Wolverines Shut Out Northwestern, Stay Perfect in Big Ten

Wolverines Shut Out Northwestern, Stay Perfect in Big Ten

Site: Evanston, Ill. (Combe Tennis Center)

Score: #5 Michigan 4, Northwestern 0

Records: U-M (14-3, 6-0 B1G), NU (5-11, 1-3 B1G)

Next U-M Event: Sunday, April 2 — at Illinois (Champaign, Ill.), Noon CDT

EVANSTON, Ill. — The No. 5-ranked University of Michigan women’s tennis team stayed perfect in Big Ten action, shutting out Northwestern 4-0 on Saturday afternoon (April 1) at Combe Tennis Center. It marked Michigan’s eighth straight win over the Wildcats.

Michigan took the early lead behind the doubles point, winning at No. 2 and No. 3.

It was all U-M at No. 2 as Julia Fliegner and Lily Jones eased to a 6-1 win. The pair broke Northwestern to start and then fought off two break points in the next game, the final on a return long on the deuce point to consolidate the break at 2-0. They held on Fliegner’s serve on the deuce point when she went for the feet of the Northwestern player, keeping a 3-1 lead. That was all the room the Wolverines needed to secure the 6-1 victory.

Michigan’s No. 3 pair of Andrea Cerdan and Merri Kelly brought home the first point of the match with a 6-3 victory. The duo was broken at 3-2 but immediately returned the favor to level the match back at 3-3. U-M held for the 4-3 lead and broke NU again in the following game after cashing in on its second break point for the 5-3 advantage. Cerdan served out the match in the ensuing game, sealing the 6-3 win to put the match’s first point on the board.

Northwestern put the pressure on Michigan in singles action, winning four first sets as only Jones and Cerdan were able to grab first-set wins.

Cerdan pushed Michigan’s lead to 2-0 with a 6-3, 6-0 win at No. 5. She got a timely break in the latter stages of the first and did not drop a game in the second to secure Michigan’s second point.

Jones rallied from a 4-1 deficit in her second set to wrap up her match in straight sets for Michigan’s third point of the afternoon. She methodically worked her way back into the set, winning four of the next five games for a 5-5 tie. Jones did not lose a point over the final two games to push Michigan’s lead to 3-0.

It got interesting from there as Michigan needed to pull out a three-set win to take…