ANN ARBOR, Mich. – For the first time since 2022, Illinois State punched its ticket to the NCAA Women's Tennis Championship and headed to Ann Arbor, Michigan, to take on No. 12 seed Michigan in the first round on Saturday. The host Wolverines (20-6) proved why they are one of the top teams in the country, as they defeated the Redbirds (18-7) by a final of 5-0 at the Varsity Tennis Center.
Michigan took the early lead by winning the doubles point, thanks to victories at the No. 2 and No. 3 spots. However, the Redbirds were able to pick up a big win at the No. 1 spot, as Silvia Pomarolli and Vittoria Benedetti shut out the No. 30 ranked team of Jessica Bernales and Lily Jones by a score of 6-0.
The Wolverines kept the momentum going, first with a win at the No. 1 spot and then at the No. 3 position. Action on courts No. 4 and No. 5 finished simultaneously, which resulted in in the rare 5-0 score and win for Michigan over Illinois State.
FINAL SCORE: #12 Michigan (5), Illinois State (0)
Doubles
No. 1 -- Silvia Pomarolli/Vittoria Benedetti (Illinois State) def. No. 30 Jessica Bernales/Lily Jones (U-M), 6-0
No. 2 -- No. 66 Reese Miller/Laura Rahnel (U-M) def. Nicole Iosio/Nuria Sanz (Illinois State), 6-1
No. 3 -- Piper Charney/Emily Sartz-Lunde (U-M) def. Lana Caculovic/Emma Lindh (Illinois State), 6-1
Singles
No. 1 -- No. 24 Lily Jones (U-M) def. Silvia Pomarolli (Illinois State), 6-0, 6-2
No. 2 -- No. 8 Piper Charney (U-M) vs. Lana Caculovic (Illinois State), 6-4, 4-0 abandoned
No. 3 -- No. 105 Reese Miller (U-M) def. Vittoria Benedetti (Illinois State), 6-2, 6-2
No. 4 -- No. 120 Emily Sartz-Lunde (U-M) def. Nuria Sanz (Illinois State), 6-1, 6-1
No. 5 -- Jessica Bernales (U-M) def. Nicole Iosio (Illinois State), 6-2, 6-3
No. 6 -- Laura Rahnel (U-M) vs. Emma Lindh (Illinois State), 6-3, 4-2 abandoned
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