No. 24 Virginia Grabs 5-2 Win At No. 23 Michigan
ANN ARBOR, Mich. –The No. 24 Virginia women’s tennis team (11-4) went on the road for a non-conference matchup and came away victorious, taking a 5-2 win at No. 23 Michigan (5-4) on Wednesday (March 13) at the Varsity Tennis Center.
Freshman Amber O’Dell (New Milford, N.J.) clinched the match for the Cavaliers, picking up a straight-set victory over 29th-ranked Brienne Minor. It marked the second consecutive win over a top-30 opponent for O’Dell as she defeated the 2017 NCAA Women’s Tennis Singles Champion.
Virginia also got singles wins from sophomore Vivian Glozman (Bellevue, Wash.), junior Chloe Gullickson (Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.) and freshman Sofia Munera (Pereira, Colombia). The Cavaliers also took the doubles point on the way to the 5-2 win over the Wolverines.
“It was a great match,” said Virginia head coach Sara O’Leary. “Michigan is a very good team and made us really earn every spot in singles and doubles. It really was a full team effort to get this win. Even Meghan (Kelley) and Hunter (Bleser), who did not get wins on the scoreboard, helped the team tremendously by hanging tough in their matches and never giving in. For Hunter to win that second set after losing the first set 6-0 gave the rest of the remaining players a huge boost. I’m really proud of the fight, composure and belief our entire team showed today.”
In doubles action, the duo of Hunter Bleser (New Braunfels, Texas) and Meghan Kelley (Falmouth, Maine) finished first, taking a 6-3 victory on court three before Michigan would capture a victory on court one. The Virginia tandem of Glozman and Munera then clinched the doubles point for the Hoos, breaking the Wolverine’s serve to take a 5-4 lead on court two before Munera would serve things out for a 6-4 Cavalier victory on court two.
Munera then made quick work of her opponent at five singles, picking up the 6-2, 6-4 win over Alyvia Jones to extend the Cavaliers’ lead.
Michigan got on the board with a win at the top of the lineup, the only matchup of the day that featured a pair of nationally-ranked singles players. In that matchup, the Wolverine’s fourth-ranked Kate Fahey topped Virginia’s Kelley, the No. 33 player nationally, by a score of 6-3, 6-4.
Gullickson pulled the Cavaliers within a point of securing the victory with her win on court four, taking a 6-2, 6-3 victory over No. 21 Chiara Lommer. O’Dell then locked things up for Virginia with her 7-5, 7-6 (3) win over Minor at three singles.
Michigan would pick up its second point of the afternoon with win in a three-set battle on court six, before Glozman would cap the match with her win on court two. The Cavalier sophomore battled through a second-set tiebreak and then won a super tiebreak to give Virginia the final 5-2 margin of victory.
The Cavaliers will continue to play on the road next week, staying on the road in a return to conference play with matches at Pittsburgh on Friday (March 22) and at No. 3 Duke on Sunday (March 24).
No. 24 Virginia 5, No. 23 Michigan 2
Singles
1. No. 4 Kate Fahey (UM) def. No. 33 Meghan Kelley – 6-3, 6-4
2. Vivian Glozman def. No. 89 Giulia Pairone (UM) – 4-6, 7-6 (5), 1-0 (5)
3. Amber O’Dell def. No. 29 Brienne Minor (UM) – 7-5, 7-6 (3)
4. Chloe Gullickson def. No. 21 Chiara Lommer (UM) – 6-2, 6-3
5. Sofia Munera def. Alyvia Jones (UM) – 6-2, 6-4
6. Anca Craciun (UM) def. Hunter Bleser – 6-0, 5-7, 6-3
Order of Finish: 5, 1, 4, 3, 6, 2
Doubles
1. Kate Fahey/Giulia Pairone (UM) def. No. 58 Chloe Gullickson/Amber O’Dell – 6-3
2. Vivian Glozman/Sofia Munera def. Chiara Lommer/Bella Lorenzini (UM) – 6-4
3. No. 56 Hunter Bleser/Meghan Kelley def. Brienne Minor/Alyvia Jones (UM) – 6-3
Order of Finish: 3, 1, 2