Michigan Shuts Out Youngstown State in NCAA Opener

Michigan Shuts Out Youngstown State in NCAA Opener

Site: Ann Arbor, Mich. (Varsity Tennis Center)

Event: NCAA Tournament (First Round)

Score: #5 Michigan 4, Youngstown State 0

Records: U-M (23-3), YSU (11-9)

Next U-M Event: Saturday, May 6 — vs. Notre Dame – NCAA Tournament Second Round (Varsity Tennis Center), 4 p.m.

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ANN ARBOR, Mich. — The No. 5-ranked University of Michigan women’s tennis team recorded a 4-0 shutout of Youngstown State in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Friday afternoon (May 5) at the Varsity Tennis Center. The win marked Michigan’s 12th consecutive victory and propelled the Wolverines into the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

Michigan struck first, winning the doubles point behind victories at No. 2 and No. 3. At No. 2, Lily Jones and Julia Fliegner dropped just one game in a 6-1 win.

U-M’s No. 3 duo of Kari Miller and Merri Kelly clinched the first point of the match in a 6-2 win. The Wolverines won the final four games of the match, staking U-M a 1-0 lead.

The Wolverines got off to a fast start in singles action, winning all six first sets.

In her first NCAA Tournament action in singles, Kelly put together an impressive 6-0, 6-1 win at No. 6 as the first match off court. She won the first seven games, winning the first game of the second set for a 1-0 lead. After Moka Ito held her serve for the first and only time of the afternoon, Kelly ripped off the last five games to account for Michigan’s second point.

Jaedan Brown nudged Michigan’s lead to 3-0 behind a 6-2, 6-2 win at No. 2. After winning five of the first six games of the second set, Brown had a chance to serve out the match but was broken. She returned the favor in the next game, wrapping up a straight-set win to put Michigan on the verge of winning the team match.

Michigan was one game away from winning at No. 1, No. 3 and No. 4 as it was a race to the finish.

Fliegner clinched her second straight match for the Wolverines, winning 6-2, 6-3 at No. 3. After breezing to the first-set win, she got the break in the second set at 4-2. She kept it the rest of the way, putting the match away for Michigan.

Michigan will face Notre Dame in the second round of the NCAA Tournament on Saturday (May 6) at 4…