Michigan fails to clinch close games, falling to Georgia in NCAA quarterfinals

As time went by with Georgia winning game after game, the Michigan women’s tennis team kept fighting. And after multiple set tiebreaker losses after another, the Wolverines attempted to make up lost ground. And for a second, there was a glimmer of hope.

However, on the way to making its comeback against the Bulldogs, the match was already over. 

For only the second time, No. 5 Michigan (25-4) traveled to compete in the NCAA Quarterfinals at the USTA National Campus in Lake Nona, Florida, tasked with competing against No. 3 Georgia (25-4), but ultimately fell, 4-0, ending its season. 

Despite conceding a shutout to the Bulldogs, the score alone doesn’t reveal the intricacies of each individual match and the competitiveness from both sides of the court that led to multiple set tiebreakers. 

The match started with doubles play, in which junior Jaedan Brown and senior Andrea Cerdan picked up the only win for the Wolverines, winning the set 6-4. Juniors Kari Miller and Merri Kelly fell to the Georgia double of Meg Kowalski and Lea Ma, who won 6-1. On court two, the consistent pair of sophomore Julia Fliegner and freshman Lily Jones dominated the opening of the match, 4-1, but lost their momentum, leading to a 6-6 tie and a 7-4 tiebreak loss. 

Despite a hard fought battle, the Bulldogs fought harder. 

“We lost a tough doubles point that we probably should’ve won,” Michigan coach Ronni Bernstein said. “We were up at two doubles and gave that away.” 

With Georgia clinching the doubles point, the Wolverines were forced to work harder to catch up in singles. Court by court, Michigan’s journey towards a win became increasingly difficult. Miller lost the first set 6-0, Cerdan lost 6-3, and Brown lost 7-5 due to Bulldog Dasha Vidmanova overcoming a 4-1 deficit. Despite Brown’s ability to control the court, she lost her momentum in the back half of the first set. 

On the additional three courts, the score of set one was determined by a tiebreaker game. 

And on all three courts, the Wolverines lost the tiebreaker. Georgia won all six first sets. 

“We haven’t lost (all six first sets) all year,” Bernstein said. “We had chances and we just couldn’t pull out any close sets. You lose the doubles point and six first sets and (the match) could be over pretty quickly.”

The match did not end quickly, though, as Michigan persisted until the Bulldog’s fourth and final point. 

Going back and forth in the second set, the Bulldogs found a crack in Michigan’s gameplay, emblematic of the entire match. Cerdan went into the set strong, winning four out of the first five games. But she cracked under the pressure,unable to win a single game while falling to Georgia’s Anastasiia Lopata, 6-4. 

Fleigner had a difficult second set, from being up 2-0 to ultimately losing 6-3. Bulldog Mell Reasco, stable and consistent on the court, forced Fliegner to run around and become worn out.

The final point for the Bulldogs came in Jones’ match, with a second set that almost mirrored Cerdan’s. From winning 4-1 to losing 7-5, Jones couldn’t close the set to force a third.

“(Jones) (got) up in the second set, and if she (could) turn that match, the whole match (would have been) different,” Bernstein said. “When you’re up like that, you have to keep doing what you’re doing, and we got a little tight and then it was close and (Georgia) pulled it out.”

Three matches were abandoned due to Georgia’s dominant win. However, the three singles had the strongest showings from the Wolverines. Despite a difficult first set, Miller came back to win the second set 7-5, overcoming a 4-2 deficit. Additionally, Brown came back strong in her second set, relinquishing only one game to Vidmanova. Finally, junior Gala Mesochoritou endured a back and forth match in its entirety. While it was looking as though she would clinch the second set, Jones’ lost, and the entire match was completed. 

“We played a very good Georgia team tough today,” Bernstein said. “Right now it hurts, but I think when we look back … a lot to be proud of.” 

Close sets were the downfall for Michigan in the Quarterfinals. Among multiple sets, the winner was determined by tiebreakers. Despite a blowout score, it is undeniable that the Wolverines have the talent to advance. They just need to focus on closing sets and getting a win in their pockets to ultimately make the difference in the future.