Michigan
Illinois
Wolverines Win Eighth Straight, Blank Illinois
3/29/2025 3:53:00 PM | Women's Tennis
Site: Ann Arbor, Mich. (Varsity Tennis Center)
Score: #3 Michigan 4, Illinois 0
Records: U-M (14-3, 7-0 Big Ten), Illinois (8-10, 3-4 Big Ten)
Next U-M Event: Sunday, March 30 -- vs. Northwestern (Varsity Tennis Center), 2:30 p.m.
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The No. 3-ranked University of Michigan women's tennis team ran its winning streak to eight and remained unbeaten in the Big Ten behind a 4-0 victory over Illinois on Saturday afternoon (March 29) at the Varsity Tennis Center. U-M won the doubles point and won three straight-set singles matches to put four points on the board.
Michigan got on the board first, taking the doubles point behind wins at No. 2 and No. 1.
U-M's No. 2 duo of Reese Miller and Julia Fliegner did not drop a game in a 6-0 victory to give the Wolverines the early advantage. Illinois evened the doubles ledger at one match each behind a 6-3 win at No. 3.
With the doubles point coming down to the match at No. 1, Michigan had won the first three games before the match was tied at 4-4. Jessica Bernales and Lily Jones broke Illinois in the next game but could not consolidate the break as the match was tied at 5-5 after 10 games. Both teams held their serve in the ensuing games, sending the match to a tiebreaker.
Illinois won four of the first six points for a 4-2 lead before Michigan ripped off four straight points for a pair of match points at 6-4. Illinois fought one of them off, but U-M converted on the next one when Bernales ripped a service return into the body of Illinois, who could not return it.
Michigan won all six first sets in singles action after Miller won the final three games at No. 5 and Fliegner pulled through with an 8-6 tiebreak win.
Bernales pushed the Michigan lead to 2-0 with a 6-3, 6-4 win at No. 6. After dropping the first two games of the second set, she ripped off six of the next eight games to win in two sets for Michigan's second point.
Piper Charney put the Maize and Blue a point away from victory, taking a 6-4, 6-3 win at No. 2. She used a late break in the first set to get the win. In the second, she went up a break at 4-3 and did not look back by winning the next two games in the straight-set win.
Emily Sartz-Lunde provided the clinching point for the Wolverines, rallying from early 2-0 deficits in both sets. She won the final four games of the first set, getting the 6-4 win. In the second, she won four straight games for a 4-2 lead. Illinois answered with three straight games, getting the set back on serve. She held in the next game and used that momentum to win the final two games in the 7-5 win.
Michigan will complete a two-match homestand tomorrow (Sunday, March 30), hosting Northwestern at 2:30 p.m. as part of a doubleheader with the men's team.
Following are match-by-match results
Singles
No. 1 -- No. 3 Julia Fliegner (U-M) vs McKenna Schaefbauer (Illinois), 7-6 (6), 4-2 abandoned
No. 2 -- No. 22 Piper Charney (U-M) d. Megan Heuser (Illinois), 6-4, 6-3
No. 3 -- No. 34 Lily Jones (U-M) vs. Violeta Martinez (Illinois), 6-4, 3-6, 1-0 abandoned
No. 4 -- No. 86 Emily Sartz-Lunde (U-M) d. Kida Ferrari (Illinois), 6-4, 7-5
No. 5 -- No. 123 Reese Miller (U-M) vs. Ariel Madatali (Illinois), 7-5, 5-2 abandoned
No. 6 -- Jessica Bernales (U-M) d. Kasia Treiber (Illinois), 6-3, 6-4
Doubles
No. 1 -- Lily Jones/Jessica Bernales (U-M) d. Megan Heuser/Kida Ferrari (Illinois), 7-6 (5)
No. 2 -- Julia Fliegner/Reese Miller (U-M) d. Violeta Martinez/Alice Xu (Illinois), 6-0
No. 3 -- McKenna Schaefbauer/Kasia Treiber (Illinois) d. Piper Charney/Emily Sartz-Lunde (U-M), 6-3
Order of Completion: Doubles 2-3-1; Singles 6-2-4
Players Mentioned
