ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Despite winning the doubles point over the #2 Michigan Wolverines, the #8 Pepperdine women's tennis team fell 4-2 at the Varsity Tennis Center in Ann Arbor, Mich. on Sunday afternoon.
The Waves (8-3, 1-0 WCC) won the doubles point for the fifth-straight match, yet the Wolverines (12-3) were triumphant in four singles matches — two of which reached the third set — to win the match. With Sunday's result, two of Pepperdine's three losses have been against the top two teams in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association's rankings.
Pepperdine blitzed the Wolverines in the doubles point, as Jasmine Conway and Lisa Zaar extended their win streak to four matches with a 6-1 win over Reese Miller and Piper Charney at the third position. Moments later, Nikki Redelijk and Vivian Yang capped off their dominant 6-0 win over Julia Fliegner and Lily Jones to clinch the doubles point at the second position. At the time Redelijk and Yang won the doubles point, #2 Savannah Broadus and Janice Tjen were up 4-2 over #4 Kari Miller and Jaedan Brown on court one.
Michigan, however, flipped the script in singles play by winning the first set in five of the six matches.
While the Wolverines would even the score in singles with a win at the second position, #100 Janice Tjen won her seventh-straight match with a 6-3, 6-4 victory over #81 Brown at the third position. Tjen never trailed. In the first set, she won the first breakpoint opportunity and took a 3-0 lead en route to her 6-3 win, then in the second set, Tjen broke Brown in the fifth game and consolidated the break on deciding point in the sixth game, which was ultimately the difference in her straight-set win.
Michigan evened the score at 2-2 with a win on court one, forcing the Waves to win two of the remaining three singles matches. To their credit, #117 Anna Campana, #99 Redelijk and Conway all rebounded in the second sets to force third sets. The Wolverines took a 3-2 lead with a win on court six, putting pressure on Pepperdine veterans Campana and Redelijk to win both matches. Although Campana went up a break in the fourth game to take a 3-1 lead over #44 Gala Mesochoritou, Michigan's Piper Charney clinched the match with a 7-5, 3-6, 6-0 win at the fifth position.
RESULTS
Singles
1. #5 Kari Miller (U-M) def. #13 Lisa Zaar (PEPP), 6-3, 7-5
2. #18 Julia Fliegner (U-M) def. #6 Savannah Broadus (PEPP), 6-3, 6-3
3. #100 Janice Tjen (PEPP) def. #81 Jaedan Brown (U-M), 6-3, 6-4
4. #117 Anna Campana (PEPP) vs. #44 Gala Mesochoritou (U-M), 6-7 (2), 7-5, 4-2, abandoned
5. Piper Charney (U-M) def. #99 Nikki Redelijk (PEPP), 7-5, 3-6, 6-0
6. #61 Lily Jones (U-M) def. Jasmine Conway (PEPP), 6-4, 2-6, 6-4
Order of finish: 2,3,1,6,5*
Doubles
1. #2 Savannah Broadus/Janice Tjen vs. #4 Jaedan Brown/Kari Miller, 4-2 unfinished
2. Nikki Redelijk/Vivian Yang (PEPP) def. Julia Fliegner/Lily Jones (U-M), 6-0
3. Lisa Zaar/Jasmine Conway (PEPP) def. Reese Miller/Piper Charney (U-M), 6-1
Order of finish: 3,2
UP NEXT: Pepperdine returns to Ralphs-Straus Tennis Center to face #17 California as part of a doubleheader with the men's team's match against #2 TCU on Sunday, March 17. First serve is scheduled for 11 a.m.
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