Jaedan Brown’s comeback heroics help Michigan push past Virginia

Early in the match, miscommunications and crucial errors plagued the No. 5 Michigan women’s tennis team. As junior Jaedan Brown and senior Andrea Cerdan fell, 6-1, to their opponents and freshman Lily Jones and sophomore Julia Fliegner also fell victim to their own mistakes, No. 12 Virginia came out with the doubles point. Brown, though, had no intention of allowing those struggles to continue into her singles game.

This season, the Wolverines relied heavily on the doubles point for their success. But on Saturday against the Cavaliers — Virginia took the doubles matches in an emphatic fashion. Following the disappointing doubles, Brown looked to step up for Michigan.

“I tried to put doubles to the side and focus on singles, because you can’t change the past,” Brown said. “I just told myself in the break ‘stay up on the court and be aggressive.’ ”

However, the past nearly repeated itself for Brown, finding herself down 4-1 against the Cavaliers’ Natasha Subhash. Whether it was pushing deep shots to punish Brown’s net presence or well placed line shots far out of reach, all of Brown’s weaknesses were put on full display. 

Even with a full home crowd behind her and supporting her every point, Brown struggled to maintain a rhythm and develop any offense against a very technically solid opponent. 

“Once I got down like that I was actually more relaxed,” Brown said. “There’s nothing to lose at that point. It’s easy to take a step back and re-evaluate when you’re in that spot.”

The mental re-evaluation proved to be the difference maker in the first set. After seeing Subhash slice shots in an attempt to slow down the pace of play, Brown started hammering shot after shot to her weaker forehand. After the adjustments, she didn’t drop another set on her way to an energetic 6-4 victory. Chants and cheers by the Michigan men’s tennis team led the crowd to rally behind her and continue to cheer her on in her second set. 

With the wind now in her sails, Brown was looking to carry her new momentum into the second set. She found herself down 3-0, yet again, to start the second set. 

“I just started the sets nervous,” Brown said. “I wasn’t feeling great physically.”

The nerves and physical discomfort she was experiencing didn’t show past her 3-0 deficit, though, as she again regained her composure and slowly put herself back in the driver’s seat. The Varsity Tennis Center crowd began to accumulate at her court as the idea of yet another comeback began to formulate. Sure enough, point after point, game after game, Brown clawed her way back to another win in a once seemingly unwinnable match. 

Her teammates ran to congratulate her as the crowd continued to roar their approval and enjoyment. The true celebration of the afternoon didn’t start until a few minutes later, when junior Gala Mesochoritou clinched the match for the Wolverines, sending them to the elite eight of the NCAA tournament. 

Resiliency has been the key to a lot of Michigan’s successes this season, with Brown leading the effort. She’s the highest ranked singles and doubles player on the team, and has given the Wolverines a solid foundation to build and grow around. 

“We have a lot of fighters,” Michigan coach Ronni Bernstein said. “It’s a good problem to have. Jaedan played great tennis after going down in both sets. She’s put us in great positions and is a huge reason why we are where we are.”

Now heading to Florida to take on No. 4 Georgia, the Wolverines will have to continue to play like their season depends on it – because it does. With Brown at the forefront, her resiliency will continue to propel Michigan forward. If the Wolverines continue to fight, they have the tools to bring home the hardware.