Michigan fights through weather to beat Northwestern 4-2

Not all wins can come easy, and Sunday, the No. 3 Michigan women’s tennis team’s hard fought win over Northwestern reflected that.

While the two teams battled over the win, the Wolverines (15-3 overall, 8-0 Big Ten) ultimately had the final say, claiming a 4-2 victory over the Wildcats (10-10, 3-5).

Michigan started the match with strong doubles performances from all three partners. Court 1 saw freshman Jessica Bernales and junior Lily Jones take a dominant 6-3 win over Northwestern. The match was characterized by strong overheads and drop shots from both players, who often found themselves winning points by being at the net at the same time. Their teamwork led them to be the first doubles court to win their match. 

The No. 3 doubles court finished soon after, with sophomore Piper Charney and freshman Emily Sartz-Lunde winning the match off a deuce after Sartz-Lunde placed a backhand lob over the Wildcats’ heads and broke their serve. Strong gusts of wind made it difficult to predict the ball’s direction, but Charney and Sartz-Lunde matched their No. 1 doubles counterparts with a 6-3 win, clinching the doubles point for the Wolverines to give them a 1-0 lead moving into singles. 

“The girls did a good job adjusting and being flexible and getting good starts,” Michigan coach Ronni Bernstein said.

Those strong starts gave Michigan high confidence and momentum at the start of the singles matches, with heavy hitters such as No. 3 senior Julia Fliegner and No. 22 Charney playing in the top-two singles positions, respectively. Four of the six matches ended with the Wolverines winning the first set, leaving the team hopeful for a quick and dominant win.

Sophomore Reese Miller’s match was the first singles to conclude, shutting her opponent out, 2-0. But that win didn’t come without a fight. After winning the first set 6-3, Miller and her opponent, Northwesterns’ Kiley Rabjohns, were tied 2-2 in the second set, each only earning games by breaking the other’s serve. However, Miller broke away on a three-game streak, earning a 5-2 lead. After ceding one more game, Miller broke Rabjohns’ serve to win the second set, granting the first singles point to Michigan. 

“I told myself to focus and take my time in between points, to reset when I needed to not let myself get so negative,” Miller said. “After that, I was able to focus a lot more and things got easier.”

Charney was quick to follow Miller’s example, putting the Wolverines ahead 3-0 with a 2-0 win of her own. However, this shutout lead did not last long. 

As the singles matches played out, Michigan began to struggle. Despite playing hard, Jones couldn’t grab a set and lost her No. 3 match, 0-2, giving the Wildcats their first point. While proving to be a powerful force in long rallies, Fliegner lost many critical deuce points off her own mistakes, losing her second set after a strong performance in the first. Meanwhile, Sartz-Lunde struggled to keep her momentum coming off of a 6-0 lead in the first set. Ultimately, three of the matches got pushed to a deciding third set. 

Fliegner struggled to find her first-set rhythm, continuing to make errors that cost her the match, 1-2. With the overall match score at 3-2, the Wolverines’ success hinged on Sartz-Lunde and Bernales, each fighting through a third set.

“We got good starts in the third set, so that took a little bit of pressure off,” Bernstein said. “They were fighting out there.”

Sartz-Lunde stayed consistent through deuce points and tough serves, eventually finding herself at match point with a 5-2 advantage. She made a strong play at the net that put the ball where her opponent couldn’t reach, giving Michigan the final point it needed for a 4-2 victory. 

“I don’t know that we played our best tennis, but we gutsed it out,” Bernstein said. “I think that’s the sign of a good team, figuring out a way to come through maybe when you’re not playing your best.”

As the Wolverines move towards the end of the regular season, they are taking their opponents match by match. Against the Wildcats, the Wolverines’ momentum faltered. But by taking it one match at a time, Michigan battled back to secure the victory.

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