University of Michigan Team Page
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The No. 10-ranked University of Michigan women's tennis team shut out Notre Dame, 4-0, in the second round of the NCAA Tournament to advance to its fourth straight Sweet 16 on Saturday afternoon (May 11) at the Varsity Tennis Center.
Site: Ann Arbor, Mich. (Varsity Tennis Center)
Event: NCAA Championships (Second Round)
Score: #10 Michigan 4, Notre Dame 0
Records: U-M (23-5), ND (18-9)
Next U-M Event: Friday, May 17 -- NCAA Sweet 16 (Champaign, Ill.), 7 p.m. CDT
U-M secured the first point of the afternoon by winning the doubles point after victories at No. 1 and No. 2. The No. 1 duo of sophomore Emina Bektas (Indianapolis, Ind./New Braunfels) and junior Brooke Bolender (Delray Beach, Fla./Kaplan) jumped out to a 3-0 lead en route to an 8-3 win at the top spot as the first team off court.
Notre Dame evened the tally with an 8-4 win at No. 3 as focus turned to the match at No. 2. Michigan's pair of senior Mimi Nguyen (Long Beach, Calif./Millikan) and sophomore Sarah Lee (Los Angeles, Calif./Campbell Hall) fell in an early 2-0 hole before ripping off three straight games to take a 3-2 lead and put the match back on serve. On serve at 6-5 with Notre Dame serving, Nguyen and Lee broke the Irish duo at love for a 7-5 lead. The Wolverines held on Lee's ensuing serve, wrapping up the match when Notre Dame's return of serve sailed long for a 1-0 lead in the team match.
U-M won four-of-six first sets in singles play. Freshman Ronit Yurovsky (New Kensington, Pa./Plum) scored Michigan's second point of the day with a 6-2, 6-0 win at No. 2. Yurovsky lost the first two games of the match to find herself in an early 2-0 hole, but the freshman reeled off 12 straight games for the straight-set win.
Michigan's third point was delivered by Bektas, who won 6-3, 6-3 at the top spot. Bektas won the first three games of the first set en route to the 6-3 win. On serve at 4-3 in the second, Bektas won the next two games for another 6-3 victory to put Michigan on the brink of winning.
Lee clinched the match for the Wolverines, knocking off Chrissie McGaffigan, 6-4, 6-0, at No. 4. The two stayed on serve in the first until Lee went up a break at 5-4 and served out the set in the ensuing game. Lee kept McGaffigan off the scoreboard in the second, coming through on her second match point to seal Michigan's shutout win.
With the win, U-M advances to the finals site for the fourth straight year, with Illinois hosting this year's event. The Wolverines will face the winner of the UCLA Regional on Friday (May 17) at 7 p.m. CDT.
Following are match-by-match results:
Singles
No. 1 -- No. 30 Emina Bektas (U-M) d. Britney Sanders (ND), 6-6, 6-3
No. 2 -- No. 48 Ronit Yurovsky (U-M) d. Jennifer Kellner (ND), 6-2, 6-0
No. 3 -- Quinn Gleason (ND) vs. Brooke Bolender (U-M), 6-2, 5-2 DNF
No. 4 -- No. 99 Sarah Lee (U-M) d. Chrissie McGaffigan (ND), 6-4, 6-0
No. 5 -- Amy Zhu (U-M) vs. Katherine White (ND), 2-6, 6-2, 0-1 DNF
No. 6 -- Kristen Dodge (U-M) vs. Julie Vrabel (ND), 6-1, 4-3 DNF
Doubles
No. 1 -- No. 6 Brooke Bolender/Emina Bektas (U-M) d. Jennifer Kellner/Chrissie McGaffigan (ND), 8-3
No. 2 -- Sarah Lee/Mimi Nguyen (U-M) d. Julie Sabacinski/Britney Sanders (ND), 8-5
No. 3 -- Quinn Gleason/Katherine White (ND) d. Ronit Yurovsky/Kristen Dodge (U-M), 8-4
Order of Completion: Doubles 1-3-2, Singles 2-1-4
