Nicole Hammond (U-M) vs Rut Galindo/Tara Katrina Milic (PU)
No. 3 -- Merri Kelly/Kari Miller (U-M) d. Carmen Gallardo Guevara/Seira Shimizu (PU), 6-3
Order of Completion: Doubles 1-3; Singles 2-5-1
Players Mentioned
