Michigan
Penn State
Wolverines Grind Out Victory over Penn State
3/16/2025 3:32:00 PM | Women's Tennis
Site: Ann Arbor, Mich. (Varsity Tennis Center)
Score: No. 6 Michigan 4, Penn State 1
Records: U-M (11-3, 4-0 Big Ten), PSU (11-3, 2-2 Big Ten)
Next U-M Event: Saturday, March 22 -- at UCLA (Los Angeles, Calif.), Noon PT
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The No. 6-ranked University of Michigan women's tennis team ran its winning streak to five, yielding just one point in a 4-1 victory over Penn State on Sunday afternoon (March 16) at the Varsity Tennis Center.
U-M struck first, winning the doubles point behind victories at No. 2 and No. 1. U-M grabbed breaks immediately on both courts, winning the first three games at both lines to grab control.
Julia Fliegner and Reese Miller were the first off court, winning 6-2 at the No. 2 position. Michigan's No. 1 pair of Jessica Bernales and Piper Charney clinched the point for the Maize and Blue a few minutes later with a 6-3 triumph. Penn State closed within 4-3 after Michigan raced out to a 3-0 lead but U-M won the final two games of the match to put the first point on the board.
Michigan and Penn State split the first sets in singles action, with U-M taking victories at No. 1, No. 3 and No. 4.
Penn State pulled the match even with a 6-1, 6-1 win at No. 5.
Miller pushed the Wolverines ahead for good, taking a 6-4, 6-2 win at No. 4. She found herself in a 3-1 hole in the first set before winning five of the next six games to grab the first set. In the second, Miller lost the first two games and then ripped off six straight for Michigan's second point.
Playing at No. 3 for the first time, Emily Sartz-Lunde picked up her second win of the weekend with a 6-3, 7-5 victory for Michigan's third point of the afternoon. She jumped out to a 4-2 lead in the first set and kept the break the rest of the way for a 6-3 win. In the second set, she was broken at 3-4 but immediately responded to get the set back on serve. Each player held serve over the next three games until Sartz-Lunde came through with a break of serve in the final game to avoid the tiebreaker for a 7-5 win.
U-M was going to have to win a third set to collect the fourth point, with Fliegner, Charney and Bayley Sheinin each in third sets on their respective courts.
Charney accounted for the fourth point, rallying for a 5-7, 6-1, 6-3 win at No. 2 to put the 4-1 win away for the Wolverines. After dropping the first set, Charney won the first five games of the second set to easily force a third. She lost the first two games of the deciding set but went to work from there, dropping just one more game the rest of the way in the 6-3 victory.
The remaining two matches were abandoned.
Michigan heads out west next weekend, first taking on UCLA in Los Angeles on March 22 at noon PT.
Following are match-by-match results
Singles
No. 1 -- No. 2 Julia Fliegner (U-M) vs. Olivia Dorner (PSU), 6-4, 3-6, 4-2 abandoned
No. 2 -- No. 25 Piper Charney (U-M) d. Maiko Uchijima (PSU), 5-7, 6-1, 6-3
No. 3 -- No. 96 Emily Sartz-Lunde (U-M) d. Patricia Grigoras (PSU), 6-3, 7-5
No. 4 -- No. 80 Reese Miller (U-M) d. Jelena Vico (PSU), 6-4, 6-2
No. 5 -- Yvonne Zuffova (PSU) d. Jessica Bernales (U-M), 6-1, 6-1
No. 6 -- Bayley Sheinin (U-M) vs. Maria Daciana Ciubotaru (PSU), 6-7 (4), 6-0, 3-1 abandoned
Doubles
No. 1 --. No. 27 Jessica Bernales/Piper Charney (U-M) d. Olivia Dorner/Maiko Uchijima (PSU), 6-3
No. 2 -- No. 48 Julia Fliegner/Reese Miller (U-M) d. Jordina Cegarra/Patricia Grigoras (PSU), 6-2
No. 3 -- Emily Sartz-Lunde/Bayley Sheinin (U-M) vs. Jelena Vico/Yvonne Zuffova (PSU), 5-4 abandoned
Order of Completion: Doubles 2-1; Singles 5-4-3-2
Players Mentioned
