BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- The sixth-ranked University of Michigan women's tennis team won the doubles point and three of the first singles matches off court to defeat Iowa, 4-2, in the quarterfinal round of the Big Ten Tournament on Friday afternoon (April 26) at the IU Varsity Tennis Courts.
Site: Bloomington, Ind. (IU Varsity Tennis Courts)
Event: Big Ten Tournament (Quarterfinals)
Score: #6 Michigan 4, Iowa 2
Records: U-M (20-4), UI (10-13)
Next U-M Event: Saturday, April 27 -- vs. Purdue (Bloomington, Ind.), 10 a.m.
Michigan grabbed the doubles point to start the match, jumping out to huge advantages at No. 1 and No. 2 to secure the match's first point. At No. 1, junior Brooke Bolender (Delray Beach, Fla./Kaplan) and sophomore Emina Bektas (Indianapolis, Ind./New Braunfels) took a 5-0 advantage before allowing Iowa to win its first game. After dropping the sixth game of the eight-game set, the U-M pair won the next three games for the 8-1 win.
Michigan's No. 2 duo of sophomore Sarah Lee (Los Angeles, Calif./Campbell Hall) and senior Mimi Nguyen (Long Beach, Calif./Millikan) jumped out to a 7-0 lead. Iowa held its serve at 7-1, allowing Lee to serve out the match in the ensuing game for the 8-1 victory.
Freshman Ronit Yurovsky (New Kensington, Pa./Plum) put Michigan's second point of the afternoon on the board with a 6-4, 6-3 win over Shelby Talcott at No. 2. Down 3-1 in the first set, Yurovsky reeled off four straight games for a 5-3 advantage, eventually winning the first at 6-4. In the second, she jumped out to a 5-1 lead, winning 6-3 for the point.
Bolender followed with a 6-1, 7-5 win at No. 4, breaking Hindmarsh for the 7-5 win in the second set for the match. Michigan's captain dominated the first set, going up 4-0 en route to the 6-1 win.
With Michigan up 3-0, Iowa won the next two matches off court at No. 6 and No. 3 to cut the Wolverine lead to 3-2 with Bektas and freshman Amy Zhu (Newark, Del./Laurel Springs) left on court.
Zhu came through with a 3-6, 6-2, 6-2 win at No. 5 to clinch the match for Michigan. After dropping the first set, Zhu bounced back for a 6-2 second-set win after holding onto an early break in the second frame. In the third, Zhu jumped out to a 3-0 lead and held on for a 6-2 victory.
Bektas, who did not go on court until Yurovsky was finished, led Ruth Seaborne, 5-4, in the first set when Zhu clinched the match.
Michigan will face Purdue in the tournament semifinals tomorrow (Saturday, April 26) at 10 a.m.
Following are match-by-match results:
Singles
No. 1 -- No. 25 Emina Bektas (U-M) vs. No. 89 Ruth Seaborne (Iowa), 5-4 DNF
No. 2 -- No. 48 Ronit Yurovsky (U-M) d. Shelby Talcott (Iowa), 6-4 6-3
No. 3 -- Morven McCulloch (Iowa) d. No. 98 Sarah Lee (U-M), 6-4, 6-4
No. 4 -- Brooke Bolender (U-M) d. Caitlin Hindmarsh (Iowa), 6-1, 7-5
No. 5 -- Amy Zhu (U-M) d. Annette Dohanics (Iowa), 3-6, 6-2, 6-2
No. 6 -- Katie Zordani (Iowa) d. Mimi Nguyen (U-M), 6-4, 6-4
Doubles
No. 1 -- No. 7 Emina Bektas/Brooke Bolender (U-M) d. No. 43 Ruth Seaborne/Morven McCulloch (Iowa), 8-1
No. 2 -- Sarah Lee/Mimi Nguyen (U-M) d. Caitlin Hindmarsh/Shelby Talcott (Iowa), 8-1
No. 3 -- Ronit Yurovsky/Kristen Dodge (U-M) vs. Katie Zordani/Annette Dohanics (Iowa), 4-5 DNF
Order of Completion: Doubles 1-2, Singles 2-4-3-6-5
