BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- The No. 6-ranked University of Michigan women's tennis team won the doubles point and the first three singles matches off court to shut out Purdue, 4-0, in the semifinals of the Big Ten Tournament on Saturday afternoon (April 27) at the IU Varsity Tennis Courts. With the win, Michigan advances to the Big Ten Tournament final for the ninth consecutive year.
Site: Bloomington, Ind. (IU Varsity Tennis Courts)
Event: Big Ten Tournament (Semifinals)
Score: #6 Michigan 4, Purdue 0
Records: U-M (21-4), PU (17-5)
Next U-M Event: Sunday, April 28 -- vs. Northwestern (Bloomington, Ind.), Noon
Michigan won the doubles point to start the match, taking a pair of 8-5 decisions at the No. 1 and No. 2 positions. The No. 1 pairing of junior Brooke Bolender (Delray Beach, Fla./Kaplan) and sophomore Emina Bektas (Indianapolis, Ind./New Braunfels) went up 6-3 after taking a break at 4-2, holding serve the rest of the way for the 8-5 win.
After U-M's top pair delivered the first win, the No. 2 duo of sophomore Sarah Lee (Los Angeles, Calif./Campbell Hall) and senior Mimi Nguyen (Long Beach, Calif./Millikan) broke Purdue for the match at 8-5. Michigan went up a break at 3-2 earlier in the match, staying ahead of the Boilers the rest of the way for the clinching match. Michigan's No. 3 pair of freshman Ronit Yurovsky (New Kensington, Pa./Plum) and sophomore Kristen Dodge (Barrington, Ill./Barrington) were on serve at 6-7 when the match was abandoned.
Michigan dominated singles action, winning all six first sets. Bolender delivered the second point of the match, winning 6-1, 6-3 at No. 4. The junior captain raced out to a 5-0 lead in the first en route to the 6-1 win. She broke Tess Bernard-Feigenbaum for a 2-1 lead in the second, hanging on for the 6-3 second-set victory.
Yurovsky followed with a 6-4, 6-2 win at No. 2 to push Michigan's lead to 3-0. Yurovsky went up a break at 4-2 in the final set, taking the final two games to put U-M on the brink of winning.
Dodge delivered in her first singles action of the tournament, going 6-3, 6-2 at No. 6 for the clinching point. In the first, Dodge broke to go up 5-3, serving out the set in the ensuing game. Tied at 2-2 in the final set, she ripped off the next four games to complete the straight-set win for Michigan.
U-M will face No. 15-ranked Northwestern in tomorrow's (Sunday, April 28) final at noon.
Following are match-by-match results:
Singles
No. 1 -- No. 25 Emina Bektas (U-M) vs. Mara Schmidt (PU), 7-5, 4-1
No. 2 -- No. 48 Ronit Yurovsky (U-M) d. Lynda Xepoleas (PU), 6-4, 6-2
No. 3 -- No. 98 Sarah Lee (U-M) vs. Daniela Vidal (PU), 6-4, 1-4
No. 4 -- Brooke Bolender (U-M) d. Tess Bernard-Feigenbaum (PU), 6-1, 6-3
No. 5 -- Amy Zhu (U-M) vs. Krisztina Kapitany (PU), 6-2, 2-1
No. 6 -- Kristen Dodge (U-M) d. Gisella Pere (PU), 6-3, 6-2
Doubles
No. 1 -- No. 7 Emina Bektas/Brooke Bolender (U-M) d. Mara Schmidt/ Krisztina Kapitany (PU), 8-5
No. 2 -- Sarah Lee/Mimi Nguyen (U-M) d. Lynda Xepoleas/ Daniela Vidal (PU), 8-5
No. 3 -- Kristen Dodge/Ronit Yurovsky (U-M) vs. Gisella Pere/ Tess Bernard-Feigenbaum (PU), 6-7 DNF
Order of Completion: Doubles 1-2, Singles 4-2-6
N O T E S
• Michigan is now 34-12 all-time against Purdue.
• U-M went 9-0 in singles against Purdue this season.
• The Wolverines have won eight in a row, matching its longest winning streak of the season. The Wolverines have won 16 of their last 17 matches.
• Michigan is 17-0 when winning the doubles point.
• U-M is making its ninth straight Big Ten Tournament final appearance.
• Brooke Bolender and Ronit Yurovsky have each won eight consecutive singles matches. They are the only two players who have finished matches each day at the Big Ten Tournament.
