Michigan
Wisconsin
Bottom of Lineup Completes Michigan Rally at Wisconsin
3/27/2022 6:29:00 PM | Women's Tennis
Site: Madison, Wis. (Nielsen Tennis Stadium)
Result: Michigan 4, Wisconsin 3
Records: U-M (10-4, 4-0 B1G), UW (11-7, 3-2 B1G)
Next U-M Event: Friday, April 1 -- at Ohio State (Columbus, Ohio), 4 p.m.
MADISON, Wis. -- The University of Michigan women's tennis team rallied from a 3-1 deficit, getting singles wins at the bottom of the lineup from Gala Mesochoritou, Andrea Cerdan and Julia Fliegner in a 4-3 win over Wisconsin Sunday afternoon (March 27) at Nielsen Tennis Stadium.
After Wisconsin got a three-set win at No. 1 to take a 3-1 lead, the bottom of Michigan's lineup all headed to third sets as the Wolverines needed to win all three.
Mesochoritou kept hope alive for Michigan as she delivered a 6-3, 4-6, 6-3 victory at No. 6 for Michigan's second point of the afternoon. She raced out to a 5-1 lead in the third before giving back a pair of games. She came through on her seventh match point, getting the win to trim the Badger lead to 3-2.
Cerdan was next off court for U-M with a 6-3, 5-7, 6-4 triumph at No. 4. Much like Mesochoritou, Cerdan got out to a hot start in the third set and led 3-1. UW's Antonela Stoica countered with two straight games to tie the set at 3-3. Both players held in their next service games to keep it on serve at 4-4. Cerdan broke on the deuce point in the next game for a 5-4 advantage, serving it out in the ensuing game as she tied the team match at 3-3.
Fliegner was the only Wolverine left on court, with her match at No. 5 deciding the team match. Like her teammates, Fliegner jumped out to a 4-0 lead in her third set after dropping the second set with a late break of serve. The Badgers' Taylor Caltadi answered by winning four straight games to tie the set at 4-4. Fliegner held her serve in the next game, converting on the deuce point to force Caltadi back to the service line and facing a 5-4 deficit. Fliegner had a pair of match points, making good on the second to give Michigan the comeback victory.
Wisconsin won the doubles point and two of the first three singles matches off court to build its lead. Jaedan Brown accounted for Michigan's other point on the afternoon, getting Michigan on the board with a 7-6, 6-4 win at No. 2 to halve the Wisconsin advantage at 2-1.
Michigan continues a five-match road swing next weekend, first heading to Ohio State on Friday (April 1) for a 4 p.m. match.
Following are match-by-match results
Singles
No. 1 -- Ava Markham (UW) d. No. 11 Kari Miller (U-M), 6-4, 5-7, 6-4
No. 2 -- No. 73 Jaedan Brown (U-M) d. Xinyu Cai (UW), 7-6, 6-4
No. 3 -- Alina Mukhortova (UW) d. No. 102 Nicole Hammond (U-M), 7-5, 6-4
No. 4 -- No. 111 Andrea Cerdan (U-M) d. Antonela Stoica (UW), 6-3, 5-7, 6-4
No. 5 -- Julia Fliegner (U-M) d. Taylor Caltadi (UW), 7-6, 5-7, 6-4
No. 6 -- Gala Mesochoritou (U-M) d. Charmaine Seah (UW), 6-3, 4-6, 6-3
Doubles
No. 1 -- No. 52 Xinyu Cai/Alina Mukhortova (UW) d.No. 74 Jaedan Brown/Andrea Cerdan (U-M), 6-4
No. 2 -- Kari Miller/Nicole Hammond (U-M) vs. Ava Markham/Ariel Johnson (UW), 6-6 abandoned
No. 3 -- Antonela Stoica/Taylor Caltadi (UW) d. Julia Fliegner/Gala Mesochoritou (U-M), 7-6 (6)
Order of Completion: Doubles 1-3; Singles 3-4-6-5-1-2
Players Mentioned
