On Friday, the No. 19 Michigan women’s tennis team (10-5 overall, 4-1 Big Ten) travelled to Columbus to take on Ohio State (11-4, 4-0), a trip that ended in a close 4-3 loss.
The loss snapped the Wolverines’ five-game win streak and their unbeaten Big Ten record.
All season, Michigan has struggled to acquire the doubles point, putting itself behind before singles could even start. Friday’s match was no different.
“We are getting ourselves in holes,” Michigan coach Ronni Bernstein said. “We are not winning that doubles point and that needs to be addressed.”
Sophomore Kari Miller and junior Nicole Hammond tried to rally from a 1-5 deficit but couldn’t finish it off as the Buckeyes took the doubles match on the second court. Meanwhile, the 74th-ranked doubles pair sophomore Jaedan Brown and junior Andrea Cerdan took care of business on court one, 6-2. After all eyes turned to court three to see if senior Anca Craciun and sophomore Gala Mesochoritou could secure the doubles point, they failed to rally back from a 2-5 deficit.
Bernstein addressed how not securing that early point affected mentality.
“We’re playing nervous,” Bernstein said. “We’re gonna keep switching it up until something clicks.”
But all hope wasn’t lost for the Wolverines. They had found ways to win matches without the doubles point before.
No. 102-ranked Hammond faced off against No. 8 Irina Cantos of Ohio State, but was unable to fend her off, losing in straight sets. Bringing Michigan down to 0-2.
The Wolverines took the next three singles matches to bring themselves within striking distance of the win.
No. 11 Miller gave her team their first point against No. 26 Isabelle Boulais. Miller dropped the first set as Boulais rallied back to take it, 6-4. Miller kept her focus and demolished the second and third set to put Michigan on the board.
Miller reached the 20-win club with that match, joining with freshman Julia Fliegner, Hammond and Brown.
“Kari is always stepping up for us,” Bernstein said. “She is a great competitor and has been huge for us.”
Over at the No. 3 spot No. 73 Brown was facing off against Kolie Allen. She sauntered her way to a 6-1 win in the first set and came out strong in set 2 leading 4-1. Brown lost her confidence dropping the second set, 4-6. She was determined to get the third set back.
Brown spiked the ball over the net taking the set 6-2 and the match. She then slammed her racket down in a show of triumphant pride after a resilient and hard-fought win.
Mesochoritou won the Wolverines’ third point at the No. 6 in straight sets. After taking the first set 6-4, Mesochoritou got herself into a battle against Madeline Atway. The second set went into a tiebreaker with Mesochoritou down 4-6. She took the next four points for an 8-6 win, leaving the court putting the Wolverine’s up 3-2.
Attention shifted to courts four and five, where Cerdan and Fliegner were battling it out. Cerdan took the second set to keep her chances of a win alive. Fliegner also took the second set after losing an exhausting tiebreaker in the first. She went on to lose the third set and the match.
With Michigan and Ohio State tied 3-3, hearts were racing as Cerdan tried to fend off No. 60 Sydni Ratliff in the final set, sitting at 5-4. But Cerdan was out of luck, dropping the last set 6-4.
The Buckeyes took the final matches on the court to seal their victory.
“We had opportunities. It just didn’t go our way,” Bernstein said. “It’s just a few points here and there. Unfortunately, that’s college tennis.”