Site: Ann Arbor, Mich. (Varsity Tennis Center)
Score: Michigan 4, No. 8 USC 3
Records: U-M (8-5, 5-1 Big Ten), USC (12-5, 5-1 Big Ten)
Next U-M Event: Friday, March 27 — at Minnesota (Minneapolis, Minn.), 4 p.m. CT
ANN ARBOR, Mich. — The University of Michigan women’s tennis team recorded its second straight top-10 win and extended its winning streak to five with a 4-3 victory over No. 8-ranked USC on Sunday afternoon (March 22) at the Varsity Tennis Center.
As was the case in yesterday’s 4-3 win over No. 10-ranked UCLA, Emily Sartz-Lunde clinched the match with a three-set win at No. 5. After dropping the first set, she won a pair of tiebreakers to claim the next two and secure Michigan’s final point. She led 5-3 in the third and held match points but could not close it out. After holding at 5-6 to force a tiebreak, she jumped out to a 4-2 lead at the changeover and, after USC claimed the next point, won the final three to seal the victory.
USC took the early lead, claiming the doubles point with victories at No. 2 and No. 1.
Lily Jones bounced back from a loss yesterday, dropping just two total games in a 6-1, 6-1 win at No. 2 to pull Michigan level at 1-1.
Reese Miller gave Michigan its second point with a 7-5, 7-5 victory at No. 3. Tied at 5-5 in both sets, Miller won the final two games in each to record the straight-set win and a 2-1 lead.
Piper Charney pushed the Michigan advantage to 3-1 with a 7-5, 6-2 win at No. 1. She broke in the final game of the first set for the 7-5 decision and controlled the second, dropping just two games.
USC countered with wins at No. 6 and No. 4 to tie the team match at 3-3, setting up Sartz-Lunde’s heroics.
Michigan returns to the road next weekend, first traveling to Minnesota on Friday (March 27) for a 4 p.m. CT match.
Following are match-by-match results:
Singles
No. 1 — No. 21 Piper Charney (U-M) d. No. 24 Jana Hossam (USC), 7-5, 6-2
No. 2 — No. 20 Lily Jones (U-M) d. Immi Haddad (USC), 6-1, 6-1
No. 3 — Reese Miller (U-M) d. No. 114 Eugenia Zozaya (USC), 7-5, 7-5
No. 4 — No. 50 Emma Charney (USC) d. Jessica Bernales (U-M), 7-6 (3), 6-7 (5), 6-3
No. 5 — Emily Sartz-Lunde (U-M) d. Krisha Mehendran (USC), 4-6, 7-6 (4), 7-6 (3)
No. 6 — Danni Borruel (USC) d. Laura Rahnel (U-M), 6-3, 6-4
Doubles
No. 1 — No. 48 Lily Fairclough/Krisha Mehendran (USC) d. Lily Jones/Jessica Bernales (U-M), 7-6 (5)
No. 2 — Emma Charney/Immi Haddad (USC) d. Laura Rahnel/Reese Miller (U-M), 6-4
No. 3 — No. 86 Piper Charney/Emily Sartz-Lunde (U-M) d. Eugenia Zozaya/Jana Hossam (USC), 6-1
Order of Completion: Doubles 3-2-1; Singles 2-1-3-6-4-5