Wolverine Trio Advances in NCAA Singles Championship

Wolverine Trio Advances in NCAA Singles Championship

Site: Lake Nona, Fla. (USTA National Campus)

Event: NCAA Singles Championship (Day 1 of 6)

Score: No Team Scoring

Next U-M Event: Tuesday, May 23 — at NCAA Singles and Doubles Championships (Lake Nona, Fla.), TBA

LAKE NONA, Fla. — Kari Miller, Julia Fliegner and Jaedan Brown of the University of Michigan women’s tennis team each picked up wins in the first round of the NCAA Singles Championship on Monday (May 22) at the USTA National Campus. It is the first time that three Wolverines have advanced to the round of 32.

Brown picked up a win in her NCAA Singles Championship debut, knocking off No. 58-ranked Salma Ewing of Texas A&M in straight sets. The Wolverine weathered an early break after falling behind 2-1, breaking immediately back to tie the first set at 2-2. The two players stayed on serve over the next five games as Brown grabbed a 5-4 lead, sending Ewing back to serve to stay in the set. Brown broke Ewing at love in the next game, winning the first set at 6-4.

It was all Brown in the second set, who went up a break at 2-0 when Ewing double faulted on the deuce point. Brown kept the break throughout, taking the second set, 6-2, to advance to the second round of the singles tournament.

Fliegner rallied after dropping her first set, coming away with a 3-6, 6-2, 6-1 win over No. 56-ranked Kelly Keller of Arkansas. Fliegner was broken on deuce point in the first set at 3-2 and could not get the break back the rest of the way, dropping the first.

Fliegner flipped the script in the second set, breaking at 2-1 and consolidating the break in the ensuing game for a 3-1 lead. Much like Brown, that was all the separation she needed to get the 6-2 win and force a deciding set.

She carried that momentum over into the third set, breaking in the first game and grabbing a 2-0 lead after winning on a serve up the middle. Fliegner got another break of serve at 4-1 on a double fault and did not drop a game the rest of the way, picking up her first career win at the NCAA Singles Championship.

Miller played her match indoors after nearly a three-hour delay due to rain and lightning. Miller pulled out a roller-coaster first set over No. 46-ranked Ludmila Kareisova of Ole…