Michigan Wins 2023 Big Ten Women’s Tennis Tournament Title

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. (April 30, 2023) – The University of Michigan captured the 2023 Big Ten Conference Women’s Tennis Tournament championship Sunday with a 4-2 victory over Ohio State at the Schwartz Tennis Center in West Lafayette, Indiana. It’s the Wolverines’ sixth Big Ten Tournament title and second in a row, giving them the Big Ten’s automatic berth into the NCAA Championships.
 
Michigan (22-3) opened Sunday’s championship match with a stirring comeback in doubles play. The Wolverines and Buckeyes had split the first two contests (Ohio State winning at No. 1 and Michigan at No. 3), with OSU leading 5-2 in the decisive No. 2 doubles match. However, the Michigan duo of Julia Fliegner and Lily Jones rallied to win the final five games of the contest and secure the critical doubles point for the Wolverines.
 
Ohio State (19-7) drew even with the first singles point as Sydni Ratliff won in straight sets at No. 2 (6-3, 6-3). Michigan responded with two straight-set victories, the first at No. 1, when Jaedan Brown posted a 6-3, 6-3 win. Shortly thereafter, the Wolverines moved to the brink of a championship when Gala Meoschoritou prevailed at No. 6 by a 7-6, 6-2 count.
 
The Buckeyes battled back with Lucia Marzal rallied from a set down to triumph at No. 4 singles (4-6, 6-1, 6-3). The other two matches also went into a third set, but Fliegner again proved to be the clincher for Michigan, winning at No. 3 singles (6-4, 3-6, 6-2). The Wolverines’ Andrea Cerdan was also leading 4-2 in the third set of her match at No. 5 when the title was secured.
 
Brown was selected as the Most Valuable Player of this year’s Big Ten Tournament and was joined by Fliegner on the all-tournament team. Ohio State was represented by Marzal and Shelly Bereznyak, while Illinois’ Megan Heuser and Wisconsin’s Xinyu Cai rounded out the Big Ten All-Tournament Team.
 
The complete field for the 2023 NCAA Championships will be announced at 6 p.m. (ET) Monday live on NCAA.com. The singles and doubles participants will be unveiled separately on Tuesday, also on NCAA.com. The Championships will take place May 17-27 at the Collegiate Center on the United States Tennis Association (USTA) National Campus in Orlando, Florida.
 
No. 1 seed Michigan (22-3) – 4
No. 2 seed Ohio State (19-7) – 2
SINGLES
1. Jaedan Brown (MICH) def. Irina Cantos Siemers (OSU) – 6-3, 6-3
2. Sydni Ratliff (OSU) def. Kari Miller (MICH) – 6-3, 6-3
3. Julia Fliegner (MICH) def. Isabelle Boulais (OSU) – 6-4, 3-6, 6-2
4. Lucia Marzal (OSU) def. Lily Jones (MICH) – 4-6, 6-1, 6-3
5. Andrea Cerdan (MICH) vs. Shelly Bereznyak (OSU) – 6-4, 3-6, 4-2, unfinished
6. Gala Mesochoritou (MICH) def. Danielle Willson (OSU) – 7-6 (2), 6-2
DOUBLES
1. Irina Cantos Siemers/Sydni Ratliff (OSU) def. Jaedan Brown/Andrea Cerdan (MICH) – 6-2
2. Julia Fliegner/Lily Jones (MICH) def. Isabelle Boulais/Shelly Bereznyak (OSU) – 7-5
3. Merri Kelly/Kari Miller (MICH) def. Kolie Allen/Danielle Willson (OSU) – 6-3
Order of Finish
Singles: 1,6,2,4,3
Doubles: 1,3,2
 
Big Ten All-Tournament Team
Megan Heuser, Illinois
Jaedan Brown, Michigan (MVP)
Julia Fliegner, Michigan
Shelly Bereznyak, Ohio State
Lucia Marzal, Ohio State
Xinyu Cai, Wisconsin
 
 
Big Ten Conference (bigten.org) is an association of world-class universities whose member institutions share a common mission of research, graduate, professional and undergraduate teaching, and public service. Founded in 1896, Big Ten Conference has sustained a comprehensive set of shared practices and policies that enforce the priority of academics in the lives of students competing in intercollegiate athletics and emphasize the values of integrity, fairness, and competitiveness. The broad-based programs of the 14 Big Ten Conference institutions will provide over $200 million in direct financial support to more than 9,800 students for more than 11,000 participation opportunities on 350 teams in 42 different sports. Big Ten Conference sponsors 28 official conference sports, 14 for men and 14 for women, including the addition of men’s ice hockey and men’s and women’s lacrosse since 2013.